The above question will be on the ballot in the Consolidated Elections on April 7, 2009. It is on the ballot because of the efforts of many longtime residents of the City of DeKalb. There are no business groups, special interest organizations or political action committees associated with the Barb City Tea Company. This effort is exclusively inclusive of the residents of this great community.
A total of 780 registered voters signed the petition to provide for a referendum on the Home Rule issue in DeKalb. Many were ready to toss Home Rule out immediately. Many indicated they would vote to retain it. All felt such a decision belonged in the hands of the voters.
There are, as of December, 2008, a total of 198 Home Rule municipalities in the state, according to the Illinois Municipal League Legal Department. Granted to Illinois municipalities with a population over 25,000, Home Rule gives local governments the power to tax, to license, to incur debt and to regulate for the protection of the public health, safety, morals and welfare. DeKalb is among the original Home Rule communities authorized by the 1970 Illinois Constitution.
The residents of DeKalb have had Home Rule for nearly 30 years. We no longer need national studies or paid outside consultants to tell us the value of Home Rule. We’ve lived with it. It’s time for voters to decide for themselves, based on their personal experience with it, whether this city should retain Home Rule or not.
Many of us in the Barb City Tea Company believe Home Rule has been abused too much and for too long. A common argumented presented by our opponents is that we should replace the elected leaders of DeKalb and not revoke Home Rule. They’ve seen abuse by the current administration. Many others saw abuse with previous administrations. A lot of folks are just plain tired of replacing faces only to see continued or new abuses of local government.
Perhaps it is the system that needs changed? Those who have met and know members of current and previous administrations often refer to them as good people, and we agree. Maybe its time to change the bathwater.
Home Rule as it stands today should be revoked. It grants too much power to local elected officials and their appointed administrators. Yes, they are empowered with the authority to overrule the state on local matters and Illinois courts shall construe those powers liberally. But the power to increase taxes and fees as well as incur more debt — all without local voter approval — circumvents a government of, for and by the people.
Illinois is the only state in the Union that grants Home Rule authority to local municipalities without a local constitution or charter. Such a document provides the citizens with the power to place limits on tax and fee increases and debt without voter approval through referendum. Without such a document there are no checks and balances on Home Rule authority. Unless, of course, you have a lot of money to “lawyer-up” and take your grievances through the Illinois courts, who shall construe those powers liberally.
Checks and balances that empowers the people of the City of DeKalb to place limits on the powers of the local government must be incorporated. Under Home Rule, the City Council has the power to call for a Constitution for the City of DeKalb. Until that happens and the abuses of Home Rule are eliminated, we encourage you to vote NO to the question:
Shall The City of DeKalb Continue To Be A Home Rule City?
This sentence is important:
“Illinois is the only state in the Union that grants Home Rule authority to local municipalities without a local constitution or charter.”
Anything in Illinois politics that is unique should be placed under the microscope and scrutinized.
I promised a new idea from the other day. I was actually out of the country so I have to plead the 5th for the hits to the server from oddball IP addresses. Anyway, in Vienna, the German word for city hall is: Rathaus. When things get frustrating and the taxes keep climbing, remember that word.
kay… I thought the word was FUBAR
Glad to see you back and I hope you had a terrific time.
I had a great conference in India. Hint: In the middle of a huge trip crossing thirteen time zones and countless hours on a plane, stop half way for a little while (i.e. the side trip to Vienna).
Oh, I know what the real Taj Mahal looks like in person. I can be the expert on over-priced Taj Mahal school buildings now.
There is nothing inherently wrong with a municipality having home rule so long as it is used carefully to the benefit of its residents. The problems I see here in DeKalb are the result of a long standing disregard of public concerns and input, by those in city hall, which at times can even be a bit hostile to those of us in the peonage. The only way I can see to start turning this around to where is should be is to replace most of the leadership, and get the attention of the local administration. The upcoming election offers the citizenry an opportunity to address the former, and repealing home rule should help with the latter part of these problems. I admit that much of this town is a dump, but it is a dump I love. Destroying it so that it looks just like every other yuppie suburb, when the money simply is not here to support that level of development is stupid, and cutting down the revenue stream, and giving the voters a chance to rein in a city government that does not appreciate the town it is supposedly representing and governing is a good start on getting things right.
Politically speaking, stopping Home Rule from being adopted is easy, but getting it repealed is hard.
Your campaign will need to start NOW, and you will need to be ready to counter each and every argument used by the “Keep Home Rule” crowd.
First and foremost, you need a message (audio, flyer & maybe video) that clearly explains that “HOME RULE is NOT “LOCAL CONTROL.”
This is a difficult message to craft because on paper, Home Rule looks like local control. In reality, Home Rule merely strips local citizens of any say in their government. It is “control by their elected officials.”
This triggers the argument that the Home Rule crowd will use against you. They will say “You can always run against us and vote us out.”
You all know how hard that is. The moment a mayor, alderman, or trustee takes office, they immediately start filling jobs, directing contracts, and clicking into place the small things that build their power base. You combine that with the fact that these folks are elected in “off-year” municipal (extremely low turnout) elections, and you have a recipe for a feudal government that only LOOKS like a representative republic on paper.
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Next, the “Keep Home Rule” crowd will trot out all the arguments that show “Home Rule doesn’t really mean higher taxes.” The repeal crowd needs to have a very tight and effective message showing just how Home Rule – IN DEKALB’S CASE – actually does lead to higher taxes and/or less citizen control.
Mr. Berg’s argument above is a very good start. Argue the Home Rule isn’t an evil in and of itself (actually, as promulgated in Illinois, it really is), but that it has been abused.
You have your work cut out for you.
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