Burr Ridge, Other Towns 'Second-Class Citizens'

BURR RIDGE, IL – Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso said this week all towns should get more flexibility with how they spend their hotel taxes.

But he said only home-rule towns hold such powers.

"We need to beat the drum about the state getting rid of the designation of home rule vs. non-home rule because we are second-class citizens as are 80 percent of the municipalities in the state of Illinois because Springfield tells us how to spend our money," Grasso said at a Village Board meeting.

Towns such as Burr Ridge with a population of less than 25,000 can only get home rule through referendum. In March 2020, nearly 70 percent of local voters rejected Grasso's proposal to designate Burr Ridge as a home-rule town.

Back then, Grasso's main argument for home rule was flexibility with hotel tax dollars. Under home rule, Grasso and others contended, the village could allocate much of the hotel tax to quickly escalating police pensions. For non-home rule towns, the hotel tax must largely go toward promoting tourism.

However, the measure's opponents, including former Trustee Zach Mottl, contended home rule would give village officials an easier way to raise taxes.

Among area towns, Elmhurst and Darien are home rule, while Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills, La Grange and Western Springs are not.

In the last few years, Burr Ridge has seen surging hotel tax income. This budget year, the village is on track to receive $868,000, up by a third over two years ago.

"This is record revenue three years in a row," Village Administrator Evan Walter said.

The 4 percent hotel tax is one of Burr Ridge's positives, Grasso said.

"We are a small community with five hotels. There is actually market room for another one probably," the mayor said. "This is probably one of the reasons to continue to advocate to get rid of the designation for non-home rule communities."