Petition Signers Needed

The General Elections are over and we have a new President. It is time now to concentrate on the April 09 elections and the effort to give voters the chance to evaluate, with authority, the value of Home Rule.

We believe that the City of DeKalb has abused the use of Home Rule through several administrations. We are now among the highest taxed cities in America and, through Home Rule, the increasing of taxes continues to mount. Debt continues to climb as well — without voter approval.

A grassroots level effort has been launched to place the question of whether DeKalb should keep or repeal Home Rule on the April 09 Consolidated Elections. The ability for citizens to repeal Home Rule, through a binding referendum, is granted under Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution of 1970.

The purpose of the petition drive is to get the required signatures necessary to place the question on the April 09 ballot. We believe doing so will generate in depth discussion of the problems and solutions Home Rule creates. Putting the question on the ballot does not repeal Home Rule. It simply gives you, the voter, the right to choose whether or not the City of DeKalb should be granted continued use of it.

You do not have to believe that Home Rule should be repealed to sign the petition, or to help circulate it. Obviously, you must agree that citizens have the right and should have the ability to decide the issue with authority.

If you agree we need your help. The Barb City Tea Company was formed at a grassroots level to get the Home Rule question on the April 09 ballot. It will remain a grassroots organization. We are looking for volunteers, who are registered voters in the City of DeKalb, to help circulate the petition.

We ask each volunteer for 50 signatures. Each signature must be that of a registered voter in the City of DeKalb. Volunteers must be conscientious and make sure that each signature is valid. We expect the petition to be challenged and do not want the effort thwarted due to a technical error.

The Barb City Tea Company has an organizational meeting each Tuesday at noon. It is held at 248 Palmer Court in DeKalb. You are welcome to attend the meetings. Post a comment or send us an email if you would like to volunteer.

If you care to donate money to the effort you are more than welcome to do so. Donations are limited to $150 per donor. There is a link on this page to donate online or you may send a check c/o The Barb City Tea Company; 248 Palmer Court; DeKalb, IL 60115.

Published in: on November 9, 2008 at 2:57 am Comments (1)

A Call for Volunteers

Barb City Tea Company continues its strategy meetings every Tuesday. Join us sometime! The strategy is mixed with loads of local current events and good humor.

Recently we received word from counsel that the referendum can be placed on the ballot in April 2009 along with the elections for city clerk, mayor and aldermen from Wards 2,4 and 6. This means we will begin circulating ballot petitions sometime in December and the number of signatures we have to get will be 10% of the number of registered voters in DeKalb as of the November 2008 election. (more…)

Published in: on July 9, 2008 at 12:41 pm Comments (1)

Tea Company Now Taking Online Donations

What with the ongoing city budget mess, Barb City Tea Company has begun taking donations in earnest to work to get the referendum question on the ballot. Early dollars are going to legal expenses to make sure what happened to Gavin Wilson doesn’t happen to us; later ones will go to the informational campaign.

Just click on the teacup in the upper-right-hand corner on any page. We gratefully accept donations of any amount but only up to $150 per individual to ensure the preservation of our grassroots identity. But do please tell your friends also.

The referendum question will simply ask whether residents of the City of DeKalb wish to retain Home Rule status.

Published in: on June 12, 2008 at 4:42 am Comments (2)

Interesting post from Villa Park

by Mac McIntyre

I track referrers to several sites I maintain. I noticed a “peak of interest” from a Villa Park discussion blog site. Eleven visitors a day have been reading about our repeal home rule efforts on DeKalb County Online (since May 1).

Villa Park rejected home rule by a 70%-30% margin.

One interesting post I thought I’d share:

If I were a DeKalb resident, I would be scared to lose home rule because of the university. Home rule allows the university area to be treated differently than the rest of the town. i.e. - A parking fine at NIU is much higher than a parking fine in the rest of the town. There are also other revenues that are generated in large part due to the school. The fees are necessary to provide the increased levels of services, enforcement, etc. created by the school. If you remove home rule, some of those rules will be repealed. Some of those revenue sources will be removed. The school isn’t going anywhere, so you will have to provide those services regardless.

In a certain sense, the community is subsidized by the university, although the school uses a large share of resources. Pull out home rule, they will still utilize the same resources without putting in the same subsidy.

 

Published in: on May 14, 2008 at 4:52 am Comments (6)

Fatal Flaw in Home Rule Law

[Reprinted with permission from City Barbs.com]

Municipal home rule powers are granted by the Illinois Constitution.

Except as limited by this Section, a home rule unit may exercise any power and perform any function pertaining to its government and affairs including, but not limited to, the power to regulate for the protection of the public health, safety, morals and welfare; to license; to tax; and to incur debt.

About 37 states (different sources cite different numbers, seemingly depending on how it’s defined) allow for municipal home rule in some form. Illinois, however, is unique in that its constitution lacks a mechanism for local control, namely a municipal charter or constitution that could limit home rule powers at the local level. (more…)

Published in: on May 12, 2008 at 2:31 am Comments (2)

Repeating History Lesson… Action is Required

Sometimes, its flat-out amazing how history can and does repeat itself. Take the current economy (drumroll)… you can have it.

A tax revolt has started in DeKalb, Illinois in response to a government that appears oblivious to an economy that is clearly in trouble. The tax revolt is taking shape at a grass-roots level in the form of a citizen-based petition to repeal Home Rule Authority in the city of DeKalb.

The tax revolt is just getting started but its roots can be traced back to the Great Depression.

One of history’s best kept secrets is the series of tax revolts that occured contemporary to the Great Depression. Many historians have written off those tax revolts as brief exercises of significance amounting to trivia but others believe that the tax resistance movement of the 1930s was extremely successful and that significant concessions in order to prevent its spread was made by the government.

The movement, a reduction in the overall tax burden and the resulting increased scrutiny on government expenditures eliminated substantial waste. (more…)

Published in: on May 7, 2008 at 3:14 pm Comments (2)

What is Home Rule?

[Reprinted with permission from City Barbs.com ]

Before we can think about revoking it, we have to understand it. This is the best description I’ve come across so far:

In the United States, the national and state governments share power in a system of federalism, with both levels of government holding certain checks over the other. However, no similar balance exists when it comes to the relationship between a state and a local government; a local government performs its functions solely at the pleasure of the state government. Because the different communities of a state have widely different needs, the state government may not always be able to meet those needs. Therefore, for the sake of local autonomy, the state may grant communities the ability to exercise certain forms of self-governance. This delegation of power from the state to a unit of local government is known as home rule. Home rule designation allows units of local government, such as city councils, to exercise certain powers within their jurisdiction concurrently with the state legislature. Simply put, home rule allows local government to solve local problems.   For example, in addition to the regular state sales tax, a city council might impose an additional sales tax for products sold within the city in order to raise revenue for city use.

(more…)

Published in: on May 3, 2008 at 6:08 am Comments (2)