Homer Township Referenda: Road District, Pole Barn Construction

HOMER GLEN, IL — Homer Township voters will see two referenda on their ballots, one about abolishing the Homer Township Road District and the other about pursuing grant funding for a pole barn structure.

Voters will be able to vote "yes" or "no" to the following questions from Homer Township on the ballot:

Shall the Road District of the Township of Homer be abolished with all the rights, powers, duties, assets, property, liabilities, obligations, and responsibilities being
assumed by the Township of Homer?

Shall the Homer Township Board in accordance with its Open Space Program pursue grant funding WITHOUT increasing or adding any new real estate taxes, for the purposes of constructing a multipurpose, pole barn style structure to be used for educational, environmental, recreational and social community activities?

Read the Homer Glen-Lockport Voter Guide 2020 and return to Patch for results as they come in. Subscribe to free News Alerts for election results.

Pole Barn

The advisory referendum for a pole barn-style structure is the less contentious of the two referenda from the township. According to the township website, a petition was filed in August 2019 by Steven Balich to request a special town meeting to discuss not purchasing or leasing any property for an event center. A special meeting in September 2019 was held, and 15 were in favor of Balich's petition, while 30 opposed it.

Former Village Trustee Ann Holtz and Balich both filed petitions in January and February 2020 to again state that no property owned by the Township should be used as an event space. According to the township website, the board decided that the petitions had already been addressed in 2019, and they were defeated.

The Chicago Tribune reported that the pole barn would be constructed on the Trantina Farm property, and would be used for community events.

Road District

Homer Township and the Village of Homer Glen are currently at odds over the stewardship of the road district. In July, the village announced a plan to transfer stewardship of the road district from the township over to the village.

According to the village website, the village contracts with the road district for road maintenance and snow plowing. The village of Homer Glen first entered into an intergovernmental agreement with the Homer Township Road District in 2002.

"This relationship was mutually beneficial, as the [road district] was in existence at the time of incorporation and stood ready to assist the young village," a release from both the village and the road district stated in July.

Now, as the village has grown, it is looking to "control its own destiny and protect its residents and property owners well into the future."

According to the release, the village is willing to maintain the 18 miles of unincorporated roads at no cost to unincorporated residents, in perpetuity or until a time when these areas are annexed into the village.

Shortly after this announcement, Homer Township filed a referendum to abolish the road district. The wording of the referendum may be confusing for voters, as both entities want conflicting things.

According to the village, the passage of the referendum with a "yes" vote would "prove costly to taxpayers and undermine the creation of the Village's public works department." The Village would also relinquish control of the Village's streets and funding from the Road District to the Township Board.

If voters vote "no," the Village can move forward with its plans to secure the stewardship of the roads.

According to the Township website, a "no" vote could have the potential for "unnecessary litigation" because the commissioner's "unlawful transfer of assets to one stakeholder will need to be challenged by court action."

The township said a "yes" vote would reduce taxes since two taxing bodies would be merged into one. The tax levy line item for the township road district would be removed from property tax bills.

Election Day is Tuesday. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

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