Home Rule status in Illinois  allows certain municipalities to bypass going directly to voters when seeking to raise property taxes or implementing some fees.

Home rule units must go to a referendum to get a transfer tax adopted or increased. Except for this limitation—and a few others that are specifically set forth in state law—home rule units are free to enact any kind of tax (except an income tax) they want.

The result: You could be on the hook for tax or fee increases you never agreed to and don’t want.

Each year several Illinois communities tried to put home rule questions on the ballot. Make sure if yours is one of them, you go to this page and learn the facts about this risky proposition.