Aurora Voters Could Get Power to Recall Mayor and At-Large Aldermen

On July 31, 2026, members of Aurora for Change, an organization working to expand voter power, submitted petitions asking the city to place two binding referendum questions on the November 3, 2026, ballot: one would ask whether voters should be able to recall the mayor, and the other whether they should be able to recall at-large aldermen.

Aurora For Change leaders say the proposal is designed to give voters another way to hold elected officials accountable regardless of political party. The group submitted nearly 9,000 signatures for both referendum questions. Adam Pauley, the group’s chief proponent and treasurer, hopes this will “create a blueprint for recall mechanisms starting here in Aurora so that other communities can use it as well.”

Article VII of the Constitution of the State of Illinois provides that Illinois cities and towns can change their form of government, including how local officials are chosen and how long they serve. Voters must approve those changes through a referendum. State law allows voters to pass a referendum to exercise any municipal power subject to referendum by submitting a public question via voter-initiated petition.

Illinois courts have not determined whether the power to recall a municipal officer falls within the powers subject to referendum. A 1981 Illinois Appellate Court ruling said it was not, but the same court overruled that decision in 2016 in Heynard v. Village of Dolton, 2016 IL App (1st) 153374. The Illinois Supreme Court has not directly weighed in on the question.

Burton Odelson, a longtime Illinois election and local government attorney, says challengers generally have two ways to attack referendum petitions: the first argues whether the question is worded correctly, is specific, and contains one topic, and the second involves the signatures themselves, including whether the signer correctly completed the petition and whether they live at the listed address and are a registered voter. The larger question, however, is whether Aurora can create a local recall process at all.

Mayor John Laesch disagrees with the proposal, arguing it would allow a relatively small group of voters to overturn an election outcome. Laesch argued “[i]t’s intensely undemocratic,” and Illinois already has legal procedures to remove elected officials who become ineligible to hold office or violate the law, making a recall process unnecessary.

If you have questions about Aurora’s referendum petitions or their implications, contact the qualified attorneys at Rock Fusco & Connelly, LLC.