Thornton Township is again asking voters to approve a referendum that would levy a tax to support mental health services.
A similar question was narrowly defeated a year ago, and the question on the March 19 primary ballot indicates that, if approved, the tax would add about $44 a year for a home with a fair market value of $100,000.
Township voters will also be asked whether the township should establish a second food pantry, and another referendum asks whether a $2 fee should be charged for people using the township’s soup and salad bar.
Thornton Township serves all of Burnham, Calumet City, Dixmoor, Dolton, East Hazel Crest, Phoenix, South Holland and Thornton and portions of Blue Island, Glenwood, Harvey, Hazel Crest, Homewood, Lansing, Markham, Posen and Riverdale. The township has about 165,000 residents.
In the April 2023 election, where the question appeared, 49% of township voters had favored the new tax while 51% were opposed.
In that election, 11 area mayors and other elected officials circulated a letter in opposition to the new tax, saying property owners were already overtaxed and agencies other than the township were better suited to provide mental health services.
Voters in other townships and Will County approved similar questions to pay for mental health services. Typically, referendum approval allows the township supervisor to appoint seven volunteers to an oversight panel known as a 708 board.
That board would weigh in on how funds generated by the tax would be spent.
For the referendum try last year, the township said the tax would generate about $500,000 annually.
The tax would equate to 0.15% of the total equalized assessed valuation of property in the district, according to the question.
The township tax levy of about $20 million would increase to $22.8 million for the 2024 levy, according to the question. That would be assessed on property owners for property taxes collected next year.
The township referendum says that money generated would be used to provide community mental health facilities and services, including services for people with developmental disabilities and substance use.