Homer Glen Voters To Weigh In On Fate Of Township Government

HOMER GLEN, IL — Should township government continue in Homer Glen? That's the question voters are asked on Tuesday's primary ballot.

The advisory question reads: "Should the Village of Homer Glen take appropriate action and pursue appropriate efforts to potentially dissolve or discontinue township government?"

The question concerns only Homer Glen and Homer Township, not other areas served by the township, including parts of New Lenox, Lemont and Lockport.

"It is to gauge the residents if they would like the village to look into removing the Village from the Township," Mayor Christina Neitzke-Troike told Patch last year.

"It's time to question, 'do we need the extra layer of government of a township?'" trustee Sue Steilen previously said. "There are 24 townships in Will County alone. Illinois is known for having more government entities than any other state. At some point, we, the residents and citizens of Illinois have to come forward and say that enough, we need to eliminate some of these layers of government."

In October, Homer Township Supervisor Steve Balich told Patch the Township "is going to do the Village a favor and start the process of dis-connecting all its property from the Village of Homer Glen."

But one trustee in October expressed concern whether discontinuing the township is even Constitutional in Illinois.

In 2019, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a local government consolidation bill allowing "the petition-initiated dissolution of any township in McHenry County." The law applied only to McHenry County. In 2023, a judge ruled that the law was unconstitutional, as it applied only to one county.