BOURBONNAIS, IL – The proposed non-home rule sales tax referendum in the village of Bourbonnais failed to pass, with 885 votes for and 919 against it out of a total of 1,804 votes.
The increase would have added 1% to local sales tax in Bourbonnais and 8.25% in select business districts. The funds collected would provide property tax rebates to single-family homeowners for a decade.
The campaign was funded by REALTORS in Support of Local Sales Tax and Property Tax Relief.
In Kankakee County, a proposed mental health purposes sales tax increase referendum also failed by a considerable margin. The vote tally was 3,214 in favor and 5,635 against, with a total of 8,849 votes counted.
Despite the impact of the proposed tax relief and mental health services, voter turnout was low with only 13.51% of registered voters in Kankakee turning out to vote. Out of the registered 66,740, only 9,017 ballots were cast.
Both referendums drew significant attention, with various interest groups advocating for and against the proposals. Ultimately, the results showed that the majority of voters did not support the proposed tax increases.
The failure of the two referendums means that the residents of Bourbonnais will not receive property tax rebates, while the county will not receive additional funding for mental health services.
