District 118 residents may get to vote on borrowing plan

Residents may get a chance to vote on whether Wauconda Unit District 118 should sell bonds to borrow $16.9 million for operations.

To place the issue on the Feb. 2, 2010 ballot, district residents needed to gather a minimum of 1,543 signatures or 10 percent of registered voters on a petition within a month.

With Thursday as the deadline, Wauconda Township Trustee Mary Schorr said she submitted a petition with 1,576 signatures - 33 above the minimum - requesting that residents vote on whether District 118 should borrow the money.

District 118 approved selling the bonds to acquire the $16.9 million following a special meeting on the plan Sept. 3. Officials said they need the cash mostly for payroll and other expenses to offset delays in expected state funding.

The district didn't need residents to approve the borrowing in a referendum, but state law allows a ballot question to be forced if 10 percent of registered voters signed the petition within 30 days of the Sept. 3 meeting.

Schorr said she won't know if the question will be certified for the ballot until Oct. 16.

District 118 school board President John Armstrong didn't return phone messages seeking comment.