SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — During Monday night's Springfield City Council, Aldermen discussed the possibility of passing an ordinance that would vacate the City Clerk position. Current Springfield City Clerk Frank Lesko was sworn in as Sangamon County Recorder on December 2. This coming after Lesko was declared as the apparent winner in the Sangamon County Recorder race against Josh Langfelder. On December 2, Langfelder formally filed for a discovery recount, as the tally was separated by just 31 votes.
During debate, Lesko's campaign slogan of "Hire me to fire me" was brought into question, as the situation is further complicated by his plans to merge the County Recorder and City Clerk offices. Citizen Ronald Hamm brought his motivation into question, "By holding both offices at once he is defacto merging these two offices, circumventing public channels he would otherwise be required to take to do so."
Difficulty for Aldermen arose in setting precedent with previous cases. Since the offices are in separate municipalities -- Sangamon County and the City of Springfield -- there are no known prior cases that are similar enough to set precedent. "For future reference -- for future elections -- this doesn't happen again...We do have to get something on paper to stop this kind of stuff." said Ward 4 Alderman, Larry Rockford.
Corporation Council said that the Attorney General will only issue an opinion on compatibility if it is requested by state offices. An opinion on compatibility from the Attorney General would determine if Lesko can logistically hold the two offices at the same time. According to Corporation Council, two elected positions can legally be held at the same time by the same person.
A week prior, council voted on emergency passage to allow Mayor Misty Buscher to handle vital records in the absence of a City Clerk. However, the final outcome and decision will be dependent on the results of the pending recount.
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