Bensenville board tables school referendum

Bensenville Village President John Geils wants opponents of O'Hare expansion to show him the money. He says he's tired of people saying they oppose the expansion of O'Hare International Airport but not doing much to fight it.

"All that chest pounding that we're all together went right out the window," he said.

In this case, that means Fenton Community District 100 and Bensenville Elementary District 2.

The O'Hare Modernization Program reimbursed both school districts a total of $763,242 for the property tax liability of the acquired parcels in the acquisition area. Some in village circles believe that the money should be turned over to the Bensenville Intergovernmental Group to assist its fight against the expansion.

"You can't say that after taking the 30 pieces of silver, we're still with you," Geils said. "It doesn't fly."

The village board Tuesday discussed the possibility of placing two advisory ballot questions on the Feb. 5 ballot that would ask voters what they think. After the discussion, the board decided to table the issue for a later date. It has until Dec. 3 to place a referendum on the ballot.

But not all on the village board think that it's a great idea. While Trustee John Adamowski would like to see the schools donate the money to help fight O'Hare, he thinks this referendum may rub some people the wrong way.

"I don't think it's the best question to ask at this time," he said. "We need to gain their support. I don't think asking this question will gain their support."

The questions -- that were recently revised -- come close to suggesting that both school districts will help destroy Bensenville if they don't contribute the money. They ask voters if the school districts should "support the City of Chicago's O'Hare Airport expansion that will lead to the destruction of hundreds of homes and businesses in the Bensenville community, thereby destroying the cohesiveness among Bensenville taxing districts fighting the ultimate destruction of our quality of life, by refusing to contribute (money)."

Geils disagrees with Adamowski. He believes many voters will support the village. "I think you're going to be surprised to see how much support we get," he said.

Earlier this month, the village board considered adding a third advisory question on the Feb. 5 ballot. The question asked voters if township government in DuPage County should be eliminated. But the question did not appear on Tuesday's agenda and was not discussed much.