Editorial: Don't fall for political deception in non-binding referendums
Daily Herald editors conducted an exhaustive review of binding referendums throughout the suburbs as part of our presentation of endorsements for candidates and issues on the Nov. 6 ballot, but there were several questions we ignored altogether. You should ignore them, too.
These are nonbinding referendums added to regional and county ballots under the pretense of seeking voter advice about some issue. In reality, the last thing these referendums want is advice.
Instead, most are perverse attempts to either produce political talking points for the future or get selected voters to the polls by sounding false alarms.
One of the most prominent of these is a question on many local ballots regarding property taxes.
In Kane and DuPage counties, the question asks voters whether their officials should "oppose the Illinois General Assembly instituting a 1 percent annual real estate tax on the fair market value of your property to pay state unfunded liabilities." In Lake County, the phrasing asks whether lawmakers should "amend the State Constitution to ban the creation of a new statewide property tax?" No such question is on the countywide ballot in Cook, but numerous townships have added versions of it to theirs.
Voters should be aware that there is no serious proposal to create "a new statewide property tax," and certainly nothing as specific as a 1 percent tax increase.
Some economists from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago made news last spring with a similar proposal, but no one took the idea seriously, and there is no move for such a thing. From a political perspective, the very notion borders on the ridiculous.
But politicians who want to portray themselves as tax fighters know they can buff their image and get one-issue voters to the polls if they rile them up with ersatz threats of a looming new tax. Hence, a vaguely, in some cases confusingly worded question filled with buzzwords but no teeth.
Cook County ballots are playing a different game.
They include three questions that exist solely to make political points. One relates to penalties and certification related to gun sales. Two are targeted specifically to suburban communities - asking voters whether "your municipality" should match the minimum wage and earned sick time provisions established by the county - an apparent effort solely to embarrass the numerous suburban communities whose leaders opted out of those measures.
In other locales, you may see issues related to climate change, a statewide tax on vehicle miles traveled, restoring or rejecting the Cook County sweetened beverage tax, homeowner tax exemptions, government consolidation and more.
Some of these measures may deserve public debate. Almost none of them really aim to solicit your advice and absolutely none of them will have any material impact on what state or local government does. They were not worthy of consideration for our endorsement and they certainly are not worthy of your thought and time.
Suburban ballots include enough proposals requiring serious scrutiny on issues for fire departments, schools, communities and libraries. Don't surrender an instant of your study time on these issues to fall prey to some political interest's cynical gimmick to lure you into advancing its mission.