Of the hundreds of referenda proposals submitted to the voters for the general election held April 5, 2005, a total of 19 referenda proposals concerning park issues appeared on ballots across the state. Ten passed while nine failed.

The Following table details the types of initiatives, the amounts or requests and vote totals. Data for this report were obtained from the Illinois State Board of Elections, which hadn't posted official vote totals as of press time. If you are aware of an initiative that is not included, please contact me at pmurphy@ILparks.org.

Park and Forest Preserve Referenda Results
DISTRICT	JURISDICTION	TYPE	DESCRIPTION	PASS/FAIL	VOTES YES/NO
Burr Ridge Park Dist.	DuPage, Cook	Bond	Proposition to issue $1,250,000 park bonds for the purpose of building, maintaining, improving & protecting the district's park system.	PASSED	629/602
Carlinville Park Dist.	Macoupin	Tax	Shall the Carlinville Park District be authorized to levy and collect an additional tax of not to exceed .25% for all corporate purposes as provided in Section 5-3 of the "The Park District Code"?	failed	404/760
Johnson County	Johnson	Tax	Shall the Johnson County Board of Commissioners be authorized to spend money from the county tax revenue (general fund) or match government grants using money from the general fund to build and or maintain a sports complex?	failed	926/1,707
Kane County Forest Preserve	Kane, City of Aurora	Bond	Proposition to issue bonds in the amount of $75,000,000 to acquire & preserve forests & natural lands, protect wild life habitats, enhance flood control, improve hiking & hiking trails & fishing, provide forest & wildlife education programs...	PASSED	29,547/16,112
LaGrange Park Dist.	Cook	Bond	Proposition to issue bonds in the amount of $6,900,000 for the purpose of acquiring & improving land and a building and to provide additional facilities for park & recreational purposes.	PASSED	2,078/1,995
Lan Oak Park Dist.	Cook	Misc.	Shall the Lan Oak Park Dist renovate and improve the district's existing aquatic facility located at Bock Park at a cost not exceed $3,500,000.00?	failed	1,277/2,579
Lyons Township	Cook	Bond	Shall the Township of Lyons be authorized to issue park bonds to the amount of $10,000,000 (10 million dollars) for the purpose of procuring and improving one or more small parks?	failed	4,228/12,487
Maywood Park Dist.	Cook	Advisory	Should the Maywood Park District take all steps that are legally required in order to sell the property located at 8th Avenue and Walton Street, with the proceeds of the sale to be used for park or building improvements?	PASSED	608/263

12 Illinois Parks and Recreation www.ILipra.org

DISTRICT	JURISDICTION	TYPE	DESCRIPTION	PASS/FAIL	VOTES YES/NO
Metro-East Park& Recreation Dist.	Monroe	Tax	Shall the county join the Metro-East Park & Recreation Dist & impose a retailers' occupation tax at a rote on one-tenth of 1%...with 50% of the revenue going to the district and 50% returned to the county.	failed	2,156/4,150
Park Dist. of Oak Park	Cook	Tax	Proposition to levy and collect an additional tax of not to exceed 0.25% for all corporate purposes including safety and regulatory improvements and renewal of playgrounds, parks, facilities, & recreation programs as provided in Section 5-3 of the Park District Code.	PASSED	4,899/3,091
Park Ridge Recreation & Park Dist.	Cook	Misc.	Proposition to demolish the Oakton Park swimming pool facilities and construct a new 41,000 sq ft outdoor aquatic park in their place at a cost of $13.0 million, as part of the overall Oakton Sports Complex renovation.	failed	1,789/4,239
Park Ridge Recreation & Park Dist.	Cook	Misc.	Proposition to demolish the Oakton Park swimming pool facilities and construct a new 46,600 sq ft indoor recreation center containing a 31,880 sq ft field house...at a cost of $11.5 million, as part of the overall Oakton Sports Complex renovation.	failed	1,634/4,460
Paxton Park Dist.	Ford	Tax	Proposition to levy an additional tax of .1 4% for the purpose of recreational programs, as provided in Section 5-3a of The Park District Code.	failed	481/730
Village of Mount Prospect	Cook	Misc.	Shall the three vacant lots at the southeast corner of Emerson and Central, across from the library and commonly known as 'Central Park,' be retained by the Village of Mount Prospect as a park?	PASSED	3,833/1,333
Village of Tonica	LaSalle	Advisory	Proposition to develop a new village park.	failed	78/161
Wheoton Park District	DuPage	Bond	Proposition to issue $29,000,000 in park bonds for the purpose of providing the revenue source to refinance outstanding alternate bonds of said park district issued for the payment of land and park facilities.	PASSED	5,684/1,921
Will County Forest Preserve Dist.	Will, City of Aurora	Bond	Proposition to issue $95,000,000 in general obligation bonds to improve forests & other natural lands, preserving wildlife habitats, protecting natural resources, improving flood control, providing educational programs & increasing access to trails, fishing...	PASSED	433/270
Compton Township	Kane	Bond	Proposition to issue $28,385,000 in bonds for maintenance, development, rehabilitation and renovation of open space and levy and collect property tax.	PASSED	2,975/1,206
Village of Dolton	Cook	Misc.	Proposition whether the Village should acquire Lake Cottage Grove aka Pescateers (located immediately west of Cottage Grove from 138th to 142 Street) for economic development for public purposes.	PASSED	2,851/1,209

www.ilparks.org May/June 2005 13