Cases for, against DeKalb City Clerk referendum heard at League of Women Voters panel

DeKALB – A DeKalb panel weighed in on what’s at stake for voters in the Nov. 5 election when they head to the polls to decide the fate of the oft-riddled by turnover office of the city clerk.

The virtual panel discussion, hosted and moderated by the League of Women Voters of DeKalb County, set out to make the case both for and against the office of the city clerk being an appointed position rather than remaining elected.

A referendum question posed by the city of DeKalb seeks to query the preferences of residents about how the role should be carried out. Specifically, it reads, “Shall the City Clerk of the City of DeKalb be appointed, rather than elected?”

The city clerk’s position has been vacant since March 2024 when a Dekalb County judge ruled Sasha Cohen forfeited the office over failure to file statements of economic interest for the past two years.

Since then, the clerk’s duties have been fulfilled by Executive Assistant and Recording Secretary Ruth Scott.

The former clerk had faced repeated controversy since elected in 2021, including multiple allegations by city officials that he did not show up for work or take proper meeting minutes as required by state law. He was censored by the DeKalb City Council in January 2021. That same judge tossed a lawsuit on Feb. 2, 2023, filed by Cohen against the City of DeKalb after the clerk alleged the city had attempted to prohibit him from fulfilling his duties. City lawyers had argued the clerk didn’t show up enough to fulfill those duties.

Sasha Cohen’s failed term was the latest in more than a decade of clerks who have, for various reasons, left the office before completing their term. As a result, the City Council approved placing a referendum on the Nov. 5 ballot to, for the third time, ask residents if they’d prefer an appointed clerk.

Cohen ran unopposed on the ballot in the spring 2021 municipal election.

Arguments for, against, clerk referendum

Paul Callighan, a DeKalb resident who chairs a private committee advocating in support of the referendum’s passage, said he believes enough is enough with elected city clerks.

“Residents deserve a professionally run office that maintains accurate records of meetings in response to a buzz for information in a timely manner,” Callighan said. “Sadly, despite what may have been best intentions, none of the last four elected city clerks served out their terms.”

Lynn Fazekas, also a former DeKalb city clerk and a League of Women Voters of DeKalb County member, said she believes the city is to blame for the city clerk turnover. In her arguments during the panel, Fazekas said she believes the clerk’s office was better run when the position was full time.

“Turnover of clerks was not an issue before that 2012 election,” Fazekas said. “That’s the only reason I’m bringing it up because only three elected clerks served the people of DeKalb from 1977 to 2012. But following the 2012 election, we’ve had nine clerks, to date. Also, professionalism was not an issue before the referendum.”

Fazekas, a frequent and outspoken critic of the City of DeKalb, also faced controversy while in office. Fazekas was appointed clerk by former Mayor Jerry Smith, and served until 2021. In the summer of 2019, Fazekas was asked to resign by Smith over what officials said was her misuse of a tool to notarize documents, a directive she refused. She also unsuccessfully sued the city in 2019, arguing that the city’s actions to the clerk office while she held the title were “unconstitutional,” according to court filings. Her lawsuit appeal was rejected by the Illinois Appellate Court in September 2021.

The last city clerk referendum took place in 2012, at which point action was taken to slash the position’s salary. The most recent clerk’s salary was $8,000. That could soon change, however.

DeKalb City Council action recently removed the compensation for an elected clerk. So if the majority of voters want an elected clerk, the next person elected to do the job would not have a salary, city documents show. If voters say they want an appointed clerk, the duties will go to a city employee.

Fazekas pointed fingers at the city for “trying to force the result they want” by eliminating the city clerk’s salary knowing the message it sends to the public, she said.

Fazekas said she wants the public to be clear that there is a way forward for an elected DeKalb city clerk.

“If the residents of DeKalb do elect to retain the elected clerk, there is a way forward and the way forward is professional compensation, professional training and professional conduct towards the clerk,” Fazekas said. “We’ve had it before. We can have it again. If the people of DeKalb want that again and vote for retaining an elected clerk, let’s make sure the city is ready to honor the results of that referendum this time.”

Callighan said he doesn’t believe having an elected city clerk will prove to be worth the effort.

“The only issue there is that to run for city clerk, you don’t have to provide any credentials,” Callighan said. “You don’t have to make a case for your commitment to fulfilling the required duties of the office and that’s where I feel we’ve got an issue to address. I think the only way to really address that is to go through the appointment process. I don’t feel that you’re taking anything away from the voters when the appointment process is through the duly elected officials that represent us on the City Council.”

Voters will have a chance to weigh in on the fate of the DeKalb city clerk’s office in the Nov. 5 election.