Hawthorn Woods road referendum facing defeat

A property tax hike to generate $975,000 a year to fund a comprehensive road repair program in Hawthorn Woods was soundly defeated Tuesday night.

With all nine precincts reporting, unofficial results showed 952 votes, or about 58% of the total, against and 683 in favor of the measure dubbed Hawthorn Woods Paves the Way. Provisional and late arriving mail votes were not included.

Officials said that without the tax increase, there will be no road repair program in place starting next year and the village will rely on temporary measures like patching and filling potholes.

The need for such a program and discussion of how to pay for it has percolated for several years. The talk has intensified as village streets further deteriorated.

A study showed 90% of village streets are in urgent need of resurfacing or reconstruction.