Park Tax Hike Goes To La Grange Voters

LA GRANGE, IL – La Grange residents are voting on whether to let the local park district raise property taxes.

The election is Tuesday.

In August, three board members for the Park District of La Grange voted to put the issue on the ballot. Two others were absent.

If the measure passes, then the district could go into debt by $13.9 million for nearly 25 years.

The tax increase is expected to cost the owner of a $500,000 house an extra $71 a year, according to the park district.

The park district said it sought the public's feedback, through a mailed survey, on what improvements residents would like to see.

Here are the highlights of what the park district would like to do with the money:

Community Center

• Add multiple sport courts
• Connect indoors and outdoors

Denning Park

• Add a six-hole disc golf course
• Add a soccer field on the southwest corner
• Expand half basketball court to full
• Increase pathways

Elm Park

• Fix the basketball court

Gilbert Park

• Expand parking lot
• Update 1990s-era playground
• Update three tennis courts
• Convert the fourth tennis court into a multiple sports court

Gordon Park

• Build a bandshell
• Add dog park
• Add pathways
• Add seating at the splash pad

Rotary Park

• Replace the playground

Sedgwick Park

• Convert two tennis courts into dedicated pickleball courts
• Improve sand volleyball courts

Spring Park

• Expand the pathway to go through the entire park, rather than halfway
• Replace 1970s-era shelter

In an email to Patch in August, Jenny Bechtold, the district's executive director, said the new tax would go toward capital projects and would not cover day-to-day operational costs.

More information about the referendum is on the park district's website.