Franklin Park residents said yes to three referendum questions that were on the April ballot.
All three referendum questions on the ballot were advisory. This means the village board must still decide whether it will address the three questions backed by voters.
The first question asked whether residents wanted the village to “allocate video gaming taxes received from the state of Illinois to the police and fire pensions.”
There were 49 total licensed video gaming machines located at 11 businesses in Franklin Park in 2016, according to the Illinois Gaming Board. During that same year, the state received $561,062.44 and Franklin Park received $112,212.26 in tax revenue from these video gaming terminals, according to the Illinois Gaming Board’s website. Residents voted 69.08 percent in favor of this ballot question.
The second referendum question approved asked whether “the village of Franklin Park shall establish a voluntary property acquisition program with grant funds for the purchase of residential properties in the floodway.”
This question was approved by 63.05 percent of residents.
And the third referendum question asked whether the village “shall demolish the former police station to create additional Metra commuter parking.” Village residents voted 83.07 percent in favor of this question.
The police station currently in use opened in 2013.
Last spring, during a workshop for the Metropolitan Agency for Planning, residents discussed the possibility of redeveloping the central Metra station and old police station with mixed-use commercial and residential construction as a way to address village needs regarding housing, revitalization, active transportation and natural resources.
Alex V. Hernandez is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.