In Will County, Romeoville Mayor Fred Dewald said his efforts tobring commercial growth and lower taxes to the far southwest suburbled to his victory by a nearly 3-1 margin over village Trustee Edward"Doc" McCartan.
Growth was also the issue in Homer Township, where residentshoping to curb it won a referendum creating the new 19-square-milevillage of Homer Glen with 66 percent of the votes cast.
Twice before, voters had rejected incorporation, many fearinghigher taxes. This year "people realized it was finally time," saidMike Divivio, a member of the Committee to Incorporate Homer Glen.
"There may not have been a reason to before, but with theannexations surrounding towns have made, the people can finally seethat it's going to continue and the only way to protect us as acommunity is to define our borders," Divivio said.
Committee members sought to carve out two-thirds of the township,containing 22,000 people, in an effort to prevent annexations andpreserve the area's rural character.
In Romeoville, challenger McCartan tried to make growth an issue,but only won 27 percent of the vote to Dewald's 73 percent.
McCartan was for slowing the rate of growth, saying residents inthe older part of the village were footing the bill for services tonew subdivisions.
But Dewald said he viewed the vote as a mandate to continue whathe calls "smart growth."
"To know this kind of support is there-it's a mandate not to sitback and relax but to keep working for the next four years."
Just one recent development brought in $10.8 million in new taxrevenue, which is being used to repair older streets in the village,Dewald said.
Incumbent Frankfort Mayor Ray Rossi took 60 percent of the vote todefeat Robert Herrick.
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