Mental health referendum in Elgin Township nixed as objector wins

A referendum question about funding for mental health services in Elgin Township will not be on the ballot in November, after an electoral board ruled this week in favor of an objector.

Maureen Manning, of the Community Crisis Center, filed a referendum petition with 1,022 signatures. However, the electoral board - consisting of Township Supervisor Franklin Ramirez, Township Clerk Karen Dowling and Trustee Ed Guerra - accepted a hearing officer's recommendation to find 218 signatures invalid, leaving 804 valid, or 32 short of the required number, township officials said.

The ruling came after Jason Dusenberry of Elgin, chairman of the Elgin Township Republican Central Committee, filed objections regarding the validity of 315 signatures and other errors, said Dusenberry's attorney, Jeffrey Meyer of Sycamore.

The referendum question would have asked voters permission to increase the township property tax levy by up to 0.15 percentage point, yielding up to an estimated $2.5 million yearly to fund issues related to mental health, disabilities and substance abuse, Ramirez said. The funds would have been managed by an appointed mental health board.

Ten area social service agencies - including Ecker Center for Mental Health, Senior Services Associates and Greater Elgin Family Care Center - were behind the effort, Manning said.

"I don't view this as a partisan issue. I view this as a community issue," she said, pointing out Hanover Township, Geneva, St. Charles and others have mental health boards. "There's waiting lists for these agencies, and people can't access mental health appointments. The opioid crisis alone should convince people that we need more mental health services in the community."

Such referendum questions can be placed on the ballot by the township board or after a successful petition.

Ramirez, who called mental health services "very important to the community," said local social service agencies approached him about that last fall and he told them "I'd rather they get petitions, so they can understand the temperature of the public about a mental health board."

Township Trustee Vern Tepe circulated referendum petitions, and trustees Susan Van Weelden and Jose Villalobos signed them. That amounts to a majority of the township board - all Democrats - supporting a tax raise, Dusenberry said.

Villalobos objected to that. "Just because we sign something, it doesn't mean we support it. It's about supporting people to make a decision on it later, once it's on the ballot," he said.