Several local issues on November ballot
Upcoming issues include wages, solar energy, video gambling and term limits
In addition towhowill sit in the governor’s mansion or in Congress, voters in the south and southwest suburbs will weigh in on issues such as minimum wage and earned sick leave, solar energy, video gambling, term limits and truck parking.
Here’s a look at the referendums that will be on the November ballot:
In all Cook County suburbs, voters will be asked in an advisory question whether their communi- ty should match the $13 per hour Cook County minimum wage law for adults older than 18 by July 1, 2020, and be indexed to the consumer price index after that. Previously, dozens of suburbs opted out of the county’s minimum wage law before it took effect.
Another countywide non-binding question will ask suburban voters whether their community should match the county’s earned sick time law, which allows workers to accrueup to40hours of sick time a year.
A third question, also advisory, will ask whether the state should strengthen penalties for the illegal trafficking of firearms and require all gun dealers to be certified by the state.
In four south suburbs — Hazel Crest, Midlothian, Richton Park and Thornton — voters will be asked in a nonbinding referendum question whether Cook County should “create and maintain a tax incentive program that results in lower property tax bills and reduces the tax burden on local property owners and taxpayers.”
Also nonbinding, the question was put on the ballot partly in response to changes to county tax incentives for businesses, Hazel Crest Mayor Vernard Alsberry said.
He and many other south suburban officials railed against new regulations requiring private developers to pay prevailing wages and hire apprentices in order to take advantage of popular incentive programs. Those changes took effect Sept. 1.
County incentives reduce the tax rate of a development to the 10 percent level homeowners are charged, but the higher construction costs imposed by the new rules negate the value of the tax break, officials said.
Studies have shown that property tax rates are higher in the south suburbs than in other areas of the county, and Alsberry said that, through the referendum question, the south suburbs are looking for some tax relief for homeowners and businesses to “help energize the Southland.”
Alsoonthe issueofproperty tax relief, voters in Lemont and Palos townships will see an advisory question on their ballots asking whether the General Assembly should expand tax exemptions for homeowners, seniors and veterans. The question is not on the ballot in other south and southwest suburban townships, such as Bremen, Orland, Rich and Thornton.
Also inLemont andPalos townships, voters will be asked, again in a nonbinding question, whether Cook County’s controversial and short-lived soda tax should be reinstated.
Approved in late 2016, the penny-per-ounce tax on sweet-
ened beverages took effect in August of last year, but county commissioners last October voted to repeal the tax, with the repeal taking effect Dec. 1 of last year. Thesoda tax question is notonthe ballot in other south and southwest suburban townships.
ChicagoHeights
Chicago Heights voters will decide three different issues.
Recreational marijuana has yet to be approved by the state, but if that happens, the city wants to knowif it should give its revenues frompot sales to its public schools.
There also are two eco-friendly measures to be determined.
Should the city own and develop a solar powered energy generation facility and sell that electric power to the users in the region?
And, should Chicago Heights establish an optional household recycling program in which homeownerswould pay toparticipate, with the city providing recycling totes as part of its garbage collection service?
Dolton
Voters in Dolton will weigh in on three binding referendum questions, although challenges are still being heard in Cook County Circuit Court, according to the village clerk.
One question asks whether candidates for village president, clerk and trustee be elected at nonpartisan general elections, withnoprimary elections, starting with the April 2019 election.
A second question would set term limits for all elected officials, with no person serving more than two consecutive four-year terms, while a third would reduce the number of trustees to four from the current six, starting with next April’s election.
Flossmoor
Voters will decide whether the village should allow a Class B truck or van, 8,000 pounds or less, to be parked on a residential driveway, as long as it is for personal and not commercial purposes.
This will be an advisory referendum question, and if the village decides to change its zoning ordinance on truck parking, it would conduct a public hearing, and may allow trucks with no commercial markings, no equipment such as a snow plow attached to it, and nothing in the bed of the truck. according to village officials.
Flossmoor is the only community in Illinois — as well as the country— that bans these vehicles in private driveways, officials said.
Frankfort
Frankfort wants to increase its sales tax to 8 percent from 7 percent to give the village an additional$2.8million in revenues for municipal operations, more police officers and infrastructure improvements.
Sales tax revenues have been flat in recent years, and the village’s current revenues are not sustainable for the long term, officials said.
If the tax increase is rejected, there would be a cut in services, Mayor Jim Holland previously said.
The higher tax would go into effect in July 2019 but would not apply to titled goods, such as vehicles, boats and trailers, or groceries and drugs.
Lemont
The village of Lemont, located in Cook, Will and DuPage Counties, is asking voters to make it a home rule community, which will allow officials to create additional revenuestreamsfor infrastructure projects, according to village administrator George Schafer.
If approved, officials want to increase the sales tax rate by 1 percent, and may impose fees on video gambling terminals, he said.
Home rule authority would give the village board flexibility to consider other user fees that would not impact residents, he said.
LockportTownship
Residents in unincorporated areas of Lockport Township will decide if they want the township to contract for garbage and recycling services for them. This measure was prompted at the annual town hall meeting in April, when citizens voted 36 to 1 to place the question on the ballot.
Bills for garbage service now vary widely for residents, from $60 to over $200 per quarter, because homeowners contract for waste hauling on their own. If approved, this would create uniform rates, officials said.
PalosHeights
One of a handful of south and southwest suburbs not allowing video gambling, PalosHeights will ask voters in an advisory referendum whether gambling terminals should be allowed in the city. The City Council in early August voted unanimously to put the question on theNovember ballot.
Frankfort Park District
The district, which has struggled to find candidates to run for its seven-member board, is asking if the number of commissioners should be reduced from seven to five.
If it passes, it would take effect in the April 2019 election, and instead of having three open seats, there would only be one for a four-year term, according to district executive director Gina Hassert.
The park district board increased from five to seven members in 1990 when the Prestwick subdivisionwas incorporated into the village, she said.
Tinley Park Park District
If voters in the Tinley Park Park District approve a 7 cent increase in the corporate tax rate, park district officials will abate the debt service levy by the same amount, making it a “wash” for taxpayers, executive director Shawn Roby said.
The park district has two tax rates — one for corporate purposes, of 27 cents per $100 of equalized assessed valuation and which is limited by the tax cap, and a second, of 15 cents per $100 of EAV, for debt service, which isn’t limited by the cap.
The November referendum will ask voters to increase the corporate rate to just under 35 cents per $100 ofEAV, but taxpayers in the district will not see their tax bill rise, Roby said.
The district could abate the increase, but the increase in the corporate tax rate would also be offset as the district retires other outstanding debt at the end of next year and at the end of 2020, he said.
Thedistrict will be retiring debt related to the construction of the Bettenhausen Recreation Center and adjacent water park, but the corporate tax rate increase is needed for ongoing maintenance of facilities and playground and park renovations, Roby said.
NewLenox Fire Protection District
For the second time this year, the fire district is seeking a tax rate increase to 59 cents, from the current 38 cents per $100 of equalized assessed valuation.
Asimilar referendumfailed this spring, forcing the fire district to close the station on North Cedar Road, and reduce its personnel. The village of New Lenox loaned the district enough money to stay open until it had another chance to pass the rate increase.
White Oak Library District
Voters in Lockport, Crest Hill and Romeoville must choose if they want to pay more in taxes to get expanded services from the White Oak Library District. The district wants permission to raise its tax rate three cents, to 21.5 cents from 18.5 cents per $100 of equalized assessed valuation, which would add about $8 to the annual tax bill on a $100,000 home.
According to library officials, the average home owner in the district would pay about $16 more per year. With increased funds, the library plans to increase hours, expand its Lobby Stop Services, such as home delivery, talking books, and new memory kits, and create a digital media lab, where patrons can create films, restore old photos and record oral histories.
North Palos Fire Protection District
The fire protection district is seeking a tax rate increase of 20 cents, to $2.23 from the current $2.03 per $100 of equalized assessed valuation, which would add $52 to the tax bill of a home valued at $100,000, according to Chief PaulMackin.
The district has been borrowing money with a $1million line of credit to continue its operations. With the tax rate increase it plans to end borrowing, build up its reserves and be able to purchase needed equipment, he said.
“We have reduced everything we can without impacting service on the street,” the chief said. The added 20 cents would “put us in a position to be sustainable for the next 10 years,” he said.