SPRINGFIELD — Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation Friday clarifying Normal’s municipal classification, putting to bed a long-running, convoluted legal dispute once and for all.

The law essentially codifies a January ruling from a McLean County judge finding that the town clerk was not required to certify election petitions for candidates seeking offices that do not typically appear on the Normal ballot.

Last year, candidates filed petitions to run for town collector, town supervisor and town clerk despite the former two being non-existent positions and the latter being an appointed position within Normal town government.

The litigation stemmed from a legal dispute that began last year after a group of residents calling themselves Citizens for a Better Normal sought to place a referendum on the November ballot that could have changed the makeup of the Normal Town Council.

The group wanted to divide the community into districts, similar to Bloomington’s ward-based system, rather than electing council members at large.

State law allows for such ballot measures in communities that are classified as villages. Supporters of the referendum maintained that Normal meets those standards, specifically arguing that an incorporated town must elect a president, assessor, clerk and supervisor.

But Normal’s three-member board of electors found, and a McLean County judge agreed, that the community is an incorporated town.

While the court’s ruling effectively put the issue to rest, the town sought to clarify language in state law to nip potential future legal challenges in the bud.

“The town, at great expense to taxpayers, went to defend these cases in court and so they are trying to prevent that from happening again,” State Rep. Sharon Chung, D-Bloomington, the legislation’s sponsor, told lawmakers at a committee hearing in March.

The legislation passed the House 67-33 in March and the Senate 43-13 in May.