Kankakee County Referendum To Raise The Sales Tax 16%

Its official, the referendum to raise the sales tax 16% will be on the November 4 ballot, county wide. Kankakee School district, Grant Park and St. Anne school districts have joined Bourbonnais Elementary and Manteno school district by voting in favor of putting this referendum on the ballot. These school districts combined enrollment, easily meets the 51% of county wide enrollment needed under the new state law "County School Facilities Tax". If passed, this 16% sales tax increase will apply to every gallon of gas sold in the County as well as many other items. It will never end. There is no sunset clause. None. Vote NO!

Two Kankakee County school boards have passed a resolution to place a referendum on the Nov. 4 ballot asking voters to approve raising the sales tax from 6.25% to 7.25%. The state law which allows school boards to do this became law nine months ago. The name of the law is, "County School Facilities Tax". If school districts representing 51% of the total enrollment, within a county, past a resolution to place such a referendum on the ballot, it will be on the ballot. Thus far, Bourbonnais elementary and Manteno elementary have passed this resolution. Other districts have indicated they will follow. Money generated from this new tax can only be spent on school buildings, both current and new.

Increasing the sales tax from 6.25% to 7.25% is a 16% increase. It will apply to every gallon of gas sold in the County. BBCHS is collecting a 6.6% increase in property taxes this year. St. George, 14.5%, Bourbonnais elementary 7.1%, Manteno 7.5%. Even with these kind of increases year after year, they now want a 16% increase in the sales tax that will never reduce the property tax burden ever!

VOTE NO to all school referendum until the millions taken away from schools, through the lack of proper impact fees on residential developers and 23 year TIF districts tax giveaways to commercial developers, are given back to the schools. How dare the school districts keep coming back to the taxpayers while they allow city & village governments to screw over the community with big tax giveaways to residential and commercial developers. Those who are benefiting from growth, must pay for growth.

HOME