Taxes in Surrounding Towns Motivation for Naperville Annexation Referendum

Frank Avila, the lawyer representing the unknown person or group seeking to add annexation by Naperville to the ballot, said reducing taxes was the motivation for the referendum, according to the Naperville Sun.

"If you look at the municipal taxation rates for those municipalities, they're 2- to 2 1/2 times larger than Naperville," Avila told the Naperville Sun. "The whole motivation is to reduce property taxes, save some people some money and have an economy of scale."

Avila also noted that Naperville has amenities and a commercial sector that would not be possible in the smaller towns of Lisle, Warrenville and Woodridge.

A DuPage county judge declined to make a final decision on the matter on Thursday, even though that day was the state deadline for finalizing ballots.

"We set the January deadline as a hard and fast deadline because then you have time to do it and do it right," Ken Menzel, legal counsel for the Illinois State Board of Elections, told the Naperville Sun. "A deadline is set in the statute for a very good reason." Menzel noted that the election commission needs several weeks to print and prepare ballots.

State law allows citizens to place a question on the ballot with judicial approval, even if they don't have signatures from the community.

The next hearing on the matter in DuPage County Court will be on February 8.

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