After today, February's ballot questions are already set: the Council's three, and deadlines for anyone else

Today's ballot ends with advisory questions, and so will February's. The City Council has already chosen the three citywide questions Chicago voters will see on Feb. 23, 2027, when they also elect a mayor and all 50 alderpersons. Meanwhile, the Board of Election Commissioners' calendar sets deadlines this month for other ways to get a question on that ballot.

Why it matters: advisory questions don't change any law, but the Council used them this year to put issues in front of voters during the campaign. February's three were set in July, by closer votes than November's.

February's three questions

All three were adopted on July 22, our records show:

• A permanent monument to Chicago's contributions to music and the arts (R2026-0025438), sponsored by Ald. Samantha Nugent (39th). Adopted 24 to 23.
• Independent legal counsel for the City Council, separate from the City's Law Department and fully funded (R2026-0025457), sponsored by Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) with Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd). Adopted 32 to 16.
• Withholding City money from sister agencies that don't enforce repayment plans for debts they owe the City (R2026-0025460), sponsored by Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th) with 10 co-sponsors. Adopted 29 to 20.

All three had been deferred at the July 15 meeting on a motion by Ald. Jason Ervin (28th) and Ald. Byron Sigcho-López (25th). On July 22, Ervin argued it was premature to set February's questions in July (watch).

Why the order mattered. At the July 9 Committee on Committees and Rules meeting, a deputy corporation counsel told members that the first three advisory questions the Council adopts for an election go on the ballot (watch). With these three adopted in July, the Council's citywide slots for February are taken, unless one is repealed. Our October story explains how the same limit shaped today's ballot.

Ward-level questions work differently. Today, the 26th Ward question on short-term rentals, placed by a Council resolution, appears alongside the citywide ones. Our guide to today's ward questions.

Other ways onto February's ballot

The Board's 2027 election calendar lists these dates:

• Thu., Nov. 12: last day to file petitions for a local option referendum under the Liquor Control Act, the kind of question that can make a precinct "dry" or allow alcohol sales. These go to the City Clerk, not the Board. (The legal deadline falls on Veterans Day, so it moves to the next business day.)
• Mon., Nov. 23: last day to file citizen petitions for a question of public policy under Article 28 of the Election Code, with the Board.
• Wed., Dec. 2: last day to object to those petitions.
• Mon., Dec. 7: last day for governing boards, such as the City Council, to adopt resolutions or ordinances putting public questions on the February ballot.

What's next

• Today, Nov. 3: voters answer the three citywide questions the Council chose for November, plus ward and other questions. The Council isn't required to act on the results.
• Dec. 7: the Council's last chance to add or swap February questions. Its regular meetings before then are scheduled for Dec. 8 and 9, after the deadline, so any change would need an earlier meeting.
• Feb. 23, 2027: the municipal election.