WOODSTOCK – Voters this November will not face competing referendums regarding how the McHenry County Board’s leader is chosen.

Board members at a Thursday special meeting crushed, on a 16-3 vote, a proposal to put a referendum on the ballot asking voters whether they want to popularly elect the board chairman. The idea was born quickly as a way to oppose a referendum spearheaded by state Rep. Jack Franks, D-Marengo, to change to a county executive form of government.

Under an executive form, voters still elect their county board representatives by district, but also elect at-large a chief executive to a four-year term to run county government’s day-to-day operations.