Niles voters will decide three referendum questions on Nov. 3 after the Village Board unanimously approved placing them on the General Election ballot at a special meeting Friday, Aug. 14.

The biggest change from what was proposed: Mayor George Alpogianis amended the trustee term limits question on the spot, shortening the proposed cap from five full four-year terms (20 years) to four terms (16 years). The board approved the revision without dissent.

The move would loosen the village's current 12-year limit for trustees, set by a 2013 referendum that passed with more than 80 percent support. Alpogianis argued a similar question failed narrowly in the March 17 primary, with 53.67 percent voting no, because the ballot language was confusing. He said a clearer, revised question could pass in November.

After the vote, Alpogianis told the Journal & Topics he is in his final term as mayor. "As of today, I'm in my final term as mayor," he said. "As of today, I have one more term as a trustee. Should I choose to do so, that would be my final term."

Alpogianis was elected to his second mayoral term in 2025; it ends in 2029. Under the village's existing two-term, eight-year mayoral limit, adopted before a 2016 change in state law, he cannot run for mayor again. He said the November referendum addresses only the trustee office and would not alter the mayoral cap.

He noted a legal wrinkle: a 2016 state law made it unconstitutional to combine mayor and trustee offices in a single term limits question. An appellate court upheld that law in 2019, meaning the village's existing ordinance covering both offices could be vulnerable to a court challenge.

Vehicle stickers and a theater

The second binding question asks voters whether Niles should discontinue its residential vehicle sticker program and eliminate the associated fee effective June 1, 2027. The board announced its intention to end the program at a May 25 regular meeting.

The third question is advisory: "Shall the Village consider attracting an indoor/outdoor theatre within the village limits?" Alpogianis said he envisions a venue with movable walls that could host theatrical productions, music events and graduations. He noted his daughter's Niles West High School graduation was held at Northwestern University in Evanston because Niles lacks a large enough space.

A village theater has been discussed for years. Former mayor Andrew Przybylo previously proposed a performance space near the Niles Leaning Tower redevelopment.

Criticism of the meeting's timing

Former trustee Rosemary Palicki spoke at the meeting to criticize the board for voting on the referendum questions at a 4 p.m. Friday session with little public notice. The board typically meets on Tuesday evenings; the special meeting was called after a regular July 21 session was canceled for lack of a quorum.

State law limits any unit of government to three referendum questions per ballot. The three approved Aug. 14 use Niles's full allotment for November.

Niles voters will see all three questions on the Nov. 3 General Election ballot.