Village of Hazel Crest

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Village of Hazel Crest
Home Rule Referendum
April 1, 2003
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What is Home Rule?

• Home rule is the name given to additional
  authority
• given to local government to act autonomously
• Most states have provisions for some form of
  home rule
• The 1970 Illinois Constitution created home
  rule in Illinois
• Prior to 1970 no local government could
  exercise any powers
• except those granted by the general assembly
  (Dillons Rule)
• Home rule frees municipalities from having to
  look to the
• statutes for authority for each and every act
• Power to deal with local affairs by those
  closest to the
• problem, rather than Springfield
• Home rule can be thought of as the power to act
  without
• statutory authority

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What Communities Have Home Rule Today?

•   All communities over 25,000 population have
  home rule
• authority
• Cook County is home rule (only county)
•   Under 25,000 can adopt home rule by referendum
•   153 home rule communities in Illinois
•   7 million residents live under home rule in
  Illinois
•   78 by size (over 25,000 population)
•   75 by referendum
•   Largest Chicago 2.9 million
•   Smallest Muddy 78

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Who Has Home Rule?
   32 municipalities in Cook County    Nearby
home rule municipalities
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Home Rule
Pros
    Value of local authority     Flexibility to
address local authority     Less dependence on
the state legislature     More freedom from
legislative mandates     Flexibility in issues
of community and economic
development     Blight prevention     Shift
local taxing burden to non-residents
(primarily through sales and use taxes)
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Home Rule
Cons
    Threat of unwanted and excessive
taxation     At times opponents argue that home
rule gives local governments the powers to
suppress individual rights
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Home Rule Powers

• General
• Licensing
• Public health and safety
• Building
• Zoning
• Sanitation
• Nursing
• Civil disturbance
• Personnel
• Taxation
• Debt
• Economic development

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How is Home Rule Used?

• Can develop special planning and zoning
  subdivision
• control regulations
• Design programs to limit and eradicate blight
  and
• deterioration
• Preservation of impact fees
• Economic development incentives
• Broaden the tax burden
• Further control liquor sales
• Address juvenile concerns
• Buy, sell and lease property
• Local penalties on truck weight limits
• Better control nuisance uses
• Regulate landlord tenant relationship

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Specific Uses in Hazel Crest

• Streamline capital financing and save on
  issuance fees
• Direct allocation of industrial revenue bond
  authority
• Ability to shift tax burden
• PTAB (Property Tax Appeal Board)
  200,000
• Photoprocessing tax 20,000

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Home Rules and Economic Development
Home rule provides the tools to compete with
other communities in areas of economic
development.
Allows creativity to apply local ordinances to
local Village situations.
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Home Rule Assists Economic Development
Home rules greatest impact on Illinois has been
its contribution to economic development.
August 1985/Illinois Municipal League

• Home rule has been used to
• Help rebuild downtown commercial centers
• Finance new factories
• Attract private investment
• Build new shopping malls
• Underwrite the cost of pollution control
  equipment
• Promote housing construction and home ownership
• Prevent deterioration of residential
  neighborhoods
• Improve quality of community services
• With little or no apparent cost to the
  taxpayer.
• August 1985/Illinois Municipal League

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Home Rule and Economic Development
Home rule allows the municipality

• More latitude to bargain with developers
• By removing statutory restrictions on
  borrowing, home
• rule gives local officials many more options
  to financially
• support development

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Home Rule and Economic Development

• Home rule communities receive direct allocation
  
• authority to issue industrial revenue bonds
• (50 per capita)
• Non-home rule must go through a state-wide pool
• Home rule communities have additional authority
  to

• Enter into development agreements
• Offering real estate tax abatements as a
  development
• incentive Non-home rule communities are
  limited by
• amount and time period (10 years)
• Home rule units can impose a sales tax that
  can be
• used as a rebate incentive as well as other
  economic
• development incentives

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Voters Attitudes Toward Home Rule
1971 1975 Approval vs. Disapproval 3-1 1976
1985 Approval vs. Disapproval 1.5-1 1986
1999 Approval vs. Disapproval 1-1.3 Since
2000 13 referenda on home rule approval in
7 Includes adoption referenda and retention
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Voters Attitude (cont.)

• 158 referenda since 1971 to adopt home rule
• 77 passed 49
• 5 communities rejected in more than one election
• 5 communities voters rejected home rule when it
  was first put on the ballot, then adopted it
  later
• Lincolnwood and Oakbrook Terrace rejected home
  rule twice before adopting in a third election
• Note If referendum fails question cannot be put
  back on the ballot for 23 months

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Voters Attitude (cont.)

• Of the 153 communities that have had
  referendums, 77 ultimately passed home rule
  (50)
• Of the 77, 75 (97) still operate under home rule
• The two that do not
• National City dissolved as a municipal
  corporation
• Lisle abandoned home rule by referendum

Berkely, Lincolnshire, and Rolling Meadows all
had retention referendums and all three retained
home rule
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Voters Attitude (cont.)
Of Villages that passed home rule, how many later
rescinded home rule?

• 31 communities have placed a referendum on the
• ballot to rescind home
• 4 were successful
• 87 retain home rule

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Voters Attitude (cont.)
Retention elections occur for two reason

• Voters dissatisfied with their communitys use
  of home
• rule powers and petition for a retention
  election
• (This has happened 25 times)
• A community drops below 25,000 population and
  is
• required to hold a retention election
• (This has happened 6 times)
• Home rule was retained in 84 of the elections
  held due to
• voter petitions. (21 out of 25 elections)
• Home rule was retained in all six of the
  retention elections
• held due to a drop in population below 25,000

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What if we dont like home rule or how the
Village Board utilizes home rule are we stuck
with it?
NO
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Home Rule

• Voters can always exercise their right to vote
  in regard to
• who is on the Board and how they handle such
  issues as
• home rule
• Home rule can be rescinded by referendum
• The courts have stepped in, in cases where
  home rule
• has gone to far
• The State legislature has also modified home
  rule
• powers

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Village Revenues Flat
Costs Continue to Rise
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Pressure on Village Revenues

• Loss of Revenues
• PTAB
• Photoprocessing tax
• Reduction in income tax (?)

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12,828,000
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7,902,500
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