Kane County Chair makes pitch for $51M sales tax referendum

Kane County voters will consider a 0.75% retail sales tax increase on the April 1 ballot, a request from the county intended to bring in $51 million in revenue to support public safety.

Board Chair Corinne Pierog made a nearly hour-long presentation at a Aurora Area League of Women Voters Zoom meeting Tuesday night, detailing the county’s needs.

“This would mean that every $100 you would spend on a commodity item ... you will spend an additional 75 cents, and this will be across the county,” Pierog said. “It would not apply to groceries.”

It also would not apply to medicine, medical appliances or big ticket items like cars, boats, trucks, trailers or motorcycles, she said.

Revenue would go entirely to support public safety as required by state law, she said.

“The reason for the sales tax (request) is rising costs,” Pierog said. “We have had a structurally unbalanced budget for a number of years. ... It really took form during the time of COVID ... prices went up. And because of that, demands for increased salaries also went up.”

One of the increased costs to the county is the Safety Act, or the Pretrial Fairness Act, which requires court to be open every day, all year. It caused increased costs for everything from cleaning and infrastructure to paying judges, prosecutors and court security, she said.

The proceeds of the increased sales tax would be added to the county’s portion of the 6.5% state sales tax, which is projected for 2024 at $27 million, she said.

The portion of the property tax bill that goes to the county is 4%, she said.

Because the levy had been frozen since 2014, the county lost out on $22 million in revenue.

“There was no new income because the property tax levy had remained flat for so many years, until last year, when the board finally voted to increase the property tax levy, which would bring in a whopping $2 million annually,” Pierog said.

Anyone who shops or goes to a restaurant in the county would also pay the sales tax, she said, as well as anyone who shopped online.

Pierog cited the Premium Outlet Mall in Aurora that draws people from all over to do their holiday shopping, and the Love’s Travel Stop gas station in Hampshire, where trucks and cars fill up, as examples of how nonresidents contribute to its retail base.

“The number one thing that we have is a safe community,” Pierog said. “Kane County is known for its safety. And we want to make sure we have that. ... This is what the concern is. Money is a finite resource and if you don’t have the resources, it cannot have the kind of programs that I would want to maintain and expand here in Kane County.”

The sales tax revenue would support safety programs that are not mandated – programs like the specialty courts, the Child Advocacy Center, programs within the State’s Attorney’s Office and the Sheriff’s Special Victims Team. It would also cover infrastructure improvements on the 30-year-old jail.

“Because of the limitations we have had in our funding, we have not been able to adequately keep those repaired,” Pierog said.

The last five budget years were underwritten by federal money because of COVID – American Rescue Plan Act and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security act. These allowed the county to pay for public safety and some infrastructure needs.

“But that money’s gone,” Pierog said. “We don’t have any back flow to shore us up. ... We are going to have a potential imbalance of $29 million forecast in 2027,” Pierog said.

Part of public safety is deterring repeat offenders through its specialty courts, work training programs, tracking child sex offenders, probation services, drug overdose death prevention, veteran mental health services to prevent suicide, the crime lab and diversion programs, she said.

If the referendum does not pass, the board will have to consider public safety cuts or look for alternative revenue resources, she said.

“This is up to our residents if they want this or not,” Pierog said. “We’re asking for your consideration.”

County officials plan to host three in-person town hall-style informational meetings about the sales tax referendum:

• 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 6 at the St. Charles Public Library, 1 Sixth Ave., St. Charles
• 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 10 at the Geneva Public Library, 227 S. Seventh St., Geneva
• 5 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 25, at the Sugar Grove Public Library, 127 Municipal Drive, Sugar Grove.

Officials have already hosted four in-person town halls at Matt’s Lounge in Burlington, at Dundee Township in East Dundee, the Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin and the Santori Branch Library in Aurora.

Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the retail tax being requested. The correct amount is 0.75%. An earlier version also misstated where people go for holiday shopping. It should have stated the Premium Outlet Mall in Aurora.