A majority of south and southwest suburban voters backed referendums seeking property tax relief and a Trump administration federal tax credit scholarship program.
Dolton residents also leaned yes on three village specific ballot questions, with about 80.1% of voters in favor of extending term limits for local elected officials.
The change will allow officials to hold the same office for four 4-year terms, with the clock starting at the next municipal election. It reverses a binding referendum question from 2019 that asked whether the mayor and village clerk should be limited to no more than two consecutive 4-year terms.
Voters overwhelmingly agreed Dolton should seek funding from the state to mitigate flooding, with 96.4% in favor. About 92.2% believed the village should dedicate sales tax revenue to invest in improvements in infrastructure including roads, alleys, paths and sidewalks.
Dolton Mayor Jason House said Wednesday said he’s happy with the approvals and said the term limit extensions “promote the opportunity to have stability in leadership.”
“We’ve been talking about changing the narrative for the village, and I think it gives some of the culture changes we’ve begun a chance to really resonate with the board along with the employees for the village and with every member within the community,” House said.
Some Dolton voters, including Kimberly Murray, said Tuesday they had mixed feelings.
With signs posted outside of polling places simply saying, “Vote yes for term limits,” several voters said it wasn’t clear the question was to increase term limits, rather than establish them in the first place.
Murray said she voted against the change, saying “this is not a kingship or queenship.”
Fred Barnes, voting at New Life Celebration Church of God, agreed.
“You can’t keep them in there for too long. They’ll start digging in your pocket,” he said.
House said many successful communities in the south suburbs have stable governments that benefit from long-term incumbency or no term limits.
“If we are doing a good job, we should be allowed to have stability,” House said. “That’s what this is promoting.”
In Burnham, 55.3% of voters were in favor of a speed limit decrease on Torrence Avenue, while 57.6% were in favor of decreasing the speed limit on Burnham Avenue. When asked whether Burnham should invest in license plate readers, 57.6% were in favor while 42.5% were in opposition.
Property tax referendum
Voters in Thornton, Rich, Orland and Palos townships backed a referendum stating the state government should provide annual property tax rebates.
In Rich Township and Thornton Township, which have been some of the hardest hit by high property taxes in recent years, the referendum received 95.8% and 94.3% support, respectively.
The measure was backed by former Gov. Pat Quinn, who also supported a measure in November 2024 asking whether the Illinois Constitution should be amended to create a 3% tax on those making more than $1 million dedicated to property tax relief.
“This is a major opportunity for hard hit taxpayers to send a message to the legislature and to the governor,” Quinn said.
Hamde Nassar, voting at the Tinley Park police station, said Tuesday he feels taxes are high and some people need these tax rebates, although he said he would like to know more about how people would qualify for the rebates.
Reginald Ware, a poll worker at the Tinley police station and a Rich Township resident, said he felt the primary brought more people to the polls than usual. He said he has worked seven elections.
He said in the past, the entire day brings around 50 to 60 people, but that they had that many voters by midday. He said he expects over a 100 total voters, based on the steady flow.
Federal scholarship program
About 89.3% of Orland Township voters supported the tax rebate referendum, while 70.3% were in favor of Illinois opting into a federal scholarship program using privately-donated funds for tutoring, test preparation, private school tuition, exam fees or other academic needs.
The funds would be available to kindergarten through high school students in public or private schools or home school students, though the referendum left out that donors who give up to $1,700 to scholarship awarding organizations receive the same amount back in federal tax credits.
Orland Township Supervisor Paul O’Grady expressed support for the program, hoping it would help make up for the absence of a state tax credit scholarship program that expired in December 2023.
“This is a way to say, ‘hey, do we think the federal government should step in where the state has stepped away?’” O’Grady said.
He said the township is home to several private schools whose students might benefit from a similar program.
In Palos Township, about 72.3% of voters were in favor of the scholarship program referendum while 89.7% voted in favor of property tax rebates.
Nassar said he did not see a reason to vote against the referendum but said he hoped there are no loop holes that affect what students are learning.
ostevens@chicagotribune.com
