TUA Opposes 7 Tax-Increase Referenda Scheduled For March 20 Election

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CHICAGO–The president of Taxpayers United of America (TUA) today announced that the taxpayer organization is opposing 7 tax-increase referenda that will appear on the March 20 ballot in Illinois.
“This is the largest number of tax-increase referenda appearing on a single date we have opposed since 1982,” said Jim Tobin, TUA President. “Our members have defeated more than 100 home rule referenda since 1980.”
“We are opposing the home-rule unlimited-taxing-power referenda that Clarendon Hills, Itasca, Princeton, Prospect Heights, Lynwood, and Merrionette Park are attempting to con their voters into accepting.”
“These relatively small municipalities are already paying their so-called public servants huge salaries, and if voters make the mistake of adopting home-rule unlimited taxing power, homeowners would be exempt from the current 5% property tax cap, and will be subject to property tax increases of any amount, at any time. In addition, home rule would allow local governments to impose new taxes in businesses, gasoline, groceries, parking, and almost anything else.”
“These local governments want to line their employees’ pockets with even more taxpayer dollars. When these overpaid government employees retire, their generous salaries will qualify them for lavish, gold-plated pensions.”
“Voters in these municipalities need to be informed that 80% of their local tax dollars go to pay the salaries and benefits of their local government employees. That’s a huge percentage.”
“Clarendon Hills’ Fire Chief, Brian Leahy, for example, pulled in a gross salary (2010) of $199,128 a year. More than 10 police pensions are over $30,000 a year. Former Police Chief, Thomas Reasoner, receives a whopping $65,000 a year pension while at the same time getting paid for a Deputy Director position at the North East Multi-Regional Training Center.”
“Nine retired government-employees in Itasca have annual pensions of over $50,000 a year.”
“The seventh referenda TUA is opposing is a property-tax hike proposed by Evanston School Dist. 65, which would raise local property taxes to build a new palatial government-school building and add to existing schools.” TUA has defeated 192 property tax increase referenda since 1977.

Christina Tobin to Work With Oak Park Elem. Dist. 97 Activists to Kill Proposed Tax Hike

Christina M. Tobin, Free and Equal CEO and Vice President of National Taxpayers United of Illinois (NTUI), will be working with Oak Park activist Noel Kuriakos of the Citizens Alliance of Oak Park and other activists all weekend and on Monday to oppose the proposed Dist. 97 property tax increase on the Tuesday, April 5, tax increase ballot.
“We will be passing out Vote No flyers and talking with Oak Park residents all day Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday” said Tobin. “I have a personal stake in this, as I will be moving to Oak Park in the near future and oppose increasing property taxes to fund the outrageous, lavish gold-plated salaries and benefits Dist. 97 teachers and administrators are getting.”
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