In early returns Tuesday, a majority of Illinois voters were endorsing a sweeping amendment to the Illinois Constitution requiring the state to pay more than half of the cost of public education, but the measure was short of the 60 percent required for ratification.
However, the vote total did not include ballots cast in Chicago, where perennially cash-strapped schools stand to gain the most from an infusion of state money. Heavy city support for the amendment in Chicago still could put the measure over the top.
Voters also were deciding the fate of local referendums on Tuesday`s ballot.
In the north suburbs, doubts about the accountability of some elected officials, and residents` desire for a greater say in decision-making, prompted referendum questions Tuesday. In Wilmette, for example, voters told the Park District Board that it should seek their approval via a referendum each time the board plans to proceed with a major bond issue.
The statewide referendum on the school funding amendment generated considerable debate about taxes, with opponents saying the state would be forced to raise the income tax if it passed.
With 10 percent of the statewide vote counted, the so-called education amendment, appeared to be going down, even though it had the support of 54 percent of those voting on the issue.
To become a part of the state Constitution, the measure needs the approval of 60 percent of those voting on the issue or a majority of people who took ballots Tuesday. The early vote total also showed the amendment garnering less than half of the total ballots cast.
In previous elections, the 60 percent level has been considered the easier level because many voters skip over cumbersome referendums to vote for candidates in high-profile races.
But voters were hard-pressed not to notice the education amendment because it appeared statewide at the front of ballot books, along with a proposed amendment to add a list of crime victims` rights to the state constitution.
The crime victims` rights amendment appeared easily on its way toward ratification, with 77 percent of the vote, according to early totals. Though popular, the crime victims` amendment would not do substantially more for crime victims than state laws already on the books ensuring victims` rights.
Also, an advisory referendum calling on the state to stop requiring local governments to adopt programs and perform tasks without providing any money to accomplish the jobs was being approved by about 80 percent of voters.
Opponents of the education amendment, including several large business groups, had warned that the General Assembly and Gov. Jim Edgar would have to raise the state income tax by as much as 55 percent to generate the $3 billion extra that the General Assembly`s research unit said the state would have to provide for public schools if the amendment passed.
The opponents also had warned that the amendment carried no promise of a corresponding decrease in property taxes, which currently bear most of the funding burden in Illinois school districts.
But amendment supporters, including most school districts and teachers`
unions, had cited the steady decline in state funding for education, from a high of 48 percent in 1975 to the current low of 33 percent.
The groups said an amendment requiring the state to bear the
”preponderant financial responsibility” for school funding was the only way to force a legislature and governor fearful of voter backlash over tax increases to provide more money for schools.
Edgar, elected two years ago on a pledge not to increase general state taxes for four years, said he would nonetheless support raising taxes if voters approved the education amendment. Edgar voted against the amendment but did not actively campaign against it.
Questions about trust in elected officials, an issue that President Bush tried to use against Gov. Bill Clinton, also echoed in referendums across the north suburbs.
In Wilmette, voters said the Park District should be required to consult taxpayers each time it planned to issue bonds.
The issue came up when the Park District presented plans to spend $2.4 million to redevelop a community playing field. The redevelopment was controversial from the start, and a group called Wilmette Friends of the Park proposed voter oversight through the scheduling of referendums for all major bond issues.
With more than 70 percent of the ballots counted Tuesday night, 83.3 percent of Wilmette voters supported citizen oversight, with 16.7 percent voting against the advisory referendum proposal.
Friends of the Park leader Carol Bobrow said approval of Tuesday`s proposal would give residents a bigger voice in deciding what projects the district pursues as well as direct input on financial matters.
In Niles, voters decided whether the currently independent Park District should be dissolved and its duties folded into the village government.
With 60 percent of the vote counted, 65.4 percent of the voters favored shutting down the Park District and 34.6 percent opposed the move.
A group called Citizens for a Better Niles said a village-run recreation department would do a better job.
Opponents of the move said the five-member Park Board is more responsive to park needs and that putting parks under the control of the village would mean that parks would take a backseat to more pressing concerns such as police, fire and garbage collection.
In Lyons, the question wasn`t whether to get rid of the Park District. A group of petitioners just wanted to toss out the name of the city`s largest park and replace it with something that doesn`t carry some of the baggage of the past.
The William G. Smith Park was named several years ago after the village`s controversial president of 28 years. Smith, who died after the park was named for him, was known for turning a blind eye to the illegal gambling, adult nightclubs and the narcotics trade for which Lyons was once famous.
Whether Smith deserved the honor of a park in his memory, voters were asked their opinion Tuesday. With 50 percent of the vote counted, 58.6 percent said keep Smith`s name, and 41.4 percent said rename the park.
In Evanston, residents were asked if it was in their interest to expand the sale of beer and wine.
Packaged liquor sales are currently restricted to two stores in the central business district, and opponents of the referendum proposal said it was exactly the wrong time to ease the availability of alcohol. They cited crime, gangs and the lethal mixture of liquor and teenage drivers.
Evanston voters were also polled about whether the city should adopt a primary system when electing a mayor.
Advocates, including many Democrats, said there was a need to even the political playing field, citing the fact that Republicans have held the mayor`s office for the last 130 years. They also said a primary system would allow greater representation.
Opponents of the proposal, predominantly Republicans, said voter approval would increase election costs and magnify the influence of political parties and special-interest groups.
In Rolling Meadows, residents were split over whether to allow casino gambling in their northwest suburb.
The casino proposed by the Wisconsin-based St. Croix Chippewa Indian tribe would reduce the city`s property taxes by as much as 50 percent, according to a study paid for by the tribe.
The operation would also contribute $10 million annually to city coffers and employ up to 2,000 people, the study says.
However, critics of the plan, including a grass-roots group called Citizens for Tax Responsibility, worry about increased traffic, higher crime rates and whether the casino will truly be the financial boon the tribe promises.
Mayor Couve was frustrated with the split vote, since the City Council must ultimately decide whether to approve the casino plan.
”Either way, the voters have had their comment and now it`s up to the council to see how they want to handle it,” Couve said.
The casino would be built on the site of a 35-acre apartment complex known as Woodfield Gardens, on the southwest corner of Algonquin Road and Illinois Highway 53.
Also in Rolling Meadows, voters were favoring a decision to limit aldermen to two consecutive four-year terms.
In other northwest suburban referendums:
– Palatine: Citizens were divided over two questions regarding their village seal. The first, which asked if they wanted to save the seal, had the support of two-thirds of the voters in early returns. The second, which asked if residents are willing to undergo tax increases in order to pay for court costs to defend the Christian cross on the seal, was failing in well over half of the precincts reporting.
In another referendum issue, Palatine voters were favoring electing trustees village-wide instead of by districts.
– Park Ridge: Residents were slightly in favor of approving an ordinance allowing bars and lounges in restaurants, with almost half the precincts reporting. Though the City Council already approved such an ordinance last June, a moratorium has been placed on the law until after the election.
In another referendum question, Park Ridge residents were split over a bond issue to fund a $6.8 million expansion of the current library and a $1.9 million project to upgrade downtown parking.
– Des Plaines: Voters were fairly evenly split over a decision on whether to approve a $12 million bond issuance to build a library with nearly one-third of the precincts reporting.
In another referendum question, Des Plaines voters favored a change to stagger terms for aldermen instead of voting them all in during one election.
