Home-rule forum set in Prospect Heights

Less than a week before Prospect Heights decides whether to give the city more taxing power, those for and against home-rule status are putting on a full-court press to persuade residents to vote their way.

Mayor Pat Ludvigsen said he's been out in the community, even giving private talks in residents' homes, discussing how home rule would give the city money to pay for repairs to crumbling roads.

Likewise, Alderman Dolly Vole, who'll be running against Ludvigsen for the mayor's seat next spring, has let her ambivalent feelings toward home rule be known.

She hosted a home-rule forum Wednesday night at city hall where Elmhurst-based Citizen Advocacy Center representatives answered questions about home rule. The Citizen Advocacy Center is a nonprofit, nonpartisan community legal organization that has a goal of promoting democracy, according to its Web site.

Vole has said home rule could be used to tax residents further. Although this council might not use the power to impose taxes, future councils might do otherwise. Despite her reservations, she has said she wants voters' opinions in November.

"As a resident I am against it, but as an elected official, I'd like to have the power that it brings to municipalities. But I don't trust our government (officials) to follow through on what they say they will do," Vole said.

Home-rule power gives municipalities, townships and counties broad powers over taxes, licensing and regulations. Such a status can help secure loans, promote economic development and provide greater legal protection. But critics have charged it leads to higher taxes.

Boards and councils in towns with more than 25,000 residents can simply adopt home-rule authority. But towns under that size must get an OK from residents. Prospect Heights' population is about 17,000.

Even if home rule had no opposition, Ludvigsen would likely have an uphill climb since residents have rejected home rule before.

The city tried to pass home rule in 2004 but failed by a nearly 2-to-1 ratio. There were 1,104 "yes" votes, while 2,156 residents voted "no."

But this time the message is far more dire, he said. A city report indicates half of the roads maintained by the city are in serious need of repair. The city doesn't take in enough money to repair all the streets in a timely fashion, he said.

The city currently collects about $700,000 inn hotel taxes, but currently by law that money must be used on tourism. Home rule would give the city the power to spend some of that money on roads and to double the hotel tax to generate more money.

"If it fails, we won't be able to do anything," Ludvigsen said. "We'll be in a bind here. The roads are deteriorating faster than we can fix them."

The two referendum questions on the, Tuesday, Nov. 4, ballot are:

• If the city of Prospect Heights becomes a home-rule city, shall the city council exercise home-rule power to use existing hotel taxes to rebuild city streets?

• Shall the city of Prospect Heights become a home-rule unit?

The first question is advisory; the second one is binding.