Retired District 87 superintendent Barry Reilly is leading the campaign to get support for a 1% countywide sales tax for schools.
Reilly chairs the Vote Yes for McLean County Schools committee. He ran District 87 schools in Bloomington until his retirement in 2022 after a 30-year career in education. This week, he began his new role as the Promise Council’s first executive director.
Reilly said many of the school districts in the county, including Unit 5 and District 87, are trying to build trust with the voters by pledging to cut property taxes if the referendum passes.
“That is going back to [voters], putting more money in their pocket and it’s likely they are not going to pay that much in the sales tax that would be passed. So they are going to have a net gain in their pocket,” Reilly said in an interview on WGLT’s Sound Ideas.
The tax, which school districts across the county approved placing on the ballot, would add a 1% sales tax to many retail purchases, except groceries, prescription medications, vehicles, farm equipment and services. The tax would be levied on gasoline, online sales and prepared foods.
Advocates say close to 35% of the sales tax revenue would come from shoppers who live outside of McLean County.
Reilly was District 87’s superintendent in 2014, when McLean County voters rejected the sales tax by a 2-to-1 margin. The tax money can now pay for more than just facilities. It can be used to pay for mental health supports and for school security.
Reilly said that could make the difference.
“Since this didn’t pass in 2014, we’ve had a number of school security issues that have probably heightened that to a greater degree than 10 years ago and that’s not getting any easier,” Reilly said.
Reilly said the tax money would also help schools save on borrowing costs for facility repairs and upgrades that can’t be deferred.
Late push
Reilly said the committee is made up of about a dozen stakeholders, including parents, former educators and business leaders.
Several weeks ago, the group’s literature endorsing the tax was shared by a number of school districts across the county, which raised concerns about public schools actively campaigning for the tax. The school districts have since shifted to more neutral, informational wording after several complaints were filed.
Reilly said he was not part of the committee at that time and added his role as a retired educator gives him more flexibility to make the case for the referendum.
“We are not bound by those rules and laws that school districts have to follow. We are advocating for it,” Reilly said.
The election is less than four weeks away and people started voting early two weeks ago.
Reilly acknowledges the committee is behind schedule.
“In a perfect world, we’d probably hit this about a month [earlier] but we are where we are,” Reilly said, adding the committee hopes to raise about $30,000 for mailers and other advertising.
Close to 60% of Illinois counties have a school sales tax.
