Farwell says board is making the case their home rule rights should be respected

The Arlington Heights Village Board has actively contested attempts by the state legislature to usurp its home rule authority where slots at Arlington Park are concerned, Trustee Joseph Farwell declared at Monday night’s board meeting.

Farwell objected to an editorial in Sunday’s Daily Herald that said the board could have been expected to show more outrage, and that trustees’ protests looked more like “a tap dance.”

Farwell said it was his suggestion that led state Sen. Matt Murphy of Palatine and former state Rep. Mark Walker, of Arlington Heights, to hold a town-hall meeting last December in Arlington Heights.

The board has also sent resolutions of protest to Springfield. Trustees brought their objections up at several public meetings, and have discussed them over the years with area legislative representatives, he said.

Unless the state legislature respects home rule, there is “little use for us to have a meaningful discussion on slots,” said Farwell.