2026 Illinois primary election: What referendums are on the ballot?

While plenty of focus will be on high-profile primaries for governor, U.S. Senate and other offices, there are a good number of communities voting on referendums this March.

Many of those referendums are focused on issuing bonds for school construction and road repairs, but there are also some questions about term limits for public officials and a variety of other topics as well.

Term limits will also be on the ballot in suburban Berwyn, with city officials asking if the offices of mayor, treasurer, clerk and alderperson be limited to three consecutive terms.

Those limits are also on the ballot in Dolton, with the village asking if elected officers should be limited to four terms. Niles is also asking residents about term limits, while also asking an advisory question about autonomous vehicles.

Glencoe residents will be asked to issue bonds for repairs to the public library.

Here is a list of select other referendums around the area. For a full list of referendums that could be on your ballot, visit the Illinois State Board of Elections’ website here. Cook County residents can visit their full list here.

Cook County:

Burnham – Shall the village of Burnham, Cook County, Illinois, request that the Illinois Department of Transportation decrease the speed limits from 40 mph to 30 mph on Torrence Avenue within its corporate limits to improve the safety and security of pedestrians within the Village?

Franklin Park – Shall the Village of Franklin Park, Cook County, Illinois, impose a penalty on any person that tampers with or removes a rodent bait box on public property as part of the village’s rodent abatement program?

La Grange Park – Shall the village issue bonds in the amount of $10 million for sidewalk repairs and street resurfacing?

Oak Park – Shall the park district issue bonds in the amount of $40 million to build an indoor aquatics facility?

Prospect Heights – Shall the city issue bonds in the amount of $21.5 million to resurface and reconstruct roads?

Tri-State Fire Protection District – Shall the district issue new bonds in the amount of $38.1 million?

DeKalb County:

Hinckley – Shall the limiting rate be raised for the community’s fire protection district?

DuPage County:

Milton Township – Shall the township be authorized to impose a new tax to purchase road construction equipment?

Naperville – Shall the Naperville Park district issue bonds in the amount of $120 million to build a new indoor activity center at Frontier Sports Complex, as well as extending hiking trails and improving other park facilities?

Tri-State Fire Protection District – Shall the district issue new bonds in the amount of $38.1 million?

Wood Dale – Shall the city amend zoning codes to allow for hens to be kept in single-family residential districts?

Grundy County:

Countywide – Shall the county adopt the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit to allow privately donated funds to be given to Illinois students?

Kane County:

Elgin – Shall the city explore and pursue a partnership with Elgin Community College to develop walking paths within College Park?

Geneva – Shall the city improve public safety facilities, including building a new police station, and issue bonds in the amount of $59.4 million to complete the work?

Hinckley – Shall the limiting rate be raised for the community’s fire protection district?

Yorkville – Shall the board of education of District 115 build and equip two new school buildings and build new additions to Yorkville High School, and issue bonds in the amount of $275.1 million to perform that work?

Kendall County:

Lake County:

Arden Shore South Fire Protection – Shall the district impose a new tax of 0.1% above the limiting rate to raise more funds for its department?

Cuba Township – Should Illinois opt into a federal program that would provide public K-12, private school, and homeschool students with privately-donated funds for academic needs, such as tutoring and test preparation, educational therapies for students with disabilities, tuition, books, exam fees or for other specified academic needs?

Deerfield – Shall School District 109 build and equip additions to Kipling and South Park schools, and build schools to replace Walden and Wilmot schools, and repair Caruso and Shepard schools, and issue bonds in the amount of $87.8 million to complete the work?

Fox Lake – Shall Fox Lake be authorized to levy a new tax to help fund firefighters’ pensions in the amount of an additional 0.06% tax on properties?

Shields Township – Should Illinois opt into a federal program that would provide public K-12, private school, and homeschool students with privately-donated funds for academic needs, such as tutoring and test preparation, educational therapies for students with disabilities, tuition, books, exam fees or for other specified academic needs?

LaSalle County:

Leonore – Shall a Leonore Rural Fire Protection District be created?

McHenry County:

Countywide – Should Illinois participate in a federal program that would provide public school, private school, and homeschool students with privately donated funds for academic needs?

Fox Lake – Shall Fox Lake be authorized to levy a new tax to help fund firefighters’ pensions in the amount of an additional 0.06% tax on properties?

Hebron Township – Shall bonds for road purposes be issued in the amount of $2 million?

Will County:

Crest Hill – Should the city of Crest Hill abolish civil service?

Monee Township – Shall the people of Illinois be given the opportunity to vote on a binding referendum for the Illinois Property Tax Relief Amendment to cut the property tax bills of Illinois residential and commercial taxpayers and improve state funding for education by enacting a 3% income tax surcharge only on millionaires?

Troy Township – Shall the township be authorized to enter into a contract for garbage collection?

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