Taxpayers United of America (TUA), a non-partisan, Chicago-based advocacy group, recently urged constituents in six communities to oppose a seven-item referendum initiative on April 4 that the group believes would burden taxpayers.
Home rule options are on the table for the jurisdictions of Lynwood and Coal City, and tax increase measures appear on voters’ ballots in Berwyn, Evanston, Hinsdale and Oak Park, according to TUA.
“Whether the proposal to voters is to enact home rule, which gives unlimited taxing authority to local bureaucrats or to issue tens of millions of dollars in new bonds and raise property taxes, taxpayers in these six communities must reject these seven referenda on the April 4 ballot to avoid disastrous increases to their property tax bills,” Jim Tobin, TUA president, said.
Tobin explained that home rule is conducive to tax hikes, saying it “gives bureaucrats a blank check” and the freedom to decide what qualifies as taxable. In a recently distributed flyer, TUA said passing the measures would cost each impacted taxpayer an extra $450 annually in the Evanston/Skokie district.
“We urge voters in these six communities to tell bureaucrats that they have had enough of government living beyond its means at the expense of taxpayers,” Tobin said. “Voters should urge their fellow taxpayers to vote no.”
He listed several local jurisdictions seeking to increase the burden on property owners — Berwyn South SD 100, Evanston/Skokie Community Consolidated SD 65, Hinsdale Township HSD 86 and Oak Park SD 97 — and warned that it could increase the frequency of Illinois foreclosures, which is already among the nation’s highest.
“I like to call it home ruin,” Tobin said. “Why would anyone want to give up their right to vote on property tax increases?”
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