CLARENDON HILLS, IL – Representatives from three school districts on Monday questioned Clarendon Hills’ plan to create a special district that would divert tax money from schools.

They spoke during public hearings at a council meeting, as did several Clarendon Hills residents who also questioned the proposal.

The Tax Increment Financing District (TIF) is intended to stimulate development in the area along 55th Street, village officials say.

Catherine Greenspon, president of the Hinsdale High School District 86 school board, said “exceptional” local schools are attracting families to town.

If tax money goes to the special district, taxpayers in other areas will fill the gap, Greenspon said.

“I am afraid that this community could approve a TIF district that would harm the public school system that brings families here,” she told the board.

A special tax district in Clarendon Hills would help the neighborhood along 55th Street in the southern part of the village. (David Giuliani/Patch)

Sinead Duffy, a school board member for Hinsdale School District 181, said she sees no need for a taxing district, citing Clarendon Hills data showing property tax base growth that outpaced that of the village as a whole.

Dozens of properties in the planned district have been redeveloped in recent years, Duffy said.

“It’s not really smellable,” she said.

Michael Jones, chairman of the 60th Maercker School District Board of Education, advised the community against making a hasty decision.

“Make the voices you heard part of the package,” Jones said.

Jones said a tax district in Westmont has brought great benefits, including attracting LA Fitness and Mariano’s, among other businesses.

However, he said the Clarendon Hills district would represent an estimated loss of $3 million to $6 million for Maercker over 23 years.

“That’s money that has to come from somewhere,” Jones said.

He said his school district is open to some sort of tax-sharing agreement to “soften the blow.” District 86 and Clarendon Hills have expressed openness to such an idea.

Last week, a state-appointed committee of taxing authorities voted 4-3 against Clarendon Hills’ proposal. The three school districts joined in opposition, and Downers Grove Township also opposed it. DuPage County abstained, and the College of DuPage was absent.

This decision means that a tax district requires the support of a three-fifths majority of the municipal council.

Supporters of the village’s plan included Daniel Quealy, a Clarendon Hills resident who served as a public member of the committee.

He pointed to the municipality’s argument that in an emergency, the fire department would have to bring water to the south side of 55th Street because of low water pressure.

“If there is a fire, our residents are at risk,” he said.

He said a tax district is one way to make improvements. A study from seven years ago pointed to the infrastructure problems along 55th Street, he said.

“The village has done nothing to solve the problem,” Quealy said. “This looked like an opportunity.”

He added: “I would like schools to negotiate and be reasonable… It doesn’t have to be one way or the other.”

Aldermen did not announce how they would vote on a tax district, and a public hearing on the matter scheduled for Monday has been postponed until Sept. 16 at the earliest.

Following public comments, Township Supervisor Zach Creer said the township is currently conducting further analysis of the proposed tax district.

Trustee John Weicher said the board needs “at least” more data.

Under state law, property taxes generated by growth in a tax district would be diverted to the district’s benefit.

In an email to Patch on Friday, Creer said that after 18 years, the impact of the Ogden Avenue tax district in Clarendon Hills would be just 0.02 percent of District 86’s annual budget.

He said village consultants have a better idea of ​​the tax impact on schools.

“Our Ogden TIF only recently reached six figures annually after over 15 years of only a fraction of that going to schools,” Creer said in the email. “So you’re talking about fractions of a percent, even if you assume the village doesn’t know what it’s doing and development happens naturally. Again, I think that’s a big assumption given the poor infrastructure and lack of new construction in the 55th Street area.”