LP_031419

4 | March 14, 2019 | the lockport legend Election 2019
lockportlegend.com
Library takes sixth crack at tax rate increase referendum
Max Lapthorne, Editor
Ballot Question
What Lockport residents will see on their ballots April
2
Shall the limiting rate under the Property Tax
Extension Limitation Law for the White Oak Library
District, Will County, Illinois, be increased by an
additional amount equal to 0.0296% above the
limiting rate for levy year 2017 and be equal to
0.215% of the equalized assessed value of the
taxable property therein for levy year 2019?
The upcoming April 2
Consolidated Election is to
be the sixth time since the
start of 2016 that a White
Oak Library District referendum
requesting a limiting
tax rate increase will
appear on Lockport residents’
ballots.
The proposal would
raise the tax rate to 0.215
percent, a 0.0296 percent
increase over the existing
rate of 0.1854. For the average
home in the White
Oak Library District, this
would mean a tax increase
of approximately $1.40 per
month, totaling $16.80 per
year, according to White
Oak Library District Director
Scott Pointon.
If the referendum were
to pass, the District plans
to use the additional funds
to increase hours, increase
senior outreach services
and build a digital media
lab at the Romeoville
branch, Pointon said. The
library is currently open
60 hours per week, and
that would be increased
to more than 70 hours
per week should the referendum
pass, with hours
increasing every day of
the week. The library currently
closes at 5 p.m. on
Fridays, but that would be
extended to 7 p.m. should
the referendum pass.
“That’s going to be huge
for us, because there’s so
many people that can’t get
off of work and get to the
library before we close on
Fridays,” Pointon said.
The library will also
look to increase its outreach
services, primarily
for seniors. One in four
residents in the district are
senior citizens, so the District
is looking to increase
its services for that demographic,
Pointon said.
“We’re not complaining
about that, it’s just a
fact of life,” he said of the
large senior population in
the district. “And we want
to increase the services we
provide to those folks.”
The final part of the District’s
“three-point plan”
should the referendum
pass is the creation of a
new digital media lab at
the Romeoville branch.
It is to include 3-D printers,
audio/video recording
booths and a place where
residents can convert old
VHS tapes to DVDs.
“There’s definitely a
bubbling need out there for
these types of services,”
Pointon said.
Pointon said the District
has been requesting the
same percentage increase
since the 2016 Primary
Election, and he believes
there was confusion last
year as to whether the increase
would be $16.80
per month or per year. To
clarify, he said they are
referring to the $1.40 per
month number this time
around.
“We find it extremely
difficult to market or
spread the word in our area
about anything, but especially
this referendum,”
Pointon said. “... Unfortunately,
it’s almost like
we’ve marketed it through
the ballot.”
On the district website
— www.whiteoaklibrary.
org — under the “About
Us” tab, there is a “Referendum
2019” page that
is dedicated to supplying
information about the referendum.
There is also a
Referendum Tax Calculator
tool on the front page
of the website that allows
residents to determine exactly
how the referendum
would impact them financially.
In its first five appearances
on the ballot, support
for the referendum
has fluctuated between a
low of 34.55 percent in
favor the first time it appeared
to nearly passing
in March of 2018 when
46.19 percent voted “yes.”
In the other three years it
has been on the ballot, it
has received “yes” votes
tallying 39.82, 39.46 and
40.88 percent.
The last time voters approved
an operating rate
for the library district was
1929 when the Lockport
Township Government
took over operation of the
library from the Lockport
Woman’s Club, according
to Pointon. The rate approved
in 1929 was 0.18.
“I hear a lot of folks
saying ‘work within your
means,’ and ‘tighten your
belt a little tighter’ and
‘make it work within the
budget you have,’” Pointon
said. “... This library
district has been making
due and getting by and
finding ways to get it done
within our means for 90
years.”
Lawsuit forces reordering of LTFPD ballot
Jessie Molloy
Freelance Reporter
Early voting for the
April 2 election has started
at the office of the
Will County Clerk, but
the ballot for the race for
Lockport Township Fire
Protection District Trustee
was not finalized until
the last possible minute
because of a challenge to
the candidates’ order on
the ballot.
John Batusich, one of
four candidates running
for two seats open in the
race, filed suit in January
visit us online at
www.LockportLegend.com
challenging the proposed
ballot order.
According to election
rules, candidates are put
on the ballot in the order
in which they submit their
candidacy paperwork. If
more than one candidate is
present at the clerk’s office
before it officially opens at
8 a.m. they are entered into
a lottery for ballot placement
order.
On Dec. 10, Batusich
arrived at the clerk’s office
shortly before 8
a.m. and handed his paperwork
in when the office
opened. A few minutes
later, video footage
shows incumbent trustee
Henry Meader arrived to
submit his candidacy paperwork.
Despite arriving first
and Meader arriving after
8 a.m. the election official
handing the paperwork,
Diane Schmidt, claimed
that both had arrived at 8
a.m. and initiated a lottery,
which placed Meader first
on the ballot.
Batusich took the issue
to court arguing that
time stamps from an office
security camera, as
well as the receipts received
by himself and
Meader, proved that he
had arrived and filed his
papers first, and should,
therefore appear first on
the ballot.
The time stamp on Batusich’s
receipt placed
his filing at 8 a.m. while
Meader’s showed a time of
8:02 a.m. Additionally, the
video time stamp, which
had its accuracy called into
question, showed Meader
arriving at 8:00:27 a.m.
as opposed to Batusich,
who was seen arriving at
7:58:58.
After reviewing the evidence,
Judge John C. Anderson
ruled that, “while
seemingly well-intentioned,”
Schmidt made a
mistake in initiating the
lottery, and issued an order
to reorder the ballot
placing Batusich first and
Meader second. Compared
to the evidence of the receipt
times, it was deemed
that Schmidt’s “current
recollection of the times
was less reliable.”
“I didn’t want to sue my
employer, but it was a matter
of principle,” Batusich
said. “People usually line
up when the petitions are
due in order to be first, so
I believe it makes a difference.”
Batusich and Meader
are joined on the ballot by
Rhonda Casagrande and
incumbent trustee Dave
Palya.
Batusich has served as
a firefighter for the District
for 32 years since
his graduation from high
school. He is retiring
from the department in
May, after the election
but before the new members
of the board would
be inaugurated on May
20.
“I’ve given my life to
this department and I just
wish to continue to do so
after retiring,” Batusich
said.
He would not be alone
in becoming a trustee after
being a firefighter in the
district, as current trustee
Todd Randich is also a retired
fireman.