A press release from Taxpayers United of America:
Taxpayer Meeting in East Dundee Educates Voters on the Danger of Home Rule
East Dundee—The Fox Valley Libertarian Party (FVLP) hosted an open meeting to educate voters on the danger of home rule, and invited Taxpayers United of America (TUA) President Jim Tobin to be their guest speaker.
The speech was directed at East Dundee residents, who will decide on March 20th whether their village will cease to be a Home Rule unit.
In his speech, Jim Tobin warned taxpayers that Home Rule is the most insidious form of government in America.
Jim Tobin at 2011 McHenry County College press conference.
“Illinois Home Rule gives unlimited taxing power to bureaucrats,” said Jim Tobin. In some cases, Home Rule even takes away citizens’ right to vote on vital city issues and limits citizens’ voice in government mayoral and council elections.
“Taxpayers are effectively muzzled, except at election time, and even then, their choices are limited.”
The FVLP meeting took place at the River Street Tavern in East Dundee.
The room was filled past maximum capacity, forcing many community members to stand to hear Tobin’s speech.
The meeting lasted past the time it was supposed to end, as greedy pro-Home Rule village trustees both past and present disrupted the taxpayer meeting.
During the meeting the trustees tried to justify Home Rule by pointing out the $30 million in bond debt the government issued.
What they didn’t say, was that it was Home Rule that allowed the bonds to be issued without voter approval.
Home Rule is “needed” to pay off these debts, presumably using the unlimited taxing power to raise village property taxes. The Village of East Dundee only has a population of 3,182 as of 2016.
The trustees also denied that property taxes pay village government retires, which they actually do through the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF).
Julie Fox, Chair of the FVLP stated, “We started a conversation that needed to happen. I consider this one of the most successful FVLP chapter meetings we’ve ever had.”
TUA, along with other local activists are also opposing Home Rule in Rockford, and Homewood.
You can view the home rule meeting introduction here.
What a disingenuous bunch of politicians in East Dundee.
Very reminiscent the former crew in Lakewood that tried to go home rule a few years back under former president, Erin Smith and the rest. But residents in Lakewood were a bit more astute and didn’t swallow the propaganda that they were being fed.
Hopefully, East Dundee residents wise up and engage before they are bilked even further.
Love Jim Tobin. He’s originally from Evanston and showed them who was boss!
As an East Dundee resident, I attended to get more details on the home rule vote coming up. After the meeting, I’m leaning more towards keeping home rule. The speech from Tobin seemed divisive, calling the local city council members, “greedy bastards”, and accused them of having fat, self-serving pensions. They get $75/meeting and pretty much are blamed for every problem. I would rather, and do, volunteer at local nonprofit groups. No respect for the work that goes into serving the public. Was a lot of misinformation, name calling, and scapegoating. Pensions are not something that home rule has any effect on, except that it helps to pay them since that’s forced on our town. Shifting the taxes from sales taxes directly onto the homeowners is what this vote would do. Easy decision for a bunch of out-of-towners to Talley around. Tobin didn’t like how the meeting turned into a debate, so resorted to name calling and eventually left while mumbling about how awful the meeting was. Just sharing to offer a little insight to how this meeting was perceived by a resident (with no past or present political service). Though it’s awful that our local politicians are not being given any respect for the sacrifices they make to serve our community.
Despite how you feel about Tobin’s talk, go with Home Rule and you will live there to regret it.
Home Rule gives more power to the bureaucrats. Keep your power.
If the city needs more money tell them to cut spending!
Rockford swallowed the Kool Aid in 1983 and ditched home rule. How’s that working for them?
Homes that now would sell for twice as much anywhere else, and for the value, they’re paying about twice as much property taxes. No towns around here have enough employees and Rockford is no exception. Their police department is overwhelmed – Rockford has the 5th largest crime rate in the nation for it’s size.
Rockford’s residents have come to understand that losing home rule has crippled them and a referendum to return to home rule is now on their spring ballot.
Municipal services cost money. You can’t run a department that needs 14 people with only 5 people, and you cannot pay a skilled worker half the going rate and expect them to stay. The Tea Party and the Libertarians seem to suffer from a particular type of nearsightedness that makes them believe that little or no services are the ideal, most all government regulations are evil and mistakenly believe “Atlas Shrugged” is the bible they should live by.
Listen Up – East Dundee has had Home Rule for 14 years. There has been no abuse, only positive growth – and as such I believe that there is no plan by the trustees to stick it to themselves or their neighbors. On the contrary – one resident, and two wing nut fringe political groups are trying to make a name for themselves and pull the wool over our eyes by saying Home Rule is evil.
Who benefits from eliminating home rule? Only someone who wants to make a name for himself.
The rest of us end up paying for his self serving reputation.