The village of Niles will not be broken up into representative districts and village trustees will continue to be elected at-large – each representing the whole north suburban town instead specific areas of it – after unofficial election results from the election Tuesday indicate a failed referendum.
Niles voters said “no” to the referendum question that asked, “Shall the Village of Niles be divided into 6 districts with one Trustee elected from each district…?”
As of late-evening on election night, 70% of voters responded “No” to the binding referendum, according to unofficial results by the Cook County Clerk’s office from the election Tuesday night.
“The current system perpetuates a monopoly of government by a clique of trustees who must support the mayor, special interest groups, insiders, lobbyists, and bureaucrats who make all the pertinent decisions,” said Joseph Makula, who was among a group who spearheaded the referendum petition he said was signed by more than 1,700 voters.
If passed, the village would have been required to implement the districts with the 2027 village elections and move away from village-wide representation by each trustee.
The plan was to create six trustee districts that supporters said would provide equal representation, greater accountability and more say in local government.
Voters, though, seem to side with the mayor, who believes the move would “divide the community.”
Mayor George Alpogianis said he worried about the cost and impact of the referendum.
“Seventh grade social studies told us, ‘United we stand, divided we fall,’” Alpogianis has previously said. “I think it’s just going to divide the community.”
Makula said in a text to Pioneer Press that it had been explained to voters that the referendum would not change the number of trustees, but would mean the elected leaders would look out for the interests of residents in specific districts.
Literature provided to Niles voters about the pros of the districts stated that for more than a decade, no village trustee resided west of Milwaukee Avenue or north of Dempster Street. A call was made to have “equal representation … codified” via the referendum and not just through word of mouth promises, according to Makula.
Additional benefits to the split-up included reducing the cost of running for trustee in election campaigns because a candidate would focus on a narrower area – and electorate – instead of the whole village population.
The move was expected to also upend slating of “yes people,” and curtail the influence of campaign contributions by special interest groups, lobbyists, local businesses and more, according to the referendum support literature.
Alpogianis said Niles has always been a strong village at just 5.4 square miles with under 30,000 people.
“Everyone is getting fully represented. When you have trustees at large, grab any six of us shopping or at church – we can all help,” said Alpogianis, who had been a Niles trustee since 2013 before being elected mayor in 2021. “We’ve always taken care of all of the neighborhoods throughout the village, everything seems to be running just fine, everyone now has a fair voice.”
He said new districts could have impacted pending redevelopment at Golf Mill Mall, the two new luxury apartment buildings and senior housing planned for the village. The village, which generates $1.9 billion in retail revenue, according to Alpogianis, also plans to purchase the Leaning Tower YMCA.
Alpogianis said he worried the districts would have been “way too small” and the cost to implement them too expensive.
“It will cost $100,000 to map out the village,” he said, based on numbers shared with him by village of Skokie leaders who recently introduced districts in that village, which is about 4 miles northeast of Niles.
The mayor said he would have to hire “professionals” specializing in redistricting at a projected cost of $60,000, then add rough costs for implementation, marketing and media.
But Makula disagrees and believes the one-time cost of a consultant would amount to about $1 per resident. He also said neighboring municipalities have wards and districts with as few as 5,000 residents.
Alpogianis also worried six districts, or what he described as wards, would be difficult to recruit trustees for and cause a lot of infighting.
“[Trustees] would fight more for your ward for money for flooding, roads, public safety, infrastructure. That will ultimately cause a stalemate in [Village Board] chambers,” Alpogianis said. “Then, it turns it into a game of who has more influence.
He said Niles currently has a “cohesive” Village Board.
“If it’s not broken, why fix it?” he questioned.
Elizabeth Owens-Schiele is a freelancer.
