Niles voters agreed the village should continue its free bus service but rejected two other advisory referendums proposing new term limits for village leaders and inviting self-driving vehicles into the village.
Free Bus Service
Unofficial March 17 election results from the Cook County Clerk’s Office report that more than 74% ,or 2,808 residents voted “yes” to continuing the free bus service in the village of Niles, while 25.5%, or 965 residents, voted “no.” The results are based on 21 of 21 precincts reporting.
“We just really wanted people to know where the money is going,” said Niles Mayor George D. Alpogianis, speaking to Pioneer Press during his recent visit to Greece. “It’s always been a point that’s brought up a lot: Is it worth it? What is ridership? What is the true cost? The services stopped but now we have better and more efficient vehicles, we can tell residents, two-thirds of the cost is being paid by PACE and the other third is being paid by the village.
“The majority have spoken that people want it the way it is,” he said. “Now that we know that, the board and I will determine how we make it better, serve more people, and get ridership up.”
Just last month after six months of negotiations, Pace and Niles village leaders approved a new contract to continue the free bus service in the community. Village officials had put the brakes on bus routes 410, 411 and 412 in September when they discovered they were no longer insured by Pace.
Village trustees unanimously approved the two-year contract at a special meeting Feb. 17. As part of the agreement, Pace will provide 10 Pace-owned, 15-passenger vehicles that are ADA compliant and the Village of Niles will obtain and maintain an insurance transit policy and indemnify, defend and hold harmless Pace, its directors, officers, employees, and agents. Pace also agreed to reimburse the Village of Niles for the insurance premium cost up to $10,130 for the 2026 plan year, which runs from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2026, according to the resolution approved by trustees.
In addition, Pace promises to reimburse the Village of Niles for service from June 1, 2024, through Sept. 13, 2025, when the contract lapsed, Alpogianis said, in addition to continuing to cover the costs of the $1.7 million program at 64% ($1,088,000) and the village of Niles share of 36% ($622,000).
Both the mayor and a Pace spokesperson expressed satisfaction with the new agreement and plan to have drivers retrained and buses back on the streets of Niles by the end of March.
Term Limits
Niles voters were also asked: “Shall the following term limits apply to all current and future elected officers in the Village of Niles, Cook County, Illinois? Prospectively, no person elected at the next Village election and all subsequent elections may serve more than five (5) full four (4)-year terms, or a maximum of twenty (20) years, in the same elected office.”
According to unofficial results from the March 17 election, the Cook County Clerk’s Office reported that 54.8%, or 2,062 Niles voters, cast “no” ballots on this advisory referendum, while 45.1%, or 1,698 Niles voters, said “yes.” Alpogianis, who has consistently said he favors term limits, recognized the nearly 50/50 split over the need for term limits in the village but wasn’t concerned about the result.
“Am I bothered by it? Not at all. Am I disappointed? Not at all,” said Alpogianis, who is serving his second and final term as mayor under the current term limit policy in the village. Village Clerk Denise McCleary previously confirmed to Pioneer Press that current term limits allow for two terms, or eight years as mayor, and three terms, or 12 years as trustee.
“I served two terms as trustee and could run again for trustee in three years but it depends on my family,” he said, adding he’s finding people just don’t want to get into politics anymore.
Self-Driving Taxis
Niles voters were also asked: “Shall the Village of Niles permit commercial autonomous ride services (self-driving taxis) to operate within the village?”
More than 70.3%, or 2,654 voters were against the idea, according to unofficial election results from the Cook County Clerk’s office, while 29.6% or 1,117 voters said “yes” to the driverless vehicles. Weeks before the election, some police and village leaders cited safety concerns with the autonomous vehicles. Niles Police Chief Joseph P. Romano said the vehicles are not “consistently reliable,” and believes “there are serious liability and accountability concerns.”
Alpogianis said the idea for this referendum was brought to his attention by a resident who was very pro-autonomous vehicles and against the bus system. Alpogianis said he recently rode in a driverless taxi while visiting his daughter in San Francisco and added it was “strange and cool” but he also wanted to talk to a cab driver.
“When you start displacing cab drivers, where are our cab drivers going to go? What is their next skill level with all this automation?” Alpogianis said. He recognized how automation with online apps, self-checkouts at major retailers, and increased minimum wages are taking jobs away.
“Those are important jobs for high schoolers and important entry-level jobs,” he said. He said he was “not disappointed” that this advisory referendum failed.
Elizabeth Schiele is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
