Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – Springfield city council chambers Tuesday erupted when some aldermen wanted a do-over on a vote which defeated a proposed referendum over a landlord registry.

Ald. Lakeisha Purchase, a landlord herself, recused herself from the vote, which was five Yes votes and four No votes. The ordinance setting up a non-binding referendum in March needed six votes to pass. Much later in the meeting, Alds. Jennifer Notariano and Roy Williams asked for a reconsideration in hopes that Purchase could then vote Present and push the ordinance to victory. But the motion to reconsider can only be made by an alderman on the “prevailing” side, setting up a situation in which the four No voters had more power than the five Yes voters.

“You didn’t like the vote,” Ald. Ralph Hanauer told Williams, “so now you’re trying to get (Purchase) back and beat her down to vote Present. You’re trying to not listen to our corporation counsel that said the No votes were the prevailing side, then we’ve got to accept that. If you want to take it to court, take it to court!”

“We need to go to court, Ralph, because five is bigger than four,” Williams responded. “Now, you know I’m right. You know I’m right. Five is bigger than four! (Hanauer) wants to win, being in the minority!”

The five Yes votes for a March 17 referendum were from Alds. Shawn Gregory, Williams, Larry Rockford, Notariano, and Erin Conley. The four No votes were from Alds. Jeff Cox, Brad Carlson, Jim Donelan, and Hanauer.