It used to be that the heart of any small town’s social life was the American Legion hall or the Veterans of Foreign Wars post.
They weren’t fancy, but they were places where folks could gather for Friday night fish fries, weekend dinner dances, bingo and, of course, wedding receptions. For veterans, the buildings provided a place to meet, rehash war stories over beers and give back to the community through fundraisers and youth projects.
But across Illinois, and particularly in Chicago’s suburbs, these buildings are being put up for sale. Veterans groups and fraternal organizations in communities including Chicago, Arlington Heights, Naperville, Skokie and Crystal Lake have tossed aside sentiment to put their buildings up for sale and save their chapters.
Plagued by a lethal combination of skyrocketing property-tax bills and stagnating or declining membership, veterans groups and fraternal lodges statewide have sold about 100 buildings over the last five years because they have been unable to pay the property taxes. More than half of the buildings have been in the Chicago area.
“Our tax bill is going to run $50,000 this year. It’s enough to choke a horse,” said Loyd Hyatt, a member of the Berwyn VFW post, which is considering selling its building.
At the same time, the post’s membership is on the decline, prompting the group to wonder how it will raise the money.
“Our veterans are getting beyond the age where they can do a lot of things. We’ve got more World War II veterans than anything else,” Hyatt said. “New people just aren’t signing up.”
But veterans groups may get a reprieve. Rep. Mary Lou Cowlishaw (R-Naperville) is pushing a bill in the General Assembly to cut the equalized assessed value of property owned by nationally chartered veterans groups by 85 percent, a move that would significantly reduce their property taxes. The bill also would permanently freeze the groups’ taxes at the lower level.
Illinois veterans groups have tried for years to get property-tax exemptions by amending the Illinois Constitution. But three times–in 1978, 1984 and 1986–such measures failed to win votes from the required three-fifths of the legislature.
As an alternative, Cowlishaw came up with her proposed state law to give veterans groups a tax break. Three years ago, she assembled a task force, which put out word to veterans groups seeking examples of posts struggling with property taxes. She heard back from hundreds–from a town in far southern Illinois where the VFW post is the only public meeting place, to Chicago, to her own back yard in DuPage County.
“So many notes said, `Dear Representative, you have no idea the struggle we are having. Our membership is shrinking and becoming older, and we do not have the same capacity to raise money and pay the property taxes,’ ” Cowlishaw said.
Until relief arrives, many veterans organizations have been maintaining their dwindling coffers by making a tough decision: cut back on community giving and keep the building, or sell the building and stay deeply involved with the community.
American Legion Post 171 in Crystal Lake stopped awarding college scholarships and sponsoring high school students at Boys’ State in order to direct the funds toward mounting property-tax bills. But last year, the post gave up and sold its building. It now plans to restart the scholarship and sponsorship programs.
“We were putting out more every year than we were taking in,” said Eileen Eibisch, the post’s finance officer. “It was a hard decision. I’ve been a member here for over 40 years, and it broke my heart because this is my second home.”
In Arlington Heights, property taxes at the VFW jumped from $10,000 to $30,000 in five years. Recently, members decided to sell the building, which occupies a lucrative spot off Northwest Highway, said post Commander Robb Clawson.
“The building is great, and there are a lot of memories there,” said Clawson, one of the post’s few Persian Gulf war veterans. “But the role of the post is to help the veterans help the community. We can do that without the building.”
The VFW is hoping to earn about $550,000 from the sale. It plans to use the annual interest to finance community youth programs, Clawson said.
Across Illinois, about 30 VFW posts have shut their doors, and more are up for sale, including a building in Chicago’s Portage Park neighborhood. About 50 American Legion posts have sold their buildings in the last five years, officials of that group said.
Fraternal organizations, such as the Elks and the Moose, share the same woes, and about 20 of them have closed statewide. But because they are not devoted exclusively to veterans, they would not be helped by Cowlishaw’s bill.
Dwight Tanner, adjutant quartermaster for the Illinois Veterans of Foreign Wars, said he sees the financial troubles and membership declines as a sign of changing times.
“People are different than they used to be. They’re not joiners,” Tanner said. “They don’t want to get involved like we guys from World War II did.”
Veterans groups and fraternal organizations say their memberships are declining, in part, because the rise of two-income families leaves adults with little free time outside of work and family responsibilities.
Lou Sulsberger, president of the Illinois Elks Association, said about 20 of the 83 Elks lodges in Illinois are facing declining membership and financial problems from property taxes.
“Our older members are getting older and less active. We’re having trouble luring that younger member,” Sulsberger said.
Moose Lodge 1290 in Naperville tried to address the societal changes by making the lodge more of a family gathering place and less of an adults’ social club. But while Naperville, with more than 100,000 residents, is one of the fastest-growing communities in Illinois, membership at the Moose Lodge has hovered at about 4,300 for a decade, said acting lodge Administrator Cliff Dibelka.
Now, because property-tax payments have risen too high, to $25,000 a year, the group has put its lodge up for sale. Dibelka said the Moose will keep the building only if the lodge can double its membership to help cover the tax bill.
