Referendum question proposals that would have asked voters of Lisle, Warrenville and Woodridge if they wanted their towns annexed into the City of Naperville will not be on the April 4 election ballot, DuPage County Judge Paul Fullerton ruled Wednesday.

The petitions seeking to have the binding questions put before voters lacked the required number of signatures in Warrenville and Woodridge, Fullerton said.

"This is the number one step. They're not enough close to the number you need," he said. "This is ridiculous. It's not even in good faith."

In order to get the question on the Warrenville ballot, the petition needed at least 177 signatures but only 81 were submitted. The Woodridge initiative needed 235 but had only 50.

Andrew Finko, an attorney for the petitioner, whose identity has not been released, said the intention was to supplement the initial signatures with more but he did not have the additional signatures with him in court Wednesday.

"How could I approve petitions when you don't even have them?" Fullerton said.

The Lisle referendum was dismissed because the petitioner did not follow the proper procedure in filing the request. Anyone who files petitions for a referendum question with the court must notify the court within 14 days of filing and schedule a hearing date for any objections to be heard, said Keri-Lyn Krafthefer, who is representing Lisle Mayor Joe Broda. The notification was never filed, Krafthefer said.

Reducing taxes the motivation behind Naperville merger referendum, lawyer says Erin Hegarty

Lower property taxes and an economy of scale are the motives behind referendums that would ask voters of Lisle, Warrenville and Woodridge if they want their towns annexed into Naperville, the petitioner's attorney Frank Avila said Thursday.

While Avila continued to withhold the name of his client,...

Lower property taxes and an economy of scale are the motives behind referendums that would ask voters of Lisle, Warrenville and Woodridge if they want their towns annexed into Naperville, the petitioner's attorney Frank Avila said Thursday.

While Avila continued to withhold the name of his client,...

(Erin Hegarty)

Attorney Frank Avila, also representing the petitioner, could not be reached for comment.

The unnamed petitioner filed the petitions with the county on Jan. 4, surprising elected officials and prompting formal challenges to be filed in opposition. Mayors for the four cities affected by the annexation vote questioned the benefits attained by creating one large town of Naperville by the merging the three other communities into it.

Avila later explained his client's motivation was to save taxpayers money.

"If you look at the municipal taxation rates for those municipalities, they're 2- to 2 1/2 times larger than Naperville," Avila said. "The whole motivation is to reduce property taxes, save some people some money and have an economy of scale."

The creation of a larger city through annexation would produce cost savings, he said. "Naperville has a lot of amenities and Lisle, Woodridge and Warrenville cannot have the same type of amenities ... it's a much smaller scale."

Mayors file objections to Naperville annexation referendum effort Erin Hegarty

Mayors from Lisle, Warrenville and Woodridge on Monday morning filed formal objections to an effort to ask voters in their communities if they want to be annexed by the city of Naperville.

Warrenville Mayor David Brummel, Lisle Mayor Joe Broda and Woodridge Mayor Gina Cunningham filed the objections...

Mayors from Lisle, Warrenville and Woodridge on Monday morning filed formal objections to an effort to ask voters in their communities if they want to be annexed by the city of Naperville.

Warrenville Mayor David Brummel, Lisle Mayor Joe Broda and Woodridge Mayor Gina Cunningham filed the objections...

(Erin Hegarty)

It's difficult for municipalities to compete with towns like Naperville, Oak Brook and Rosemont, which have large commercial hubs, Avila said. His client believes joining forces would also make for a stronger regional economy.

Seeking judicial permission is not the traditional route used to place a referendum on the ballot. It is more typical to submit the petitions to a municipal or county clerk to have the question placed on the ballot.

According to state statute, a referendum question needs 250 signatures or 10 percent of the number of voters who voted in the preceding general municipal election, whichever number is smaller, to have a question placed on the ballot.

ehegarty@tribpub.com

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