Should Orland Township Leave Cook County? Voters To Weigh In
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Orland Township residents are being asked during this election whether they'd like to split from Cook County because of high taxes, and become part of Will County.
The ballot referendum is not binding, but it would give officials like Orland Township Supervisor Paul O'Grady a good idea if there's overwhelming support or not, and whether it's worth pursuing the idea of getting Orland Township into Will County.
O'Grady said the results would have to be overwhelming – 80% in favor, for example, for him to push the matter further.
"If it's 55-45, or 51-49, is that really a message sent that residents want to leave? I don't think so," he said. "If it's a landslide, and it's 80-plus, then I think those conversations need to be had."
State Sen. Michael Hastings (D-Tinley Park) questioned whether Cook County would allow Orland Township to leave.
"It would be a heavy lift, but the main thing though, for me, is that the voters have the opportunity to vote on it, and express how they feel," he said.
O'Grady said people who favor the move believe Cook County taxes hurt the township, which includes Orland Park, Orland Hills, and part of Tinley Park.
"From a small business perspective, if you're on the corner of 183rd and Harlem, and you're on the southwest corner, those hotels there – because of Cook County's new hotel tax – are paying less, because they're in Will County. If you go to the other side of Harlem to the Holiday Inn, the tax there is more, because it's in Cook County," he said.
Another argument in favor of secession, O'Grady said, is that the Will County seat – Joliet – is closer to the township than Cook County's county seat, downtown Chicago.
O'Grady said he would contact Will County Executive Larry Walsh for his views, should Orland Township residents vote overwhelmingly for leaving Cook County.