Electricity referendums aplenty in Fox Valley
On Tuesday, about 300 communities in Illinois — including many in the northern Fox Valley — will decide whether to allow their elected representatives to negotiate electricity-supply contracts on their behalf. Which towns are holding an electricity aggregation referendum? It would be easier to list who isn’t.
Those holding referendums in the Daily Herald’s circulation area in the northern Fox Valley include: Algonquin, Burlington, Campton Hills, Carpentersville, Cary, Crystal Lake, East Dundee, Elgin, Gilberts, Hampshire, Hoffman Estates, Huntley, Lake in the Hills, Lakewood, Pingree Grove, South Elgin, West Dundee and all of the people who live in unincorporated Kane County.
A “yes” vote means you want your village or city to look in to whether, by aggregating electrical load, it can negotiate for less-expensive electricity for residents and small businesses. Customers would still have the option of scrapping the aggregation and sticking with ComEd or another supplier of their own choosing.
Ÿ The village of Fox River Grove also is asking its residents to approve a quarter-percentage point increase in the sales tax — to 7.25 percent — meaning you’d pay an extra 25 cents per $100 spent. The money generated would go toward sprucing up the town’s business districts in an effort to stimulate redevelopment.