Home Rule

Bulletin No. 4

February 11,  2003    

   

The following question will be
 on the April 1, 2003, ballot:

SAMPLE BALLOT – GENERAL ELECTION

Cook County, Illinois – April 1, 2003

Village of Hazel Crest

PROPOSITION TO BECOME A HOME RULE UNIT OF GOVERNMENT

Shall the Village of Hazel Crest become a home rule unit?

     Yes

     No
Nearby Communities That Are Home Rule Home Rule by Population or by Referendum

Addison
Alsip
Arlington Heights
Bartlett
Bedford Park*
Bellwood*
Berwyn 
Bloomingdale*
Bolingbrook
Bridgeview
Buffalo Grove
Burbank
Carpentersville*

Carol Stream
Chicago
Countryside*
Crystal Lake*
Deerfield
DesPlaines
Downers Grove
Elk Grove Village
Elmhurst
Elmwood Park*
Evanston
Evergreen Park*
Glendale Heights  

Glen Ellyn*
Glenview*
Gurnee
Hanover Park
Harwood Heights*
Highland Park*
Hillside*
Hodgkins*
Hoffman Estates
Lincolnshire*
Maywood
McCook*
Morton Grove*
*=By Referendum continue on other side
Is Home Rule forever?

Information on Home Rule Authority is beginning to be absorbed by the electorate. One question that has risen is that the aspects of Home Rule have been communicated, but what if Home Rule is adopted and turns out not to be desirable, is the municipality stuck with it? Or in other words, whether the Village’s status as a Home Rule unit can ever be changed back if the community later decides that Home Rule is not beneficial.

The answer is that the voters can have a referendum question placed on the ballot asking whether the Village should cease to be a Home Rule unit.

continue on other side

Text Box: For more information about Home Rule go to the Village web site www.villageofhazelcrest.com

Nearby Communities That Are Home Rule
Home Rule by Population or by Referendum                                  continued from page 1

Mt. Prospect
Mundelein*
Naperville
Niles
Norridge*
Northbrook
Northlake*
Oak Forest
Oak Brook Terrace
Oak Lawn
Oak Park

Orland Park
Palatine
Park Forest
Park Ridge
Rolling Meadows*
Rosemont*
Schaumburg
Schiller Park*
Skokie
St. Charles
Stickney*

Stone Park*
Streamwood
Tinley Park
University Park*
Waukegan
West Dundee*
Wheaton
Wheeling*
Wilmette*
Woodridge*
*=By Referendum

Is Home Rule forever?

ontinued from page 1

The ballot question is place after the proper filing of a petition, signed by at least as many registered voters as equals or exceeds 10% of the voters who cast their ballots in the last general municipal election. Voters should not, therefore, be unduly concerned that a favorable vote for home rule can never be reversed.

Learn More at Village Hall

For more information about home rule, the following documents and publications are available for review at Village Hall or copies can be obtained at a cost of $0.10 per page pursuant to the provisions of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act and local code. Also available online for free at the websites indicated below.

  • “Illinois Home Rule: A Thirty Year Assessment” from the Northern Illinois University Center for Governmental Studies. http://www.cgsniu.org/publications/policyprofiles/home.pdf.

  • “Home Rule Units in Illinois” from the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education. http://www.iicle.com

  • Resolution No. 02-2003: A Resolution Placing a Question of Public Policy on the Ballot at the April 1, 2003 Consolidated Election (Home Rule), and Certifying Such Question to The Cook County Board of Elections. Available at the Village Hall.

  • “Home Rule for Small Municipalities in Illinois: from the Illinois Department of Local Government Affairs. http://www.lib.niu.edu/ipo/ii7508243.html