Where Center Cass Tax Hike Got Support

DARIEN, IL – The results from the tax increase referendum on Tuesday in Center Cass School District 66 are still too close to call.

As of Wednesday morning, 2,859 voters rejected the nearly 20 percent hike in the district's part of the property tax bill, while 2,850 were in favor. That's a margin of nine votes.

Some precincts of the district showed strong support for the increase, while others soundly defeated it.

Woodridge was a friendly area for the referendum, particularly in the northwestern corner of the district. That area includes Ide's Grove West Park and is bound, in part, by Woodward Avenue, 83rd Street, Middlebury Avenue and 75th Street.

There, 68 percent of voters supported the tax hike – 345 to 163.

Another area of Woodridge – the southwestern part of Center Cass – also showed strong backing for the measure. According to the returns, 65 percent voted in favor of it, with a tally of 151 to 83.

About 60 percent of voters backed the measure in the area near Elizabeth Ide Elementary School, which is a mix of Darien and Downers Grove. The count was 215 to 141.

In a central precinct that includes both Darien and Downers Grove, 61 percent opposed the tax hike, with a tally of 247 to 161. Bruce Lake Park is one of the features of the precinct.

The precinct that includes the house of Darien Alderman Eric Gustafson, a prominent opponent of the referendum, also rejected the hike, 234 to 198, or 54 percent against.

Gustafson's precinct includes Ridgewood Park.