From the Joliet Herald News, April 9, 2015:
"Mayor-Elect Bob O'Dekirk said Wednesday that he considers his 52 percent of Tuesday's vote in Joliet's mayoral election a mandate that will help him make changes at City Hall. "When I talked about a change in culture at City Hall, I meant that," O'Dekirk said Wednesday during an interview about plans after being elected Tuesday.
O'Dekirk, who will be sworn in May 4, finished well ahead of incumbent Mayor Tom Giarrante, who had 39 percent of the vote, and Andy Mihelich, who had 9 percent. "I do believe that there's a mindset that because we've done business a certain way for a long time, that's the way we're going to do it," he said.
In Joliet, the mayor is just one of nine votes on the City Council. He has no veto power. The mayor has the power to make appointments, but the City Council can block them."
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ABOUT THE CITY OF JOLIET & ITS GOVERNMENT
The City of Joliet is a "Home Rule" Municipality. Its actions are governed by Illinois Municipal statute 625 ILCS 5/1-2.1 (see http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs5.asp?ActID=802&ChapterID=14 )
ABOUT HOME RULE
The Illinois Constitution allows both counties and municipalities to obtain home rule status. Municipalities may adopt home rule status through referendum or obtain automatic home rule status as a consequence of having a population greater than 25,000. A county has home rule status if it has a chief executive officer elected at large and passes a home rule referendum.
Joliet Municipal Code/Ordinances (View All Local Ordinances) https://www.municode.com/library/il/joliet/codes/code_of_ordinances
Under the 1970 Illinois Constitution, Home Rule shifts decision making from the state level (Springfield) to the local level, enabling communities to find local solutions to local problems. Home Rule communities are granted a broad range of powers for the local good unless exempted by the State. Often a Home Rule community is exempted from meeting requirements mandated by state legislation. Municipalities with populations over 25,000 are automatically granted Home Rule status, while smaller communities can put the question on a ballot and let voters decide. The majority (over 70%) of Illinois’ 12.5 million citizens live in Home Rule communities. Among Illinois communities having Home Rule, 55% attained Home Rule status by voter approval of a Home Rule referendum. No community has petitioned to revoke Home Rule status in the past 20 years.
The Illinois Constitution allows a home rule unit to “exercise any power and perform any function pertaining to its government and affairs.” Home rule units are able to regulate and impose taxes in creative ways in order to solve local issues. However, the few checks on potential misuse of power through excessive taxation or overbearing regulatory authority is a potentially contentious issue among voters.
However, in the area of taxation, both a home rule county and a home rule municipality may impose a tax on the same item concurrently. In other words, a citizen could pay a municipal, county, and state sales tax all at the same time. Furthermore, if a home rule municipality enacts an ordinance that ensures its citizens a certain item will not be taxed, this municipal ordinance does not restrict the county from taxing that item. Conversely, a municipality cannot enact an ordinance exempting its citizens from a county tax relying on the language of the Illinois Constitution.
HOME RULE AND SALES TAX
RELATED INFORMATION ON HOME RULE
ABOUT HOME RULE
The Illinois Constitution allows both counties and municipalities to obtain home rule status. Municipalities may adopt home rule status through referendum or obtain automatic home rule status as a consequence of having a population greater than 25,000. A county has home rule status if it has a chief executive officer elected at large and passes a home rule referendum.
Joliet Municipal Code/Ordinances (View All Local Ordinances) https://www.municode.com/library/il/joliet/codes/code_of_ordinances
Under the 1970 Illinois Constitution, Home Rule shifts decision making from the state level (Springfield) to the local level, enabling communities to find local solutions to local problems. Home Rule communities are granted a broad range of powers for the local good unless exempted by the State. Often a Home Rule community is exempted from meeting requirements mandated by state legislation. Municipalities with populations over 25,000 are automatically granted Home Rule status, while smaller communities can put the question on a ballot and let voters decide. The majority (over 70%) of Illinois’ 12.5 million citizens live in Home Rule communities. Among Illinois communities having Home Rule, 55% attained Home Rule status by voter approval of a Home Rule referendum. No community has petitioned to revoke Home Rule status in the past 20 years.
The Illinois Constitution allows a home rule unit to “exercise any power and perform any function pertaining to its government and affairs.” Home rule units are able to regulate and impose taxes in creative ways in order to solve local issues. However, the few checks on potential misuse of power through excessive taxation or overbearing regulatory authority is a potentially contentious issue among voters.
However, in the area of taxation, both a home rule county and a home rule municipality may impose a tax on the same item concurrently. In other words, a citizen could pay a municipal, county, and state sales tax all at the same time. Furthermore, if a home rule municipality enacts an ordinance that ensures its citizens a certain item will not be taxed, this municipal ordinance does not restrict the county from taxing that item. Conversely, a municipality cannot enact an ordinance exempting its citizens from a county tax relying on the language of the Illinois Constitution.
HOME RULE AND SALES TAX
Home rule units of local government are authorized to impose a Home Rule sales tax and certain non-home rule units of local government are authorized to impose a Non-home Rule sales tax to be collected by the department. Both taxes are imposed on the same general merchandise base as the state sales tax, excluding titled or registered tangible personal property (such as vehicles, watercraft, aircraft, trailers, and mobile homes), and qualifying food, drugs and medical appliances.
· The Home Rule sales tax is in 0.25% increments with no maximum rate limit.
· The Non-home Rule sales tax is in 0.25% increments with a 1% maximum rate limit.
Some Will County municipalities have a home rule sales tax ranging from 0.5% - 1.5%
The Illinois Property Tax System: A General Guide to the Local Property Tax System
An Illinois Supreme Court majority has ruled that a home rule municipality may enact local ordinances with different requirements than state statutes, as long as the General Assembly has not expressly exercised exclusive control over the particular subject matter of the laws.
In Palm v. 2800 Lake Shore Drive Condo Ass'n, 2013 IL 110505, a 5-2 divided court upheld a Chicago ordinance concerning requests for production of financial records from condominium associations, even though the Chicago law differs substantially from two state statutes governing the same subject.
