Niles residents will face three referendums on the Nov. 3 ballot and will cast a deciding vote on term limits, vehicle license stickers, and a new indoor/outdoor theater.
The Village Board met in a special meeting on Aug. 14 to vote on the measures, days before the state deadline. Niles Mayor George D. Alpogianis said trustees wanted to reintroduce term limits to voters who had rejected a referendum in March that set term limits to all current and future elected officials to five, four-year terms, or a maximum of 20 years in the same elected office.
Term Limits
“That referendum was confusing,” Alpogianis told Pioneer Press. The rewritten referendum, which will be binding, states that “trustees will serve no more than four terms or 16 years.” The board voted against the previous language that proposed five terms and a maximum of 20 years, so Alpogianis proposed the new limits.
“I did this to preserve term limits because I’m a firm believer in term limits,” he said. “The people spoke; 80% of people wanted term limits, I’m not going to challenge that.”
The referendum question will read: “Shall the Village of Niles, pursuant to State law, including Section 3.1-10-17 of the Illinois Municipal Code, establish a sixteen (16) year term limit for the office of Village Trustee, superseding all prior conflicting ordinances and referenda, and providing that, prospectively from the effective date of such term limit, no person may serve as a Village Trustee for more than sixteen (16) years in the aggregate, whether by election or appointment, except that a Trustee who reaches sixteen (16) years of service during a term may complete that term but shall thereafter be ineligible to serve as Village Trustee?”
Trustee Craig Niedermaier commented during the meeting about the difficulty in attracting residents to governing boards.
“There’s an epidemic of folks not getting involved and engaged,” Niedermaier said. “I want to make sure we always have the best people here. I would challenge everyone to get out and vote, and run, for library, school boards, run for trustee. That’s where we’re going with this. It’s becoming a struggle to find folks who care and are willing to engage.”
Alpogianis echoed that challenge, adding he has already served 22 years in office.
The board approved the binding referendum question with a vote of 5-0.
Vehicle Stickers
More Top Picks Best Laptops For High School Students
At the May 25 village board meeting, Alpogianis and the board announced the village would be discontinuing the $50 vehicle stickers. During this meeting, Alpogianis said the Village Board believes that the question of whether the Village should discontinue the requirement for municipal residential vehicle stickers should be presented to the voters of the Village for consideration.
He announced at the meeting that there was found money from earned interest on village investments and the board wants to be transparent and ask residents if the village should discontinue the requirement for municipal residential stickers. This referendum was also approved by the board in a vote of 5-0 and will be a binding referendum in November.
A new theater
Alpogianis read the following statement during the meeting: “Economic development is essential to maintaining a strong tax base, supporting local businesses, and ensuring long-term fiscal stability for the Village. Because major projects can shape the character and future of the community, the Board believes it is important to seek input from residents: ‘Shall the Village consider attracting an indoor–outdoor theatre within the Village limits?’”
He added that one of his children just graduated from Niles West High School and the graduation ceremony had to be held at Northwestern University because Niles didn’t have a venue large enough to accommodate graduation attendees. In the past, Alpogianis has publicly stated he would like to see an indoor/outdoor venue at the site of the former Leaning Tower YMCA.
“We’ve had one in the past it did very well, Mill Run theater, and I’m in favor of it,” Niedermaier said. “In the 2040 plan, residents said they wish there were more to do; a venue like this would help meet that need.”
Mill Run Playhouse was a 1,600-seat theater in the round built in 1965 at Golf Mill Shopping Center. It hosted various celebrities, including Lou Rawls, who performed the last show before it was demolished in August 1984.
The board approved this advisory referendum 5-0.
The next village board meeting is Aug. 25.
Elizabeth Owens-Schiele is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.