State of Illinois

We Get By with a Little Help from Our Friends

angie

 

My friends (L to R) Steve Lentz, Mayor of Mundelein, Joe Mancino, Mayor of Hawthorn Woods, and Tom Poynton, Mayor of Lake Zurich.

My friends (L to R) Steve Lentz, Mayor of Mundelein, Joe Mancino, Mayor of Hawthorn Woods, and Tom Poynton, Mayor of Lake Zurich at a recent Lake County Municipal League meeting.

Today, an article appeared in the Chicago Tribune on the topic of the proposed IL Route 53 extension and the recent concerns being voiced by the municipalities directly in the path of this road. As Village President, I joined with the Mayors of Hawthorn Woods, Mundelein, Kildeer, and Round Lake to sign a letter to the Tollway Board and CMAP to express our collective concerns over recommendations regarding land use in the highway corridor. We are asking for more information and specific details regarding a proposed oversight body, a Corridor Planning Council, which has the potential to override local municipal decisions on how land along this roadway could be zoned and utilized. Our voices have been heard, and I do believe that more information will be forthcoming in the months ahead. But this is just one example of the ways in which Long Grove works together with our neighbors to enable positive changes.

Recently our Village Board approved an intergovernmental agreement with the Village of Buffalo Grove to work cooperatively towards tightening up our code enforcement. Under a two year agreement, Buffalo Grove will assist us with property maintenance inspections, issuance of tickets, and administrative adjudication proceedings. Why is this needed? Because by partnering with our neighboring towns or agencies to get services done, we can increase efficiency and save both time and money.

You may have heard Governor Rauner talk about the need for our various units of government in Illinois to combine and share services. This is nothing new to Long Grove. We have partnered for many years with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office for our police protection. The Village currently contracts with both Ela and Cuba townships for various road maintenance services and use of their equipment. This summer, we have partnered with the Village of Kildeer to cooperatively bid road repair contracts to take advantage of volume pricing. Having a minimal government philosophy means that old Beatles tune is right on–we do “get by with a little help from our friends.”

Sharing in the Sacrifice

angie

openpurseIn his inaugural speech on January 12th, Governor Bruce Rauner stated that, “Each person here today and all those throughout the state will be called upon to share in the sacrifice,” in reference to fixing our current state financial woes. On February 18th, we learned of his proposal for Long Grove (as well as every other municipality in Illinois) to share in the sacrifice. This proposal, if passed into the next Illinois budget by both the Senate and House would take effect on July 1st, 2015. And it would cut in half the state income taxes that Springfield hands down to its municipalities. To Long Grove, this means a loss of about $400,000, out of an operating budget of less than $3 million. Long Grove has never charged a property tax, and this state income revenue is our second-largest source of funding, behind only sales tax.

At our Village Board meeting last Tuesday, we discussed this proposal and the effects that it may have on our next fiscal budget, which is set to be approved in April. The Village Board will be adopting a resolution at our next meeting opposing the proposed reduction of distributive revenues by the State of Illinois. I have written letters to Governor Rauner and our state representatives expressing our opposition to this loss of revenue. In Long Grove, we have been forced to make tough decisions to keep our budget balanced every year, and now it seems we are asked to dig a little deeper into the reserves for the sake of the State of Illinois. I hope this is one sacrifice we will not have to make.