In 1983, Home Rule opponents said getting rid of Home Rule would be good for Rockford. They could not have been more wrong.
Back in 1983, the pros and cons were not so clear. But now, in the 35 years since Illinois was granted Home Rule by the Illinois Constitution of 1970, we can say that the two things that opponents have constantly said about Home Rule -- that it results in higher taxes and violations of civil liberties -- are patently false.
There is no historic pattern to indicate that Home Rule communities abuse their power or have higher taxes. In 1983, enough Rockford voters believed the fear-mongering communications of the opponents of Home Rule ("don't trust politicians - they'll raise your taxes") to repeal Home Rule. Nobody who is paying attention could honestly say Rockford has been better off since then.
The truth about Home Rule
Today, the record is clear: Home Rule communities do NOT have higher taxes. Saying "they'll raise your taxes" is a scare tactic used by opponents of Home Rule. Simply put, anyone who says that Empower Rockford wants to help government officials raise our taxes is lying. And the historic record does not support the notion that Home Rule results in higher taxes.
A study by Robert Albritton, then with Northern Illinois University, concludes that population size and geographic location had a greater effect on rate of increases in property taxes being raised than Home Rule status. When population size and geographic location are taken into account, the average property tax levy for home rule communities was the same as for non-home rule communities.
A recently completed survey of Illinois Home Rule communities undertaken by the Office of the Illinois Comptroller concludes that Home Rule communities are less dependent on property taxes than non-Home Rule communities. Cities and villages on average derive 25-30% of their revenue from property taxes. Home Rule communities, however, derive just 10-20% of their revenue from property taxes.
In the Journal of Public Economics, a study of the property taxes of 134 home rule communities and 104 non-home rule communities finds, property tax rates in non-Home Rule communities rose 61% faster than the rates of Home Rule communities in the same period of time (and remain at substantially higher levels).
Voters in Home Rule communities in Illinois do not believe that home rule has led to undesirable rates of taxation. Voters in all home rule communities have the option to stop Home Rule tax levies by rejecting Home Rule out. In the last 35 years, Home Rule opponents have asked voters to eliminate Home Rule 29 times. However, voters voted to retain Home Rule 25 out of 29 times. Rockford was one of the four - and the last - to vote out Home Rule. But, after repealing Home Rule, Rockford voters chose in referendum after referendum to raise our property taxes because no optional strategies could be utilized.
The record is clear: Home Rule does NOT contribute to suppression of individual rights. The Illinois and US Constitutions provide many safeguards against such abuses. Opponents who claim Home Rule is used to violate civil liberties are grossly exaggerating their claims. Empower Rockford is not particularly sensitive to the plight of absentee slumlords, crack dealers, or owners of sex businesses who fear Home Rule might interfere with their ability to profit in Rockford.
Home Rule opponents often say, "you may trust THIS mayor, but you don't know who will be elected in the future." In our system of democracy, we vote people out of office if they aren't performing up to our expectations. But we don't take away the tools they need to do their job. That would be like firing a delivery person, then hiring another one but taking away his or her truck.