District 113A Referendum, Library, Township: Election 2021

LEMONT, IL — Election Day is finally here. There are several elections in Lemont for school districts, village, township, park district, fire district, and library, although most candidates are running unopposed.

Contested races include the race for Lemont Township Trustee, Township Highway Commissioner, and Lemont Library Trustee. Lemont voters will also see a referendum question from District 113A on their ballot on Election Day. Voters will decide "yes" or "no" on an operating tax increase of 29 cents.

District 113A Referendum

The question on the ballot will read:

Shall the limiting rate under the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law for Lemont-Bromberek Combined School District 113A, Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois be increased by an additional amount equal to 0.2900% above the limiting rate for school purposes for levy year 2019 and be equal to 2.124% of the equalized assessed value of the taxable property therein for levy year 2021?" 1) The approximate amount of taxes extendable at the most recently extended limiting rate is $22,112,851 and the approximate amount of taxes extendable if the proposition is approved is $25,609,431. 2) For the 2019 levy year the approximate amount of the additional tax extendable against property containing a single-family residence and having a fair market value at the time of the referendum of $100,000 is estimated to be $96.57 for DuPage County and $84.56 for Cook County. 3) If the proposition is approved, the aggregate extension for levy year 2021 will be determined by the limiting rate set forth in the proposition, rather than the otherwise applicable limiting rate calculated under the provisions of the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (commonly known as the Property Tax Cap Law).

If the referendum is approved, the district said it will reopen Central School to provide more space for learning, reduce class sizes across all grade levels, and add a full-day kindergarten program.

While the referendum question does ask for an increase in the limiting rate, the district said a successful referendum would not lead to an overall tax increase for District 113A residents due to the district paying off bonds for prior capital projects.

For example, if your home is valued at $300,000, taxes for Cook County residents will go down $122, and taxes for DuPage County residents will go down $146. If the referendum is not successful, then taxes would decrease even more, with Cook County residents seeing a $351 decrease and DuPage County residents seeing a $418 decrease (with a $300,000 home value).

The district said a successful referendum would provide the district with an estimated $3.5 million in revenue on a yearly basis.

In a Q&A with Patch, Superintendent Anthony McConnell said the last time Lemont voters approved an increase to the operating tax rate was 43 years ago, in 1977.

District 113A will hold a final virtual information session about the referendum on Monday.

Lemont Library Board of Trustees

Voters will vote for three candidates. There are four people running for the library board:

• Michaeline Skibinski
• Patricia Camalliere
• Renee Miller Pravdik
• Christine Hogan

Skibinski, Camalliere and Hogan are all current board members, while Miller Pravdik is a newcomer.

According to Skibinski's Patch candidate questionnaire, she is retired, although she previously worked for the federal government for 37 years. She has a Master’s degree in public administration.

Skibinski is currently the board's treasurer, and was first elected in April 2013, and then re-elected in 2017.

Camelliere is also retired, although previously worked in medical administration, she shared in her Patch candidate questionnaire. She is also a writer, and has written three historical mystery novels set in Lemont.

Camalliere is a long-time library board member, and has also served on the Lemont Area Historical Society board. She was first elected to the library board in 2001. She currently serves as the vice president of the board.

Miller Pravdik has over 20 years of management experience, and currently works for the Lemont Park District, she wrote in her Patch candidate questionnaire.

She notes that improving the library's website, possibly getting a mobile app, and expanding children's programs are among some concerns of hers.

Hogan was first appointed to the library board in 2011, before she was elected in 2013, and re-elected in 2017, the library's website states. She is the vice president for TJ Hogan & Associates in Lemont.

She is currently the chair of the technology committee for the board.

Lemont Township

For the unopposed races, Michael Shackel is running for township supervisor and Barbara Buschman is running as township clerk.

The candidates for highway commissioner are:

• Mark Labno
• James Durham

Labno is the current township highway commissioner, and he works as the project manager and head estimator for Hoppy's Landscaping.

Durham has previously served as a Lemont Fire District trustee, and is a facility operations and maintenance manager.

Voters will also choose four out of five township trustee candidates:

• Debra Blatzer
• David Molitor
• Jeanette Virgilio
• Susan Nathan
• Mario Mollo

Blatzer is a current trustee and was appointed to the township board in June 2020. She previously served as a Village Trustee for Lemont for 20 years

Blatzer, Molitor, Virgilio, and Nathan are running as the Township First slate, while Mollo is running as an independent. Buschman, Shackel and Labno are also part of the Township First slate.

The slate has several goals including: finding opportunities to better link the township and village, expanding opportunities for township human services, and performing an assessment of existing township properties and identifying land utilization opportunities.

Mollo is also a current trustee, and was appointed to the township board on November 2020. According to the township website, Mollo has been a coach in the community, and also served as treasurer and vice president for Lemont Baseball and Softball club. He has also been involved in committees for District 113A and Everest Academy.

Polling places in Lemont are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day on Tuesday. If you'd like to take advantage of early voting, Lemont Township will be open for early voting from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday.

You can check to see if you are registered to vote by heading to the Illinois State Board of Elections website.

The law requires registered voters to keep their name and address current, and you will not be able to vote in the April consolidated election if you are not properly registered.

To find out your polling place or view your sample ballot and see all the races on the ballot, go to the county clerk's website.

Follow Along On Election Night

Lemont Patch will be covering local contested elections on April 6.

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