Handful of Illinois ballot measures to ask voters to oppose state’s anti-BDS law

Ballot measures in several Illinois municipalities will ask voters to symbolically oppose the state's anti-BDS law, which bars pension fund investments in companies that boycott Israel. The measures are non-binding; repeal requires state legislative action. Jewish groups are organizing against them. Oak Park is the largest town voting.

Ballot measures in several Illinois municipalities will ask voters to symbolically oppose the state's anti-BDS law, which bars pension fund investments in companies that boycott Israel. The measures are non-binding and would not repeal the law, which requires action by the state legislature and governor. Jewish groups, including the Jewish United Fund (JUF), are organizing against the measures. Oak Park, the largest town voting, has the most organized Jewish community among the municipalities. The law, signed in 2015 by Republican Governor Bruce Rauner, was the first of its kind in the US. Activists turned to ballot measures after a state representative's repeal effort stalled. The article quotes Dan Goldwin of JUF, historian James Loeffler, and congressional candidate Daniel Biss. The framing relies on multiple attributed sources and procedural details without overt emotional loading.