While George Bush and Michael Dukakis fight to determine the shape of the federal government on Nov. 8, some Du Page voters will get their chance to decide on the shape of local governments.
Wheaton and Glendale Heights residents will decide if they want to change the size and method of electing local boards.
Wheaton now elects four City Council members at-large and, if approved, the new system would have six council members elected, four from districts and two at-large.
Glendale Heights voters will decide if they want to increase the size of their Village Board to eight members from six and have all of them elected from districts, rather than at-large.
Voters in the Darien-Woodridge and the Belmont Fire Protection Districts are to be asked to approve the merger of the two units, with officials from both sides claiming costs would be less.
Portions of Carol Stream that are in the Elgin U-46 school district will have a chance to vote themselves out of that district and into other districts that are already in the village limits.
Elsewhere in the six-county metropolitan area there are school board elections, home rule, 911 emergency service, swimming pools, highway intersections and a nuclear-free zone among the more than 100 referendums planned for Nov. 8.
Sept. 8 was the deadline for referendums to be placed on the ballot.
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Perhaps the most controversial referendum is a call to change the method of electing school board members in two south suburban districts.
Community High School District 218, recently involved in a controversial busing program, and Midlothian Elementary School District 143 are targets of what amounts to recall referendums under a new state law that allows voters in each district to decide whether the seven board members can be elected by seven districts instead of the usual at-large system.
District 218 includes Blue Island, Calumet Park and portions of Oak Lawn and Palos Heights. The Midlothian district includes portions of Robbins, Markham and Crestwood.
A question for voters in both Homer Township in Will County and Glencoe on the North Shore will be a choice of government. The township, one of the fastest-growing areas in the Chicago area, will have an advisory vote on incorporation while Glencoe residents will decide on home rule.
Meanwhile, voters in south suburban Richton Park will tell government officials whether they want an intersection at Int. Hwy. 57 and Sauk Trail built in their village. And six Will County townships will decide whether they want all sales taxes paid to the Regional Transportation Authority refunded unless the RTA provides service to outlying areas.
West suburban Oak Park will have the question of making the village a nuclear-free zone. The town also will vote on saving the Oak Park Mall, even though demolition already has started.
A new state law allows communities to vote for an enhanced 911 emergency telephone service with user surcharges, and more than 30 such referendums are scattered throughout the area. Enhanced 911 technology includes identification of both caller and address, but has yet to be approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission, which oversees telephone tariffs.
Here is a list of referendum proposals to be voted on Nov. 8 in the six-county metropolitan area that were filed with election officials by the Sept. 8 deadline. The tax rates are based on $100 of equalized assessed valuation.
SCHOOL REFERENDUMS
COOK: Argo Community High School 217-seeking a tax rate increase. Calumet City Elemetary 155-seeking tax rate increase. Community High School 218-seeking to elect board members by districts rather than at large. Midlothian Elementary 143-seeking to elect board members by districts rather than at large. North Palos Elementary 117-seeking a tax rate increase. Oak Park Elementary 97-seeking a tax rate increase. Posen-Robbins Elementary 143 1/2-seeking tax rate increase. Wheeling Elementary 21-seeking tax rate
increase.
DU PAGE: Indian Prairie Unit 204-seeking to increase the district`s education fund tax rate to $3.19 from $2.49. Palisades Elementary 180-seeking to sell $3 million in school building bonds. Winfield Elementary 34-seeking to increase the district`s education fund tax rate to $1.87 from $1.37.
KANE: Central District 301 (2)-seeking to increase the district`s education fund tax rate to $3.40 from $2.85 and seeking to sell $9.15 million in school building bonds. East Aurora District 131 (2)-seeking to increase the district`s education fund tax rate to $2.87 from $2.17, and seeking to sell $12.9 million in building bonds. Elgin Unit 46 (2)-seeking to sell $24.5 million in bonds for building three new schools and eight other additions, also seeking to increase the district`s building fund tax rate to 66 cents from 37 cents. West Aurora 129-seeking to increase the education fund tax rate to $2.97 from $2.47.
LAKE: Cary Consolidated 26-seeking to sell $7.6 million in bonds for renovation of schools. College of Lake County (2)-seeking increases in building and education fund tax rate. Fox Lake Elmentary 114-seeking a 35.37 percent increase in education fund tax rate. Fremont Elementary 79-seeking a 47.2 percent increase in education fund tax rate. Grant Community 156-seeking a 22.73 percent increase in education fund tax levy. Grass Lake Elementary 36-seeks a 33.6 percent increase in education fund tax rate. Woodland Consolidated 50-seeking a 31 percent increase in education fund tax rate. Zion Elementary 6-seeking a 100 percent increase in building fund tax rate.
McHENRY: Cary Elementary 26-Seeking to sell $7.6 million in building bonds for remodeling and additions to four schools. Harvard Unit 50-seeking to sell $5,950,000 in bonds to expand and remodel three schools and build a new school. Johnsburg Unit 12-seeking to increase education fund tax rate to $3.43 from $2.58. McHenry County College 528-seeking to sell $11.66 million in building bonds to remodel existing buildings and construct new buildings. McHenry High School 156-seeking to increase education fund tax rate to $1.62 from $1.32. Spring Grove Elementary School Dist. 11-seeking to increase education fund tax rate to $2.08 from $1.49.
WILL: Elwood Consolidated District 203-seeking to increase the education fund tax rate to $1.76 from $1.01. Lincoln-Way High School 210 (2)- seeking to sell $3.6 million in building bonds for a swimming pool and other improvements and seeking to increase the building fund to 37 cents from 25 cents. Lockport High School 205-seeking to increase the education fund tax rate to $1.32 from 92 cents. Manhattan Elementary 114-seeking to increase the education fund tax rate to $1.92 from $1.55. Minooka High School 111-seeking to increase the education fund tax rate to $1.37 from 92 cents. Wilmington Unit 209-U-seeking to increase the education fund tax rate to $2.85 from $2.
MUNICIPAL REFERENDUMS
COOK: Alsip-seeking to create a telephone use surcharge to pay for 911 emergency service. Bartlett Library District-seeking a tax rate increase. Buffalo Grove-seeking $3 million for an arts center. Calumet City-seeking to create an occupations tax. Calumet Park-seeking to create a telephone use surcharge to pay for 911 emergency service. Chicago Heights-seeking to create a telephone use surcharge to pay for 911 emergency service. Des Plaines-seeking to reorganize village government. Elmwood Park-seeking to issue bonds for flood control projects. Flossmoor-seeking to issue bonds for street and public works projects. Glencoe-seeking to become a home-rule unit of local government. Glenwood-seeking to create a telephone use surcharge to pay for 911 emergency service. Justice-seeking to create a park district. La Grange-seeking to renovate fire and police stations. Lemont Park District-seeking to annex land. Maywood-seeking to consolidate park districts. Niles-seeking to create a telephone use surcharge to pay for 911 emergency service. North Maine Fire Protection District-seeking a tax increase to purchase emergency equipment. North Riverside-seeking to install street lights. Northbrook-seeking to adopt 911 emergency telephone system. Northfield Woods Sanitary District-seeking to sell bonds. Oak Forest-seeking to create a telephone use surcharge to pay for 911 emergency service. Oak Park (2)-seeking to tear out the Lake Street mall and allow motor traffic on it and seeking to create a nuclear-free zone. Orland Park-seeking to develop a community park. Palos Heights-seeking to create a telephone use surcharge to pay for 911 emergency service. Prospect Heights Park District-seeking to annex land. Richton Park- seeking to construct a traffic interchange. River Forest-seeking to issue library bonds. Riverside Lawn Fire Protection District (3)-seeking tax rate increases for fire protection, ambulance fees and emergency crews. Sauk Village-seeking to adopt a 911 emergency telephone system. Schiller Park (3)- seeking to repeal sewer fees, emergency fees and utility tax. South Chicago Heights-seeking to use Lake Michigan water. South Palos Township Sanitary District-seeking to change the way board members are chosen. Westchester-the village is seeking to operate its own garbage service. Wheeling-should village clerk be appointive rather than elected. Wilmette- seeking a zoning ordinance change.
DU PAGE: Addison-seeking a surcharge of 60 cents to finance a 911 emergency telephone system. Bensenville Fire Protection District-seeking to increase the tax rate to 40 cents. Burr Ridge-seeking to create a 60-cent telephone use surcharge to pay for 911 emergency service. Carol Stream-seeking a 2-cent tax for repair of library building. Carol Stream (advisory)-seeking to disconnect all of Carol Stream from Elgin U-46 school district and annex those areas to school districts within village limits. Darien-Woodridge and Belmont Fire Protection Districts seeking to merge. Glendale Heights (2)-
seeking to increase the size of the Village Board to eight from six board members and seeking to elect board members by district. South Grove Park District-seeking to form a park district and elect five commissioners. Villa Park-seeking to have the village clerk appointed rather than elected. Wheaton- seeking to reorganize the City Council to six members from four members, four of which would be elected from wards and two elected at large.
KANE: Geneva-seeking to create a 15-cent mental health tax. Hampshire-seeking to issue $675,000 in village improvement bonds. North Aurora (advisory)-seeking to allow off-track betting in village. Sugar Grove Library District-annex of land. West Dundee-seeking to create a police pension fund.
LAKE: Antioch and Grant Townships-seeking to create a park district to be called the Chain O`Lakes Park District. Deerfield-seeking a surcharge for 911 emergency phone system. Highland Park Park District-seeking to increase tax rate by 5 cents. Lake County-seeking 1-cent increase in tax rate for Winchester House, in Libertyville. Round Lake Park and Round Lake-seeking to create boards of fire and police commissioners. Wadsworth-seeking to have village contract and levy taxes for police services from Lake County sheriff`s office.
McHENRY: Crystal Lake Park District (2)-seeking a tax of 20 cents to build a community center with indoor pool and an outdoor pool, and an advisory vote on whether to continue to build a $330,000 maintenance building and garage. Harvard-seeking to impose telephone tax of 61 cents to allow a 911 emergency telephone system. McHenry County Historical Museum District-seeking to create the district and levy a tax of 2 cents.
WILL: Bolingbrook-seeking a surcharge to finance a 911 emergency telephone system. Bolingbrook Park District-seeking to annex land. Braidwood- seeking to sell $1 million in bonds for street improvements. Channahon, Custer, Florence, Jackson, Manhatten, Reed, Wesley, Wilmington and Wilton Townships (advisory)-seeking to refund RTA taxes back to local government. Homer Township-seeking to sell $750,000 in bonds for road purposes. Joliet-seeking to impose a surcharge of 50 cents to finance a 911 emergency telephone system. Plainfield-seeking to sell $2.3 million in waterworks and sewer bonds. Reed Township-seeking to create a mosquito abatement district. Shorewood, Troy Public Library-seeking to annex land. Steger Estates Fire Protection District (2)-seeking a tax increase for ambulance service and seeking to sell $34,000 in bonds. Steger, South Heights Public Library-seeking to increase tax rate. University Park-seeking to lengthen term of office for elected officers.
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