The primary election is March 17, and early voting started Monday.
Here are five things to know about the election:
1. In addition to elected offices, including for U.S. president, Congress, and state and local posts, some Glenview voters’ primary ballot will also have a referendum question.
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There are no municipal offices up for election this year. However, residents who live within the Glenview School District 34 boundaries will have a referendum on the ballot. SD34 is Glenview’s biggest elementary school district, and voters will be asked whether the district can take on debt to to help pay for school building repairs and add space to able to offer full-day kindergarten.
2. SD34 is seeking $119 million, after a task force advised that a higher amount stood a more likely chance of being rejected.
SD34 is asking district voters to approve a $119 million referendum to address aging and outdated facilities, which would include making repairs to mechanical systems and “deteriorating infrastructure.” The money would also be used to improve schools’ accessibility for people with mobility impairments, district officials said. Currently, not all facilities are up to code required by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
On a tour of Westbrook Elementary School, officials showed the Pioneer Press crowded hallways partially blocked by physical education equipment — and other items — due to lack of classroom and storage space. Upgrades and modernizations to classrooms are also planned.
The total cost of the work proposed is $149.6 million. In addition to the funds from an approved referendum, the district would cover the tab by pulling $20 million from the operating fund, and using $9.38 million in non-referendum bonds, according to the district’s website.
3. Officials are hopeful for successful outcomes and are considering the next step whether the referendum passes or fails.
If the referendum passes, construction would begin in 2021, and some building additions would likely be completed to offer full-day kindergarten by the 2022-2023 school year, according to the district’s website. Renovations to learning spaces are scheduled to be finished by August 2023. Construction on Springman Middle School, which the district has called “functionally obsolete,” would likely take place from 2021 to 2025.
The bonds from the approved referendum would be issued over four years, beginning in 2021.
If the referendum fails, the district won’t be able to modernize classrooms and add space, but it will have to make repairs to infrastructure that just can’t wait,district officials have said. Roof and other infrastructure repairs that keep school buildings operable would be the first priority, Assistant Superintendent Eric Miller told Pioneer Press.
4. The primary is weeks away, but early voting throughout Cook County is open.
Early voting sites include Glenview Village Hall, located at 2500 East Lak?e Avenue, and Northbrook Village Hall, at 1225 Cedar Lane. Mail-in ballots must be postmarked by March 17.
Voters registered in suburban Cook County can cast their ballot at any early voting site in the county until March 16, according to the Cook County clerk’s website.
The deadline for mail and in-person voter registration was Feb. 18, but voters can register at grace period locations, including at Glenview Village Hall, until the Monday before the election. On Election Day, voters can register in person only at their home precinct, according to the county clerk’s office.
5. Voter turnout in suburban Cook County is usually greater in presidential election cycles than municipal — or consolidated — ones.
In the April 2019 consolidated election, voter turnout was about 14%, according to data from the Cook County Clerk’s office. In Glenview, turnout was 8.6%.
Voter turnout for suburban Cook County during the last 2016 presidential primary was 49%, according to the Cook County Clerk’s office data. Turnout in Northfield Township, which includes Glenview and Northbrook, was around 33% .
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