Hanover Park Park District tax increase defeated

Hanover Park residents on Tuesday resoundingly rejected the first tax increase in Hanover Park Park District history.

Park district officials asked for the tax hike to fund updates to parks and playgrounds, most of which have equipment that is 25 years old or older.

In DuPage County, with all precincts reporting, "no" votes totaled 2,624 while "yes" votes totaled 1,038. In Cook County, with all 10 precincts reporting "no" votes totaled 1,881 compared to 719 "yes" votes.

All results are unofficial.

Officials said the equipment is safe but it isn't up the standards of newer apparatus.

They say the owner of a house worth about $207,000 in DuPage County would have paid about $12 additional per month. Cook County residents would have paid about $10.70 more per month.

The park district has an annual budget of about $5.1 million, mainly funded by property taxes and user fees.

Before the election, park district executive director Bob O'Brien said the district would not go "belly up" if the measure was defeated.

"It will continue to operate as is," he said.