* Remember this story?…

A Williamson County commissioner says the push for a gun control advisory question on November’s ballot has nothing to do with letting the voters speak and everything to do with heavy-handed Springfield politics.

Commissioner Ron Ellis said when the Williamson County Board first started talking in June about letting the voters decide if the board should oppose specific gun control bills that were being debated in Springfield, he was all for it. In fact, the three-person board voted unanimously to put the question on the ballot, they just had to finalize the language. […]

Ellis said that board meeting put the political machine in top gear, and the pressure was on him particularly. He said he got a call from Joe Hackler, the Southern Illinois director for Citizens for Rauner Inc., about his support of the measure.

“I was literally told that if I didn’t put this on the ballot that there would be repercussions,” Ellis said. He said he later heard from a local Republican official that if he wasn’t careful, it was possible there could be a smear campaign launched against him for standing up to Springfield, making his political life very difficult in the future.”

* Well, here’s an update…

Williamson County’s controversial advisory question opposing gun-control legislation died during Friday’s special meeting after commissioner Jim Marlo did not get a second for his motion to put the question on the ballot. […]

Friday’s meeting was well-attended, with the majority of the gallery filled with people wishing to speak on whether or not they thought the question should go on the ballot. The majority spoke in favor, saying they wanted the voters’ voices to be heard in Springfield, despite the advisory question being a nonbinding measure. […]

Bradley Marks addressed Ellis directly, accusing him of standing against voter turnout. He said the advisory question represents a hot-button issue that would draw out not just conservative voters, but also liberal voters as well.

“If we have to use a gimmick to turn people out to the polls, that’s sad,” Ellis replied.

In the end, however, the board voted unanimously to put their original question on the ballot…

After the question failed to advance to a vote, the commissioners voted instead to take up the original referendum opposing five specific pieces of gun legislation that were under consideration at the state level, some of which deal with wait periods for purchasing certain weapons and others banning possession of firearm accessories like bump stocks. That passed unanimously.