Residents have mixed opinions on Villa Park effort

Villa Park residents expressed mixed reactions after Wednesday night's informational forum on the village's effort to gain home-rule powers.

Some residents were convinced by village and police officials' pitch, while others remained skeptical.

"We've got some good people. I've got complete confidence in them," resident Jerry Hughes said.

But Ann Marie Testa remained unsure.

"This is too fast to become educated," Testa said. "It's suspicious that it's got to happen so fast. If I had 10 months, I'd feel more comfortable. I feel very rushed."

Villa Park is asking voters to cast ballots Tuesday to restore home-rule authority and give the village's elected officials more power to enact local laws.

Specifically, Villa Park wants the authority to enact a crime-free housing program that makes it mandatory for landlords to get licensed and adhere to regulations or risk losing their ability to rent their units. The village can refuse or revoke a license if units are not up to health and safety codes.

The program also would empower the village to force landlords to evict criminals.

Area towns that have implemented the program include Downers Grove, Addison, Mount Prospect and Schaumburg, Acting Village Manager Robert Niemann said. Schaumburg has reported a significant reduction in crime since the program began, he said.

"We're not trying to scare anybody," he said. "But the fact is there are problems in town. We're trying to be pro-active and take control of these situations."

Officers detailed the number of criminal calls and resulting arrests connected to several apartment buildings in the village.

"This is not anti-minority. This is not anti-low-income. It's anti-crime," officer Robert Harvey said.

Resident Jerry Burnat remained opposed to granting elected officials the additional powers, saying he felt they could fight crime without it. He said he suspects a future board would just revoke any of the safeguards the current board enacts.

"The ordinance they passed is not worth the paper it is written on," he said.

Business owner Don Murphy supported the crime-free program initiative, but had concerns that a retail sales tax increase would follow.

"We fought to bring business in," he said. "You don't want to drive business out."

The board has pledged to keep property taxes within what would be allowed as a non-home-rule community. But Niemann said he wouldn't rule out future requests for other user taxes, such as taxes on retail sales, liquor or cigarettes.

But he said that if they did pursue additional taxes, it would be for a good reason.

"We have checks and balances," he said. "You can vote (trustees) out."