[0:02] Good evening and welcome to the special
board meeting of the board of trustees
[0:06] of Elkrove Township.
[0:12] » Uh give me one second. So, we are
convening tonight for um one issue
[0:19] specifically um and that is to um
discuss possible action on resolution 26
[0:27] uh 2026-03, a resolution of the Elkrove
Township Board providing the submission
[0:31] to the voters of the township of uh of
the township a binding proposition to
[0:37] authorize an annual tax rate not to
exceed. 05% for the purposes of
[0:42] providing community mental health
facilities at the general election to be
[0:47] held on the 3rd day of November 2026.
[0:51] On Wednesday, August 12th, I advised uh
Trustee Wine Coupoop of the objection to
[0:56] the petitions to submit public questions
to a referendum in Elkrove Township to
[1:01] be held on November 3rd, 2026. I
explained the process and informed him
[1:06] that he had been selected through a
lottery conducted and uh recorded by
[1:10] administrator Manzo and township staff.
After we discussed the electoral board
[1:15] process, he asked that I call a special
board meeting for the board to consider
[1:20] approving a township resolution to
submit a public question to a referendum
[1:24] in Elkrove Township again to be held on
uh November 3rd, 2026.
[1:30] The following day, I received an email
from trustee Luji uh requesting the
[1:35] same. Uh at that time, I directed uh
Miss Manzo to take the required steps
[1:40] for calling a special board meeting.
These steps include, but are not limited
[1:44] to notification of the board, posting
for the public, and contracting our
[1:49] audiovisisual company to record the
meeting.
[1:55] Elkrove Township retained Anel Glink to
advise us on the process required to
[2:00] place a resolution initiated referendum
under the Illinois Community Mental
[2:05] Health Act 405 ILCS201
before voters at the November 3rd, 2026
[2:12] general election. To do so, the township
board of trustees must adopt a
[2:17] resolution authorizing the referendum no
later than today, Monday, August 17,
[2:23] 2026. And the township m township clerk
must certify the referendum question to
[2:30] the election authority no later than
Thursday, August 27th.
[2:35] The act authorizes the township board to
pass a resolution placing a binding
[2:40] referendum question before township
voters at a regularly scheduled election
[2:45] to provide funds for community health
facilities and services. Under the act,
[2:50] a resolution initiated referendum may
authorize an annual tax not to exceed
[2:56] 0.15%
upon all taxable property within the
[3:01] township as requested by township
officials. The resolution provided for
[3:06] consideration at the August 17th special
meeting of the township board would
[3:11] authorize a tax of 0.05%
which is identical to the petition that
[3:17] was circulated. If the resolution
initiated referendum is approved by the
[3:22] township voters, the township may
annually levy a tasks not to exceed the
[3:27] rate set forth in the approved
referendum question. Each year after
[3:32] passage, the township board must
appropriate from those funds the sums
[3:36] deemed necessary based on the community
health board's budget, annual mental
[3:42] health report, and local mental health
plan to defay the necessary expenses and
[3:48] liabilities of providing community
mental health facilities and services.
[3:54] The act also authorizes a binding
referendum to be initiated by petition.
[3:59] On July 27, 2026, a petition initiated
referendum was filed with the township
[4:05] clerk seeking to place a binding
referendum question on the November 3rd,
[4:09] 2026 general election ballot authorizing
the township to levy attacks and provide
[4:15] community health facilities and services
under the act.
[4:19] On August 10th, 2026, Neil Dale nearski
filed a petition objecting to the
[4:24] referendum petition. The Elkrove uh
Elkrove Township Electoral Board
[4:30] scheduled uh a meeting or scheduled a
hearing uh this evening, August 17th, at
[4:36] 6 p.m. to consider the objector's
petition. The act provides separate
[4:41] procedures for petition initiated re
referendums and resolution referendums.
[4:47] The township board is not required to
prove a res a resolution initiating a
[4:51] binding referendum question merely
because a petition initiated referendum
[4:56] has been filed with the township clerk.
Instead, the township board may
[5:00] independently decide whether to approve
a resolution placing a binding
[5:04] referendum question on the ballot under
the act. The objection uh proceedings
[5:10] related to the referendum petition will
continue separately regardless of
[5:14] whether the township board chooses to
present a referendum question by
[5:18] resolution.
If the electoral board sustains the
[5:22] objector's petition, the referendum
petition question will not appear on the
[5:27] 2026 general election ballot. If the
electoral board overrules the objector's
[5:32] petition, the referendum petition
question may be certified to the 2026
[5:38] general election ballot by township
clerk. If the objection to the
[5:44] referendum petition has not been finally
resolved by the August 27, 2026 ballot
[5:49] certification deadline, the township
clerk may certify the referendum
[5:54] petition question to the town to the
Cook County Clerk with the designation
[5:59] objection pending while the electoral
board proceedings or any resulting
[6:05] judicial review remain pending.
Following a final decision of the
[6:09] electoral board or a reviewing court,
the township clerk may file an amended
[6:15] ballot certification to comply with the
decision, including removing the
[6:20] question from certification if the
objection is sustained.
[6:25] If the township board of trustees
approves a resolution putting a
[6:28] referendum question under the act before
township voters, the township clerk must
[6:34] certify the resolution referendum to the
Cook County Clerk. The election code
[6:38] allows up to three referendum questions
to be put before township voters on the
[6:43] 2026 general election ballot. If
duplicative referendum questions are
[6:49] certified to the Cook County Clerk, the
Cook County Clerk may need to address
[6:53] any ballot administrative issues
presented by the duplicative questions.
[7:01] [clears throat]
Anel Glink, our uh electoral
[7:05] our election law attorney, has uh put
together the uh 2026-3
[7:13] um resolution. Supervisor reading that.
>> May I interrupt you for a moment? You
[7:19] can. I'm gonna call Yeah, go ahead.
>> I was wondering if we want to um call do
[7:24] roll call and pledge of allegiance.
>> I did. I did. Thank you.
[7:27] » Um will the Why don't we stand for the
pledge of allegiance and get started
[7:31] that way?
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
[7:37] United States of America and to the
republic for which it stands, one nation
[7:42] under God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all.
[7:49] » I will the clerk please call the role.
>> Trusty Dukes,
[7:56] » Trusty Luji
>> here.
[7:58] » Supervisor Scaletta
>> here.
[8:00] » Trusty Stany
>> present. Trusty Wine Coupoop
[8:03] » here.
>> Assessor Kerouselli
[8:05] » present.
>> And I'm Clerk Saturn.
[8:08] [snorts]
>> All right. I apologize. So, um the uh uh
[8:14] as I was going through all of it because
there's a lot to read and I'm sure you
[8:17] guys are very bored by it, but you need
to know what it is that we're going to
[8:20] be discussing tonight. I needed to start
getting through it and I got ahead of my
[8:23] skis on that one. So, apologize for
that. Um,
[8:28] on the public comment, we've had a lot
of people that have said that they want
[8:32] to speak publicly. Is there anyone here
that wants to speak on an item that's
[8:35] not on the agenda, which is the
referendum?
[8:38] All right. So, now we're going to move
on to me reading the resolution. Please
[8:43] bear with me as it is um dry.
A resolution of the Elkrove Township
[8:49] Board providing for the submission to
the voters of the township a binding
[8:52] proposition to authorize an annual tax
at a rate not to exceed 0.05%
[8:59] for the purpose of providing community
mental health facilities and services at
[9:02] the general election to be held on the
3rd day of November 2026.
[9:08] Whereas Elkrove Township is an Illinois
local government created and existing
[9:13] under the Illinois Township Code 60 ILCS
1-1.
[9:19] And whereas section two of the community
health mental health act
[9:24] 405cs
20/2 grants the township the powers to
[9:29] construct, repair, operate, maintain and
regulate community mental health
[9:32] facilities to provide mental health
services and to create a local community
[9:36] mental health board in connection here
with and whereas section five of the act
[9:42] authorizes a township to present to its
voters the question of whether the
[9:46] township should levy a property tax for
the purpose of providing community
[9:50] mental health facilities and in services
including facilities and services for
[9:56] persons with a developmental disability,
mental health disorder, or a substance
[10:01] abuse disorder.
And whereas the township board hereby
[10:05] finds and determines that it's in its
best interest of the township to place a
[10:10] question on the ballot asking the voters
of Elkrove Township whether such attacks
[10:14] should be authorized. And whereas
pursuant to the Illinois election code
[10:19] and the community mental health act, the
township board may submit the
[10:23] proposition approved by this resolution
to the voters of the township and the
[10:28] general election to be held on November
3rd, 2026 by timely certifying the
[10:32] proposition to the county clerk. Now
therefore, be it resolved by the
[10:37] township board of trustees of Elgroveve
Township, Cook County, Illinois, that
[10:41] section one, incorporation of recital,
the foregoing recital are hereby
[10:45] incorporated into the resolution by
reference as if fully set forth herein.
[10:51] Section two, submission to the county
clerk. Upon adoption, this resolution
[10:55] shall be certified and submitted to the
Cook count to the clerk of the Cook of
[10:59] Cook County, Illinois by the the
township clerk no later than Thursday,
[11:03] August 27, 2026.
Section three, submission to voters. The
[11:07] proposition approved by this resolution
shall be submitted to the voters of the
[11:11] township in accordance with the general
election law at the general election to
[11:16] be held on Tuesday the 3rd of November
2026 known as the election
[11:23] section four election notice. The Cook
County Clerk of the County Clerk of Cook
[11:29] County, known as the county clerk, shall
give notice of the election, including
[11:34] the Spanish translation thereof, if
required by law, um, also referred to
[11:40] now as the notice in accordance with the
general election law by um, Roman
[11:45] numeral I, publishing the notice once,
not more than 60 days nor less than 10
[11:50] days prior to the date of the election
in a local community newspaper, having
[11:54] general circulation in the township.
Roman numeral 2, posting a copy of the
[11:59] notice at least 10 days before the date
of the election at the clerk's principal
[12:03] office. Section five, local notice. The
township clerk shall post a copy of the
[12:08] notice at the principal office of the
township. Section six, form of notice.
[12:13] The notice shall appear over the name or
title of the Cook County Clerk and shall
[12:17] be substantially in the following form.
Notice is hereby given that at the
[12:23] general election to be held on Tuesday
the 3rd of November 2026, the following
[12:28] proposition will be submitted to the
voters of Elkrove Township, Cook County,
[12:31] Illinois. Shall the Elkrove Township
levy an annual tax of not to exceed. 05%
[12:38] for the purpose of providing community
mental health facilities and services
[12:43] for the purp for the person with a
developmental disability, mental health
[12:47] disorder or a substance substance use
disorder.
[12:52] Uh then there's a yes or no question
after that with blanks. The polls at the
[12:58] set election will be open at 6:00 p.
p.m. or 6:00 a.m. and continue to be
[13:04] open until 700 p.m. on that day dated
this
[13:09] 17th day of August 2026.
Cook County Clerk County Clerk the
[13:17] county of Cook, Illinois. Section seven,
form of ballot. The ballot to be used at
[13:22] the election, including the Spanish
translation thereof if not if deemed
[13:26] necessary by the county clerk to be
required by law shall be substantially
[13:31] uh so shall be in substanti
substantiality. No, that's not right.
[13:36] substantially the following form in
accordance with section five of the
[13:40] community mental health act section
18-190 of the property tax code and
[13:45] applicable elect election law
>> with such necessary alterations changes
[13:50] deletions and insertions as may be
required by articles 24A 24B or 24 C of
[13:57] the election code if an electronic
mechanical or electron electric voting
[14:03] system is used at the election
Then there is the face of the ballot,
[14:09] the official ballot with the proposition
as it was on the petition which says
[14:14] shall outgrove Township loving annual
tax of not to exceed 05% for the purpose
[14:19] of providing community mental health
facilities and services for the person
[14:24] with a developmental disability, mental
health disorder or substance abuse
[14:28] disorder. There's a yes or no option. Um
and then under that is uh number one,
[14:34] the total approximate amount of taxes
expendable at the most recently extended
[14:39] limiting rate recently for tax year 2024
is currently 4 bill97,716,000.
[14:48] And if this proposition is approved, the
total maximum approximate amount of
[14:52] taxes taxes extendable will be 6
bill521,78.
[15:00] Sorry. 6 bill521,78,49
[15:07] » millions, not billions.
>> All right. Sorry. Give me one second. We
[15:10] went through this. Four.
>> You're in millions, not billions.
[15:12] » All right. Give me one second.
>> Billions.
[15:15] » 4,97, $716.
>> I went over that and I thought it was
[15:20] all right. 4 million. I apologize.
4,97,716.
[15:27] And if this proposition is approved, the
total maximum approximate amount of
[15:32] taxable taxes extendable will be
6,521,78949.
[15:42] Number two, for the 2025 levy year, the
approximate tax of the additional tax
[15:47] extendable against property containing a
single family residence and having a
[15:51] fair market value at the time of the
referendum of $100,000
[15:56] uh to be $15.15.
Um it shows the official ballot,
[16:00] precinct number, polling place, and then
there's section 8 severability. If any
[16:04] section, paragraph, clause, or provision
of this resolution shall be held to be
[16:08] invalid or enforceable for any reason,
the in invalidity invalidity or
[16:14] enforcability of such section,
paragraph, clause, or provision shall
[16:19] not affect the remaining provisions of
the resolution.
[16:25] Section nine is the effective date. The
resolution shall be in force and effect
[16:29] following its passage and approval as
required by law. And then it shows if uh
[16:34] when if and when we take a vote um the
yays, the nays, the absence, the
[16:39] approved and the attestment by the
clerk. And then following that there's a
[16:44] certification by the clerk which says
that I suen Saturn Township clerk of
[16:49] Elkrove Township County, Illinois, do
hereby certify that the foregoing is
[16:53] true, correct, and complete copy of the
resolution number 2026-03.
[16:59] uh duly adopted and approved by the
township board of Elk Grove Township on
[17:02] August 17th, 2026 as the same appears in
the official records of the township. I
[17:07] further certify that a quorum of the
township board was present at the
[17:11] meeting at which said resolution was
adopted and that the township board
[17:15] complied with all requirements of the
open meetings act in connection with
[17:18] such meeting. And then there's a line
for her signature. So I've read you the
[17:22] memorandum from our election law
attorney. I've read you the resolution.
[17:27] I gave you my opening remarks. Um, since
Trusty Wine Coupoop requested this
[17:31] resolution, which uses identical
terminology to draft the ballot question
[17:35] be considered by the board, I call on
him for his remarks. Following his
[17:39] remarks, the board will have a
discussion on the proposed resolution.
[17:42] Trusty Wine Coupoop.
>> Thank you. Supervisor Scalleta, would
[17:46] you like us to make a motion uh and
before we discuss this or shall we
[17:50] discuss it and then make a motion? I'm
always a fan of letting us discuss in
[17:53] case we make any changes because then
there's amendments to the motion which
[17:58] then confuses the board and the
audience.
[18:00] » And just to be clear, whoever makes this
motion does not need to reread that.
[18:04] [laughter]
>> Correct.
[18:05] I would say that the
>> need to reread it
[18:08] » that since we are going to have a
discussion about it, I thought it was
[18:11] best that we read it aloud. Um but then
it would just be concur with resolution
[18:15] 2026-3.
[18:18] » Thank you. as a member of the electoral
board um because I won the lottery um I
[18:24] have yet to form a full opinion about
this. We'll be briefed next week um but
[18:28] I have been moved by the number of
signatures and the organizing done as
[18:31] well as the attendance here tonight
indicating that it's really important
[18:34] that the voters in Elkrove Township get
to make a decision on this uh directly
[18:40] and that they should be presented with
that question and that anybody's opposed
[18:43] to the question uh should be uh
encouraged to campaign against it. Um
[18:48] because that's how democracy works. Um
this is what democracy looks like. All
[18:53] of this tonight. So if you were here at
six o'clock, that was democracy 2. Uh
[18:57] next week, if you're so fortunate uh to
have your Thursday evening open, you
[19:01] wish to come back, democracy looks like
that, too. Um all of this is what it
[19:06] looks like and we're going to work it
through. And ultimately where this idea
[19:10] comes from about democracy is that the
people who are governed get to do the
[19:14] governing. So, if we have if we as a
board set up a system where uh this
[19:20] question is on the November 3rd ballot,
then I think we've done our due
[19:24] diligence and our work uh to support the
community in uh giving it the
[19:28] opportunity to weigh in on this. Uh I
was moved to ask for this special
[19:34] meeting because uh I recognize that it's
a lot of work to knock on doors. Um all
[19:40] of us up here have done that.
And if you have done that and you've
[19:45] asked people, are you willing to have a
question on the ballot about raising
[19:49] your taxes? And you got 895 people to
sign on and say yes, then there's a
[19:55] substantial number of people that are
interested in at least weighing in. Um,
[19:59] so I was moved by that and I will be in
favor of this motion this evening. Um,
[20:05] and I want to give uh credit to people
who also chose the other path. So
[20:10] there's these two paths of board
initiated or petition initiated. Uh it's
[20:16] my hope that the petition initiated um
path will play itself out uh following
[20:22] the statute entirely and that um
regardless that the um voters in Elkrove
[20:27] Township get to weigh in on this
particular uh topic uh in direct manner
[20:33] if they so choose to show up on November
3rd. and my uh my esteemed colleague,
[20:38] the assessor here, I'm sure, would
stress to everybody the importance of
[20:42] voting and that if you have complaints
and concerns about your taxes or your
[20:47] services,
you have an opportunity to participate.
[20:51] So, that's all I think that the board is
giving tonight is an opportunity to
[20:54] participate
and I'm done for now.
[20:58] » Thank you.
>> Great, Trusty Lai.
[21:01] » Thank you. uh echoing my esteemed
trustee as well. You know, as US history
[21:06] teacher, I have a deep appreciation for
the power of the ballot and the
[21:10] fundamental idea that our residents
should have a voice in the decisions
[21:14] that affect their community. This is a
relatively new idea in American history
[21:19] dating back to the early 20th century.
Now, I certainly recognize that an
[21:23] objection has been filed regarding the
petition submitted for this proposal,
[21:27] and I respect that process that is
playing out currently. But tonight, we
[21:31] have an opportunity as a township board
to ensure that regardless of the outcome
[21:35] of that objection, our residents still
have the opportunity to make their
[21:40] voices heard. Our vote tonight is not a
vote to decide this question for them.
[21:45] It is a vote to allow the residents of
Elkrove Township to decide that question
[21:50] for themselves. Mental health services
have a real impact on individuals and
[21:55] families throughout our community. and
whether this proposal ultimately passes
[21:59] or fails should be determined by the
voters. I believe in giving our
[22:04] residents that choice and I believe
their voices deserve to be heard. For
[22:08] those reasons, I too will be voting yes
to place this question on the ballot.
[22:16] [laughter]
>> Yep.
[22:19] » All right.
Stanak
[22:21] » as most of you or some of you know I
come uh with experience in the field of
[22:26] social services uh going on almost a
decade uh working with uh used to work
[22:33] for nonprofits in the area in Manrospect
boots on the ground every single day. I
[22:38] still to this day I run a community
organization that serves residents that
[22:44] come through that door.
We get phone calls. We get emails.
[22:49] People have challenges with food
insecurity. People have challenges with
[22:54] housing insecurity.
All of them have one thing in common.
[22:59] All of them to some degree have mental
health challenges, know someone who have
[23:04] mental health challenges or lost someone
lost their lod because help came too
[23:11] late.
When I got elected, I felt obligated
[23:18] to bring the help that is needed
especially in this area for mental
[23:23] health services as elected official and
I continue and I plan on continue doing
[23:29] this moving forward. Thank you.
>> Thank you.
[23:36] So, um,
[23:40] you know, nearly every program and
service that is provided by Elgroveve
[23:43] Township is tied to mental health. Um,
and we take that responsib
[23:47] responsibility seriously, the board, the
staff.
[23:51] And
I when when I met with the petitioner of
[23:58] uh of the referendum
um and I explained all of the things
[24:03] that the township does um she wasn't
aware of all of them. And so I want to
[24:08] just take this opportunity to kind of
educate everyone while we're here
[24:12] because the township is doing the work
and we're spending the money. So let me
[24:18] tell you a little bit about it. Elkrove
Township received
[24:23] $710,000
in grant requests um this past year and
[24:28] the mental health and wellness committee
recommended funding $640,000
[24:33] to 29 independent
uh agency contracts. The board approved
[24:38] the $640,000
resulting in just over 90%
[24:43] of all requests being funded. The board
also approved $500,000 for adult and
[24:49] family counseling and $300,000 for youth
services.
[24:54] All total, the Elkrove bud Elkrove
Township budgeted $1.44 million
[25:00] specifically designated for mental
health and wellness.
[25:04] Wheeling Township, which now has a 708
board, budgeted $1.5 million for this
[25:10] fiscal year. And actually, I have these
for the for the board if you could p
[25:18] So those down that way
those down you can take one of those as
[25:23] well. So that that way
I gave you two. So, if you want to read,
[25:31] » so Wheeling Township budgeted uh budget
is $1.5 million for this fiscal year for
[25:37] their 708 mental health board, funding a
total of 22 independent agencies,
[25:42] including a 15% uh administrative costs,
not to mention a $275,000 line item for
[25:50] other projects. Elgroveve Township funds
29 independent agencies, has its own
[25:56] adult and family counseling department
with four full-time and one part-time
[26:00] therapist who conducted 3,000 sessions
last fiscal year. Outgrove Tim Township
[26:06] has a youth services to provide uh
department providing programs in
[26:10] district 57 and 59 in addition to the
on-site services and programs provided
[26:16] at the township. We're doing more with
less. So, this board and this township
[26:22] believes in supporting mental health and
we're doing it. I'm not sure.
[26:29] [applause]
I agree with you. I don't know why we
[26:33] need a referendum that will create a new
tax that could generate another $2.4
[26:41] million if you tax it at the 0.05%
which is in the entire township levy.
[26:49] We provide all of these with our
existing levy. So creating a new tax to
[26:55] create a new board
doesn't seem like the best route for us.
[27:01] This board had a strategic plan that was
that we all went through as as a board
[27:07] together that we all signed off on and
our priority was to evaluate and monitor
[27:15] the outcomes of the 708 board
referendum.
[27:19] And now we're putting the referendum on
the ballot.
[27:24] When I started talking earlier about the
I was using billions instead of
[27:30] millions, that's because I was reviewing
um some EAV data that I'm going to share
[27:36] with you just so that we're all on the
same page because remember this is tied
[27:41] to the EAV.
Okay, the EAV is the equalized uh
[27:46] assessed value
and since 2016
[27:52] it has increased by 64%.
So if the EAV goes up, so will that
[27:58] amount that can be levied um to the
homeowners.
[28:04] The EAV as of 2025 is 5 billion766,854
[28:14] uh,656
right 5 bill766,854,656.
[28:21] It's a lot of money which our EAV and
all I'm saying is that if we're doing it
[28:28] why are we creating another level? Why
are we creating more bureaucracy? We're
[28:32] doing more than other people are doing
with it. We're taking care of people. I
[28:38] mean, if we funded 90% of the grant
requests that we have, what is it that
[28:44] we're not doing? And that's the question
I have for the board and if the uh I
[28:50] when you look at all of the other
referendums because, you know, like
[28:53] everybody else that's up here on the
board, we all are involved and are out
[28:58] there circulating uh uh petitions for
signatures. the district 57 people that,
[29:04] you know, if their house is worth
$400,000, their taxes went up $715.
[29:08] That's if it's only $400,000. There's
people out there with homes that are
[29:11] worth more. And we have people that are
coming to the township and they're
[29:16] crying because their taxes are so high.
>> I'm not sure why you don't trust this
[29:21] board to be able to manage the mental
health and wellness of the township um
[29:26] since we've been doing it so far.
And so, you know, I don't want to belver
[29:30] the the the point. I think that
everybody understands that when you look
[29:34] at what we're doing with uh with the
money that has been allocated to us by
[29:40] the taxpayers through our tax levy that
we are really doing it. We're walking
[29:46] the walk. We're talking the talk. Um and
I would now open it up to public
[29:52] comments. And the first person that I'm
going to call on is Lori Gennawi. allow
[29:58] hold on one second. Okay,
>> I I'll open it back up to the board. I
[30:01] apologize.
>> Lj,
[30:03] » thank you so much. Uh, and I do
appreciate the numbers and facts. Uh,
[30:06] Supervisor Scalleta, uh, we are doing
more with less, but that should never be
[30:13] good enough, particularly when it comes
to our mental health. [applause]
[30:18] We had last year $710,000
that were requested and we were able to
[30:23] grant $620,000. That's $90,000 that we
were not able to grant to places that
[30:28] deal with domestic violence, sexual
abuse, mental health of teenagers. $6 a
[30:34] month for a $400,000 home. Let me do
some other math. A lot of these mental
[30:39] people that are suffering from either
mental health or other disabilities are
[30:42] going to hospitals, they're going to
ERS. That increases our overall rate. If
[30:46] we are able for $6 a month to fully fund
these programs, double triple than how
[30:52] we are, overall costs in our community
are going down. So yes, we are doing a
[30:58] lot, but we can be doing more,
particularly when it comes to the
[31:01] residents that are felt that need our
help more than ever. We are doing it,
[31:06] but we can and we should be doing more.
$6 a month for a $400,000 home. I will
[31:14] gladly write that check every day of the
week to help my neighbors more than we
[31:19] are currently right now.
[31:24] » Supervisor Stallet,
Trusty Wine Coupoop. Thank you. I
[31:28] appreciate everybody's passion for the
mental health board issue on both sides.
[31:33] I want to remind um my fellow trustees
and the supervisor that we're not
[31:37] debating the merits of the mental health
board tonight or we shouldn't be. We're
[31:40] talking about
We're discussing whether or not the
[31:45] residents of Elkrove, the voters of
Elkrove Township should decide whether
[31:50] or not the board's uh efforts with the
money we have is sufficient or not. And
[31:55] if they decide it's not sufficient, then
they're going to be electing to raise
[32:00] their own taxes. And then they're going
to be entrusting us to faithfully follow
[32:04] the law to implement a mental health
board. And if we're going to talk about
[32:08] the facts of this process, the mental
health board doesn't just simply tax at
[32:12] the 05
level, it does an assessment and it
[32:16] determines what the unmet need is in
Elkrove Township and then it makes a
[32:21] recommendation and a request for the
level of taxes required to fund that
[32:26] unmet need. So the we're not voting
tonight on whether or not we should
[32:30] raise people's taxes. That's not a vote
that we're making tonight. We're not
[32:34] voting tonight on whether or not the
township does a good job. I believe the
[32:38] previous township board as well as this
one has done a good job with mental
[32:40] health with the resources available.
There is unmet need. It's up to the
[32:45] residents. I would like it to be up to
the residents and voters of Elkrove
[32:48] Township to decide whether the unmet
need is substantial and if it's
[32:53] substantial enough to raise their own
taxes. That's the opportunity I
[32:57] [applause] want to give. So, if it if it
pleases my fellow board members, I'd
[33:02] really love for us to not debate the
merits of the mental health board
[33:05] referendum tonight, of the mental health
board itself tonight, but rather whether
[33:10] or not the voters should decide, which
is what the resolution asks. So, if we
[33:14] could stick to that public comment, you
all do what you're going to do. But
[33:19] amongst us, I'd really like it if we
could stick to whether or not we think
[33:22] it's okay, whether or not we trust the
voters to make this decision. and the
[33:28] the points that both uh trustee Luji
made and uh board president Scalleta
[33:33] made about the pros and cons to whether
or not those taxes should go up. Those
[33:39] are great things for us to be discussing
out in the community uh in the
[33:43] subsequent uh 8 weeks or 12 weeks or
whatever it is before the the election.
[33:51] » So what and and I'm
>> Thank you.
[33:53] » and I appreciate the comments. I agree
with you on most of it, but I also agree
[33:57] on what is it that we're not doing and
that's what the board should be
[34:01] discussing. What is it?
>> If you would like, if you would like, I
[34:04] can further discuss this point. However,
I think it's in the best interest. We do
[34:08] have another board meeting next Monday
night. We can discuss
[34:12] what we are and are not doing. I
appreciate your reference to the
[34:16] strategic plan. I think the strategic
plan is ultimately uh approved and
[34:21] vetoed by the voters and the voters get
to say. We often talk about how township
[34:26] is the closest form of government to the
people. This is our opportunity as the
[34:31] township board to allow the people to
make a decision.
[34:36] I
[34:39] I have a very difficult time
as somebody who votes in every election,
[34:47] very difficult time not trusting my
neighbors and and fellow voters to make
[34:52] these decisions. I don't feel like I'm
al I am alone empowered to make those
[34:56] decisions. I feel like they've empowered
me to represent their their views and
[35:03] you know that we're not doing a lot of
legislating up here. This is our third
[35:07] potential resolution of the year. So you
know that we're not an activist board by
[35:12] any means. This is just providing a
pathway. If we're not in favor of
[35:16] trusting the voters, then vote no. And
if we're in favor of trusting the
[35:19] voters, then we'll vote yes. It's not
hard.
[35:23] » [applause]
[35:27] » All right. If there's no Oh, Trusty uh
Steinak,
[35:30] » Supervisor Scalleta, you ask a question,
what is that we doing or not doing when
[35:34] it comes to mental health services? On
two different occasions. Um the last
[35:38] couple months, I asked the question,
what type of support the mental health
[35:43] department needs? And the answer both
time times was we need to hire more. The
[35:50] second answer was we might run out of
space when we do get more therapists.
[35:55] With more money, we can do more. You
[snorts] also ask why? Why is it that we
[36:00] need it? The referendum itself is about
giving residents the choice and not
[36:05] assuming that everyone has that opinion,
the same opinion. And this is why we're
[36:10] doing it. We talking about I know we we
went through numbers. $161
[36:17] per household per house. that is worth
$100,000.
[36:22] I was not the best with math when I was
in high school, but it's $64 a year on a
[36:28] house that is worth $400,000.
Compare this to phone calls to the
[36:33] emergency room, phone calls that are
being placed to uh the police
[36:37] department, 911. I can guarantee you
that we all pay for it one way or
[36:43] another.
[36:48] Well, and and and I'll leave with this
comment and we can go into um into
[36:52] public comments is that this year all
all of the people that are running for
[36:57] election are running on affordability
and affordability comes down to taxes.
[37:02] And while there is a there are
affordable homes in our area, what's not
[37:06] affordable are the taxes. When taxes are
as much as your mortgage, there's a
[37:12] problem. And all I'm saying is that I I
think that there's something to be
[37:17] discussed here. And apparently I I think
that because of the objection, um the
[37:23] board has decided that they just want to
put the referendum on there and leave it
[37:26] up to the voters, which is fine, but I
want to make sure that we at least
[37:30] address that this township is doing
something. And you know, if if there was
[37:35] anybody that was unhappy with the um 90%
funding and wanted to see it be 100%
[37:40] that could have be taken care of at the
budget, but it wasn't. Um and so I'm
[37:45] going to stop talking and let some other
people talk from the audience. And I'm
[37:49] opening it up. Uh first person on the um
on the signup sheet is Lori Gennawi.
[38:02] Lori, if you give give us your address
and township for the record.
[38:05] » Sure. My name is Lori Grayi. Address 227
South Vale, Arlington Heights. I'm in
[38:11] Wheeling Township. Um, I'm also on the
mental health board for Wheeling
[38:17] Township. I'm speaking tonight
representing myself, not the mental
[38:22] health board. And let me make that
really clear. Uh, part of what I did was
[38:27] to a big part of what I did was to help
create the mental health board in
[38:31] Wheeling Township. I worked with Mike
Murray to create that advocate for 708
[38:36] group and uh we were so thrilled when it
passed in Wheeling Township and as many
[38:42] of you know where people really got
involved was when the township for
[38:48] various reasons wouldn't fund the mental
health board. So yes, people get upset
[38:54] about t higher taxes, but the people
that attended the meetings and that were
[38:58] most vocal were the ones that wanted the
mental health board. They were the ones
[39:03] that were there speaking up and they
were the ones that were fighting for it
[39:07] to be funded. So this is an important
issue. That's my only point to a lot of
[39:12] people and I really appreciate you
considering putting this on the ballot
[39:17] so that everyone does have that choice
that they get to decide if this is
[39:22] important to them because I've collected
a lot of signatures for this. I've
[39:26] spoken to a lot of people and I can tell
you that when you talk to people it
[39:31] covers those three tiers. Mental health,
substance use, intellectual and
[39:36] developmental disabilities. It is hard
to find someone who isn't personally
[39:42] affected knows or knows someone who is
whether it's in their family or it's a
[39:47] neighbor. It's someone in their
community and there is overwhelming
[39:51] community support which if you put this
on the ballot I'm I'm hopeful that you
[39:55] will find out. So, thank you for your
time.
[39:58] » Thank you.
[40:03] » Next up, Jamie Clark.
[40:12] address in township for the record,
please.
[40:14] » Um, my address is 204 North School
Street. I'm in Mount Prospect and I am
[40:19] in Wheeling Township. Um, I am a
Wheeling Township mental health board
[40:23] member. Um, I'm also a 30-year uh,
professional clinical person who works
[40:29] with adults with intellectual
disabilities and mental health problems.
[40:34] Um I'm a business owner and that is my
primary focus. Um I am here just as a
[40:39] person. I'm not speaking for anyone. Um
I can tell you that in the years that
[40:46] I've worked started in 1997 working with
severe autism
[40:51] um
there's always a need whether it's a a
[40:57] 10% gap but how many people are affected
in that 10% gap? Okay. Is it your
[41:02] cousin's kid? Would that make it feel
better?
[41:06] Is it an immigrant kid? Would that make
it feel better? Is it the person down
[41:12] the road whose parents are alcoholics
and need a tremendous amount of help and
[41:18] they have a child with developmental
disabilities and there's still a huge
[41:23] need. So,
this isn't something
[41:28] this isn't something that's ever going
to be like a a Disney World idealistic
[41:33] situation, right? We're always going to
have a big area of need. But the areas
[41:38] that the areas that a mental health
board can fund are situations of life
[41:43] and death. There's situations of you're
barely making it and you have to get
[41:48] out, you have to have a child placed out
of the state for services because we
[41:53] can't do anything about it. So these are
things that are destructive [snorts] and
[41:57] detrimental to families when a child has
severe mental health problems. It
[42:02] doesn't just affect
the people down the street that we don't
[42:06] really talk to. It can affect any one of
us. And I think what? Six bucks a month.
[42:13] That's cheaper than a Starbucks.
So yeah. And I pay a ton of taxes, too.
[42:19] I'm D57. Like, I get it. I'm D214.
I get it. Okay. The schools cost a lot
[42:26] of money. That was a big hit. I was a
single mom for 10 years. That's a big
[42:30] hit. However, my kid attends those
schools. My nieces attend those schools.
[42:35] And my neighbors kids attend those
schools. and my retired grandparents,
[42:40] their kids attended the schools and when
they sell their house, some other young
[42:44] family is going to come there and those
kids are going to go to those schools. I
[42:47] want those schools to be good. I want
them to be fantastic. The agencies that
[42:53] these can that these mental health
boards can fund go into schools right
[42:57] now because our schools don't even have
enough funding to counsel kids.
[43:02] These are agencies that can do an
enormous amount of health help in our
[43:07] communities. So in if there's an area
that you're like, we don't think that
[43:11] this is could we applied, it applies
everywhere. So I would very much
[43:16] encourage you continue. Let the people
of this township decide what they want
[43:19] to do with their money. It seems like
they they think it's a good idea.
[43:23] » Wrap it out.
>> Thank you for your time.
[43:25] » Thank you.
[applause]
[43:30] Jill Hoff
>> buying services.
[43:37] » Hi Jill. Address in township for the
record.
[43:39] » Jill Hoff 21 South George Elkrove
Township.
[43:44] I agree with the statement that this is
not about whether or not the mental
[43:50] health board referendum is a good idea.
I'm concerned because when we talk about
[43:58] stewardship of our township resources,
we now have we had the hearing at 6, we
[44:04] have the meeting at 7, and we have two
additional meetings all
[44:09] all scheduled to answer one question. An
opponent came up with an alternative
[44:16] fact.
It seems to me like a pretty easy
[44:20] question to answer. Is he right or is he
wrong? We don't need to spend
[44:27] on attorneys, on AV, on our whole board
meeting five times for the same
[44:33] question. The petitions have been done.
The questions have been asked and
[44:38] answered and
let the voters decide. I don't see a we
[44:45] never even heard really what the
objection was from the objector at the
[44:50] hearing that was designed to figure that
out. So that is my objection to this
[44:56] whole discussion that we need five
meetings to decide one question and to
[45:02] me it's a waste of township resources
that could always be better spent on the
[45:08] residents of the township. So I am in
full agreement that the referendum
[45:13] should go forward as petitions have been
collected from almost a thousand
[45:18] residents and as the rules as they were
defined were followed correctly similar
[45:25] to many of our surrounding communities.
So this seems like a very very clear
[45:30] question. Let the voters decide.
[applause]
[45:38] » Thank you Miss Hoff. Next up, uh, Rice
Reed.
[45:41] » Reys.
>> Reys. Sorry, Ree.
[45:43] » No worries. [laughter]
[46:01] » Dressing Township for the record.
>> Yes. Reese Reed, 175 Lancaster Lane,
[46:05] Displayplains, Outgrowth Township. Uh, I
appreciate the need for improving our
[46:12] mental health treatment in our
communities. I appreciate the good work
[46:18] you do. I appreciate the effort that
you're in put through to get these
[46:23] hundreds of petitions through. Uh, I
would like if we're going to spend an
[46:28] extra couple hundred dollars, you know,
millions of dollars for the entire
[46:32] township on some unspecified
extra dollars to have at least know what
[46:38] those dollars are for. But that's not
why I'm up here. The petition rules, the
[46:44] laws in Illinois are very strict and
very clear. To get a petition in the
[46:52] general election, you need 8% of the
amount of votes that the governor got in
[46:58] the prior election. You cannot use the
municipal elections. That means it's
[47:04] wonderful. You got almost a thousand
petitions,
[47:07] » but you need almost 3,000 petitions to
be valid. That's what the objection is.
[47:12] » This Excuse me, sir. This is not the
hearing for that comment.
[47:17] » It is. This the objection is that there
are not sufficient signatures on the
[47:22] petition to bring this question to the
ballot on this election. So I would ask
[47:29] this board to follow Illinois law and
not allow a question with insufficient
[47:37] signatures to be placed on the ballot.
Thank you.
[47:40] » Okay. Thank you.
[47:46] Ne next next up is Fe Costa.
[47:51] How many are on this?
>> Hello again.
[47:53] » Hi again. Uh first of all, I bet you we
could find a township in Illinois that
[47:59] has fewer people than the number they're
shooting for uh residing in that
[48:04] township. So, I think that would be a
pretty ridiculous interpretation of the
[48:07] law, but that is not why I came up here.
Um the reason I came up here is to thank
[48:11] you all for your comments earlier. Um,
and let me get my thoughts back together
[48:16] on what else I wanted to say.
>> Start out with your address.
[48:19] » Oh, sorry. I live in Mont Prospect. Uh,
and I live in Elgrove Township.
[48:24] » Thank you.
>> Um, so um, what services are we lacking
[48:29] um, in Elgrove Township? This is a
pretty minor example, but you know, I
[48:32] when I take my kids to the school um,
you know, they have these great resource
[48:36] fairs and they show us what's available
um, from Elrove Township. And there was
[48:40] a flyer with some services that would
have been great for my daughter. Some,
[48:44] you know, groups for the kids to get
together. Um, but for whatever, for one
[48:48] reason or another, they weren't really
accessible to us. Um,
[48:52] uh, so
that's one, you know, one thing. Um, and
[48:57] my family is pretty privileged, so, you
know, that's all right. Um, you know, we
[49:01] can find these resources in other ways
from private means. We have private
[49:04] insurance. Um, but if we can't access
those those groups for kids, I'm sure
[49:10] there are other people who also cannot
access them. Um, and what was the other
[49:15] question? I'm forgetting now. [laughter]
I'm sorry. Um,
[49:20] » ah, shoot.
>> Take your time. You got two more
[49:22] minutes.
>> Okay, [laughter]
[49:23] » we're not going anywhere. [gasps]
Um
[49:38] [laughter]
[49:41] yeah, thank you. Um this should this
should go to a vote. Um, a lot of people
[49:48] did a lot of work
um to collect all these signatures and I
[49:53] wanted to amplify the voices of the
folks who spoke at the last meeting um
[49:59] who um really did all that work,
especially the gentleman who uh spoke
[50:04] last who said that um these mental
health resources go to folks who need
[50:11] them um who have these illnesses, but
it's not just the people who have the
[50:17] illnesses because it impacts the
people's families and it impacts their
[50:21] neighbors.
Um so thank you very much.
[50:25] » Thank you.
[50:29] » Next up, Ed Leinsky.
[50:37] » Johnson Township for the record.
>> Sure thing. Ed Leinsky. I live at 905
[50:42] Wilson Drive in Dusk Plains in Elkrove
Township. If the trustees sitting before
[50:47] me on the dis can get well over 4,800
votes last consolidated election, yet
[50:51] the referendum before us was unable to
secure 3,200 legitimate signatures for a
[50:56] popular referendum. It begs the
question, by holding a special session
[51:00] to print a question on the ballot
anyway, are you really carrying out the
[51:03] will of your constituents? Approximately
36 pages, nearly onethird of those
[51:09] circulated for the referendum were done
so by an individual from outside of our
[51:13] own township. If this referendum is so
popular amongst the constituents of
[51:17] Elgrove Township, why did it take the
work of several circulators from outside
[51:21] of our district to still fall short of
the minimum? It is hard to believe that
[51:26] the submitted referendum petition
organically man manifested from the
[51:29] citizens of our township. Otherwise, the
minimum signatures required should have
[51:33] been easily met. I believe the fiduciary
responsibility a trustee has is not only
[51:38] to the township, the corporate ent
entity, but even more so a fiduciary of
[51:42] the people who elected you. In 2024,
George Busy received the supervisor of
[51:47] the year award for social services.
Since then, the township has approved
[51:51] spending to supplement two additional
bilingual staff. Why is it then that the
[51:55] existing services are not enough? What
is the datim, the baseline? How high is
[52:00] the bar set? Are we falling behind what
neighboring townships are achieving?
[52:04] I've attended our township board
meetings regularly. Not once have I
[52:08] heard concern for Elkrove Township
services falling behind less than
[52:12] anything but amazing. And I believe that
is because we have some exceptionally
[52:16] amazing staff and administrators.
However, without seeing any furtherance
[52:20] of an established need, without metrics,
without showing us a why additional
[52:25] funding is necessary or what it will be
spent on, we cannot justify some
[52:30] arbitrary need. With $640,000 already
spent on social services each year, plus
[52:36] the improvements already made this year
with hiring new employees. One one might
[52:40] presume such a 708 board will only serve
as a budget appropriation for the
[52:44] Democratic Socialist of America or some
other
[52:50] or or some otherwise rogue element not
truly of the will of the people of this
[52:56] township. Look around us at this
meeting. If we had the genuine organic
[53:00] interest of even 900 electors wanting to
see this petition uh question on the
[53:05] ballot and yet less than 5% of that
number from our own township are even
[53:09] willing to show up in support of it here
tonight. All I can say is I have lots of
[53:13] questions. The most important question
being by holding a special session to
[53:17] pass a resolution to print the question
for a 708 mental health board on the
[53:21] upcoming general election ballot.
Anyway, are you really carrying out the
[53:24] will of your constituents? And with
that, I have nothing more to offer.
[53:28] » Thank you, [applause]
[53:33] » Matthew Pazanka.
[53:38] Crowd.
>> Good evening. My name is Matthew
[53:43] Pachchanka. I live at 2125 West Haven
Street in Mount Prospect, which is
[53:48] within Elkrove Township, and I
appreciate the chance to speak tonight.
[53:52] Over the last few weeks, I actually
foyed the referendum petition signatures
[53:56] and looked over closely at who was
involved with the ballot in question.
[54:00] And what stood out to me, which should
stand out to the board, is how much push
[54:04] and support for this referendum came
from outside of Elkrove Township. The
[54:09] community mental health project the
group emailed multiple residents urging
[54:12] them to attend tonight isn't even based
in Elkrove Township. It's based out of
[54:16] Palletine and numerous circulators on
those petitions you had reviewed
[54:20] yourself is over one-third of them were
based out of townships outside of
[54:26] Elkrove Township as well at which at
some point you have to ask yourself is
[54:31] this really a community initiative or
another way for top individuals and
[54:34] mental health organizations and groups
to grow their influ influences salaries
[54:38] and their budgets because when so much
energy comes from outside of the
[54:42] township it's hard to call this organic
in any Okay,
[54:47] which brings me to something a little
bit more serious. We have trustees here
[54:50] tonight who directly work with NOS's and
nonprofits that would financially
[54:53] benefit from a 708 board here today,
which is a clear conflict of interest.
[54:58] And now, and if this board wants to
maintain trust, those trustees should
[55:03] recuse themselves from tonight's
proceeding, which is not personal. It's
[55:07] responsible governance. Now, I would
like to go back to the community support
[55:11] or the lack of it. This board earned
thousands of votes in the last
[55:16] consolidated election. Real measurable
support from the people who actually
[55:19] live here. While this meanwhile, this
popular referendum supposedly backed by
[55:25] the same community couldn't even break
900 signatures in an entire 12-month
[55:29] window they had. That's roughly three
signatures a day they had collected.
[55:35] And when something has genuine
grassroots momentum, you feel it. You
[55:39] don't have to drag it across the finish
line. So, we have to be honest. If this
[55:43] referendum truly came from the
community, meaning the minimum wouldn't
[55:47] meaning the minimum, which they didn't,
wouldn't have been a struggle,
[55:50] especially with the amount of outside
help they had. Yet, here we are in a
[55:55] special session debating whether to
print a ballot question the community
[55:59] didn't organically demand. So, tonight,
I'm going to ask you to do something
[56:02] simple. Don't vote for what's
comfortable. Vote for what's right and
[56:06] what's lawful. The election law is
clear, which you understand, and they
[56:10] did not beat the real threshold. This
should not be allowed on the ballot. Our
[56:15] community deserves better than a rushed
referendum built on outside influence,
[56:19] conflict of interest, and a lack of
authentic community support. Make your
[56:23] decision with the people, the law in
mind, and the organizations waiting to
[56:29] profit. Thank you.
Before
[56:35] I before I call our final speaker, I
just want to clarify a couple things. Um
[56:41] there's only one trustee on this board
that works for a nonforprofit at this
[56:44] time and that nonprofit is not receiving
any um direct funding from this
[56:50] township. And so I just want to clarify
that for the record. Uh final speaker is
[56:55] Amy Austerman. Amy
[57:04] Hi, my name is Amy Austerman. Um, I
reside at 905 Wilson Avenue in uh
[57:09] Displayplains. I'm in Elgroveve
Township. I also uh serve as the uh
[57:14] deputy committee woman for the
Republicans of Elgroveve Township as
[57:17] well.
Um I'm here to speak against the
[57:21] referendum for the mental health board,
not because I don't care about people
[57:24] dealing with mental health issues. Um
I'm actually extremely empathetic. Um
[57:29] but because Elkrove Township already
handles uh the residents it serves and
[57:33] expands services on an as needed basis.
Um so they're doing everything just
[57:39] fine. Just because other townships have
done it doesn't mean we knew we need to.
[57:43] And um also not all mental health
services are created equal. Um I'll give
[57:49] you an example how mental health
services can go wrong. uh D214 uh gives
[57:55] uh its students an assessment for
suicide that is uh would not pass an
[58:00] institutional review board uh for
meeting its objective. It gives yes no
[58:05] questions um asking youth largely
self-image questions which again is not
[58:12] something that you want to use and
there's only seven of them. Anybody
[58:16] taking this test would walk away saying,
"I must be suicidal."
[58:23] I was, this was brought to my attention
because my daughter, who I had opted out
[58:26] of taking the test, but she actually was
able to um access the test and was
[58:33] called me crying wanting to get her her
students away from it. Um but anyway,
[58:37] the the bottom line is this nonprofit
organization that put that that puts
[58:42] this out for D214 is actually funded by
big pharma. So, um when I called the
[58:48] school psychologist, they were like,
"Oh, no. I don't have anything to do
[58:50] with that. That's the that's the um
that's the assistant principal who
[58:55] handles that." Um and also, um
um I'd like to talk about some
[59:03] hypocrisy. when Illinois residents are
discussing new laws allowing people to
[59:07] end their lives when they have no
terminal diagnosis.
[59:11] um
[59:15] in Canada. Well, a person in this room
actually actually said um so be it to
[59:23] somebody who actually was in the
hypothetical situation of somebody
[59:28] wanting to commit suicide with no
terminal illness just because they
[59:34] wanted to, a person advocating for this
mental health board responded with, "So
[59:39] be it." Obviously, the person is in
crisis if they're if they're looking to
[59:44] commit suicide. That's a mental health.
So, if if this mental health board is
[59:49] going to be advocating for and allowing
um assisted suicides, I don't want to
[59:54] have anything to do with it. Rarely
throw and and I think it's vile and
[59:57] disgusting that the person in this room
would say so.
[1:00:01] » Let's all be respectful of each other,
please.
[1:00:03] » But throwing money at problems rarely
helps the issues. The money intends to
[1:00:07] the money act. it actually intends to
help. Um, and and
[1:00:13] you guys are doing a great job and keep
it up.
[1:00:17] » Thank you.
[applause]
[1:00:22] » That end that ends public comments. I'll
now return it to the board for
[1:00:26] conversation and consideration of the
motion.
[1:00:34] » You know, actually, can I I just have
one thing. So,
[1:00:38] today the EAV numbers I mean um as you
can imagine um we don't have our tax
[1:00:46] bills for the for the second um part of
this year but today the EAV numbers came
[1:00:53] out um and so with working with our
attorney there's just a two things that
[1:01:00] we would like to amend
um on the resolution
[1:01:07] um for clarity. And so if you look at
number two
[1:01:15] » and I'm sorry, page three of five here.
Uh do you have another one? I'm sure we
[1:01:20] have another one. Hold on.
>> Do you want me to help explain
[1:01:24] that?
>> Hold on. I'm sure I have another copy. I
[1:01:28] have so many copies of everything.
>> I have that.
[1:01:34] » I just gave her my copy. So,
>> I can explain it.
[1:01:38] » So, I'm going to turn it over to uh I
hand out my uh my resolution to somebody
[1:01:43] else. So, I'm going to have um Isabella
Manzo explain the differences. They're
[1:01:48] minor um but they are for transparency.
So,
[1:01:52] » hello. Um so, we drafted this resolution
identical to what was circulated in the
[1:01:58] petition. And um by statute there are a
couple of requirements that the question
[1:02:04] has to have on the referendum. So you
have to have the actual question which
[1:02:08] is the yes no um with the cap and then
we also have supplemental information
[1:02:14] under paragraph 1 and two. So it is my
thought that when the petition was
[1:02:19] circulating those numbers were not yet
available but as we are now looking at
[1:02:24] it um as a board as you are all looking
at it as a board and again you don't
[1:02:28] have to make this amendment but because
we're passing it as a board resolution
[1:02:34] you could or you could totally disregard
the information I just want to provide
[1:02:38] it to you. So, because the new AV and
the limiting rates and things like that
[1:02:42] had come out earlier um today actually,
we received an uh a potential amendment
[1:02:48] from our attorney and it says paragraph
2 should read for the 2026 levy year,
[1:02:55] the approximate amount of additional tax
expendable against property containing a
[1:03:00] single family residence and having a
fair market value at the time of the
[1:03:05] referendum of $100,000 is estimated to
be 1550. So we do not change the cap. It
[1:03:14] is still 0.05.
You are using the new EAV to get to that
[1:03:20] calculation. And so
instead of change in instead of it being
[1:03:26] the 2025
levy year, you're changing it to the
[1:03:29] 2026 levy year, which is more accurate
and timely. and it actually lowers what
[1:03:35] you would see per $100,000 on your tax
bill. Um, remember this is supplemental
[1:03:40] information, so it does not change the
ceiling. Um, it still remains at that
[1:03:45] 0.05. Um, so you're not changing
anything in the actual referendum. Um,
[1:03:50] you are just changing the supplemental
information at is as it is available to
[1:03:54] us at this time. It may not have been
available to the petitioners at the time
[1:03:59] of drafting the original petition. Um,
so that you know, if you guys go back to
[1:04:05] this uh60ome
dollars a year, it actually is $60.60
[1:04:11] um at this calculation.
If you would like to amend it, you would
[1:04:16] have to amend it with that
wording and I can give that to you.
[1:04:22] » Or you don't have to amend it. Remember,
this is just information for your
[1:04:26] benefit.
I I move to amend uh to make the uh
[1:04:30] figure more accurate uh based on the
2026.
[1:04:33] » Can can you make a motion to approve the
resolution with the amendments as
[1:04:39] described by or as you read?
>> Um sorry, supervisor. Can I I would like
[1:04:46] to make another comment quickly before
um
[1:04:49] » Sure.
>> Um
[1:04:51] » Trusty uh St.
>> Thank you.
[1:04:53] um some of the comments um that came
through the public speaking we are we
[1:05:00] are good enough we are not good enough
there's no such a thing as a good enough
[1:05:06] um when you enter each and every town
that we uh cover in uh Elgrove Township
[1:05:14] it says welcome welcome to man prospect
it tells you what the man prospect
[1:05:18] stands for I can't tell you what the man
prospect stands for I should know this
[1:05:21] is my new hometown but My own hometown
was Elgrove Village and it says
[1:05:26] exceptional community.
You need to do more than we are just
[1:05:32] fine. If you want to stand up, if you
want to meet those standards, you need
[1:05:37] to be exceptional.
Um, if all we have during those
[1:05:43] arguments from our opponents are the
numbers, then let's make it simple.
[1:05:50] Let's community decide. And lastly,
I get compensated to sit here. I would
[1:05:59] love to opt out from receiving a check
from tonight's meeting and send this
[1:06:03] back to the township, towards the social
services, towards the food pantry
[1:06:06] because I know our residents can use it.
Thank you.
[1:06:11] [applause]
[1:06:14] » I'll connect you with Erica on that.
Trusty Wine Coupoop. I'd like to move
[1:06:20] the resolution as read previously by um
Supervisor Scalleta and we'll skip that
[1:06:25] part. Uh and um with the amending of
paragraph 2 in the supplemental
[1:06:31] information to read for the 2026 levy
year, the approximate amount of the
[1:06:36] additional tax extendable against
property containing a single family
[1:06:39] residence and having a fair market value
at the time of the referendum of
[1:06:42] $100,000 is estimated to be $15.15.
[1:06:49] Trusty Luji seconds.
>> Just for clarity, 1550 or 15
[1:06:54] » 151515.
>> Thank you.
[1:06:57] » I will send that out to the entire
board.
[1:07:00] » Thank you.
>> We re we received it at 5:18 and I read
[1:07:04] it at uh in between the two meetings
[laughter]
[1:07:07] » and I'm going to leave off the thanks
Dan part. But since since we're aware of
[1:07:10] it, I wanted to make sure that we were
drafting something that was as accurate
[1:07:14] as the information was provided by legal
counsel.
[1:07:17] » Thank you.
>> So we have a motion and a second. Roll
[1:07:21] call.
>> Trusty Wine Coupoop
[1:07:24] » I.
>> Trusty Lujay
[1:07:25] » I.
>> Trusty Stanyek
[1:07:27] » I.
>> Supervisor Scalleta
[1:07:29] » I. I am leaving it up to the voters. I
agree with everybody in this room that
[1:07:33] we should leave it up to the voters. I
hope that you will go out there and
[1:07:36] spread the good news of what we do
because we do so much more with less
[1:07:41] than many other townships in our area.
We have an adult and family counseling
[1:07:46] department that is very, very rare. We
have a youth services department that is
[1:07:51] very, very rare. And so, I just want to
make sure that that message gets out
[1:07:55] there because it sounds like, you know,
like we're new to the game and we're
[1:07:59] not. We're not new to the game. And you
know, we're very, very proud of what we
[1:08:04] do. And I hope that you take that
message with you as you go out there to
[1:08:09] campaign um for the mental health board
and let them know all the things that we
[1:08:14] do. Um because we are trying to do
everything we can to increase the
[1:08:17] awareness of what we provide here at the
township. Um and let everybody know that
[1:08:22] we exist and that's why we show up at
different events and and and you know,
[1:08:26] and try and make it possible. and and
you know I am very very proud of our
[1:08:31] director and her entire department in
the adult and family counseling
[1:08:34] department because they are doing work
um that you know is is not just going to
[1:08:42] work um and hearing other people's
problems. You take those with you when
[1:08:46] you leave at the end of the day. So
thank you Lan and please share that with
[1:08:49] your department.
[applause]
[1:08:57] All right. If there's nothing else, I
would ask the board to consider or uh
[1:09:02] make a motion to go into executive
session per 5CS120/2C21,
[1:09:08] discussion of minutes of meetings
lawfully closed under the open meetings
[1:09:12] act and 5ilcs
120/2
[1:09:16] C11 litigation when an action against
affecting or on behalf of the township
[1:09:21] has been filed and is pending before a
court or administrative jun tribunal or
[1:09:26] when the township finds an action is
probable or imminent in which case the
[1:09:29] basis of where the finding shall be
recorded and entered into the minutes of
[1:09:33] the closed meeting. I don't expect us to
come out and report out after the
[1:09:37] meeting.
>> Trusty Luji moves to move into executive
[1:09:41] session.
>> Second. We have a motion to second. Roll
[1:09:44] call.
>> Trusty Luji.
[1:09:46] » I.
>> Trusty Wine Coupoop.
[1:09:48] » I.
>> Trusty Stany.
[1:09:49] » I.
>> Supervisor Scalleta
[1:09:51] » I.
>> Thank you for joining us tonight. Hope
[1:09:54] to see you again next Monday.