Referendum is Biggest Draw for Highland Park Voters

Editor's note: Polls close at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. For results about the referendum and District 113 school board, click here. For all other Highland Park election results, click here.

Cold, rainy weather did not stop Highland Park residents from coming out to vote on Tuesday.

As of 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, 485 votes had been cast at Lincoln Elementary School. The school was getting about 50 votes per hour, according to Site Manager Kipp Wilson.

Though many voters admitted to using "cheat sheets" for the Park Board, City Council and School Board races, there was one issue that they had clearly done their homework for: the District 113 referendum.

Read all of Patch's coverage on the referendum here.

"We feel it's necessary," said Mike Grossman, who voted in favor of the $89 million bond referendum, along with his wife, Fran. 

The referendum would pay for major renovations to Highland Park and Deerfield High Schools. The couple also voted in favor of the unsuccessful 2011 referendum.

"You can't just keep patching it up, putting bandaids on the problem," said Fran Grossman.

The couple has lived in Highland Park since 1972. They voted for Kim Stone, Alyssa Knobel and Dan Kaufman in the City Council race. They would like to see the City Council do more to help downtown Highland Park.

"We all want those empty storefronts filled," Mike Grossman said.

Fred Putz spent the day outside of Lincoln Elementary School, holding up a sign urging residents to vote against the referendum. 

"I get a lot of thumbs up," said Putz, a volunteer for Education First, the community group that opposes the referendum. 

Putz arrived at 6 a.m. and said he would be there till polls closed. In 2011, Education First was able to place people at polling places in shifts throughout the day. They're size has diminished, according to Putz.

"We had a bigger team," Putz said. "We've lost a little momentum."

Lucy Minor is another Highland Park resident who voted in favor of the referendum. She said that education is the most important component of the community.

"I went to school here, my children went to school in the same district," Minor said. She's lived in Highland Park since 1951. 

Minor also voiced concern for Highland Park's downtown, though she was less sure of what the City Council could do to help.

"It just depends on what the rent prices are," she said of the empty storefronts in downtown. "And if the [Highland Park restaurants] have the talent for attracting customers." 

Steve Rudman, another Highland Park resident, also voted for the referendum. He is the varisty tennis coach at Highland Park High School. For him, the referendum was the biggest draw to vote.

"My whole reason for coming out was because of the referendum," Rudman said.

Carl Lambrecht, who made an unsuccessful bid for the District 113 School Board in 2011, voted against the referendum. He voted for District 113 school board candidates David Greenberg, Annette Lidawer and Stacey Meyer. Greenberg also ran in 2011. .

"Greenberg is very enthusiastic about reducing costs," Lambrecht said.

Carol and Andre Leib, a Highland Park couple that voted against the 2011 referendum, voted in favor of this one. 

"We have grandchildren that go to school in Highland Park," Andre Leib said.

The couple said they said they have mixed emotions about their decision. 

"I'm not looking forward to a tax increase," Andre said. "Had I not had any grandchildren, I probably would have voted no."

The couple also voted for Kaufman, Knobel and Stone for City Council. They also said that they were concerned with how the economy is affecting downtown Highland Park.

"We loved Corner Bakery," Carol Leib said. "Something is not right that these businesses cannot make it."

The couple would like to see more restaurants with an appealing mix of affordable as well as pricier options, like City Park Grill and Players Grill. They'd also like more affordable retail.

"Most of my friends don't come here to shop," Carol Leib said. 

Terry Clutter, who has lived in Highland Park for 20 years, also voted against the 2011 referendum and in favor of the one on the ballot this year. He was swayed by the fact that some of people who opposed the last referendum worked on the plan for this one and are now in favor of it.

"This is also a good time to be borrowing money," he said, referring to low interest rates. "Now is the time to do it." 

Putz and I weren't the only people who showed up to Lincoln Elementary School to speak to voters. District 112 candidate Samantha Stolberg also stopped by to encourage people walking into the school to cast their ballots for her.

"At 6 a.m. this morning I started campaigning," she said. "Everybody has been very, very friendly."

Stolberg said that she would be watching the results come in from her home with her family and a few close friends.

"We'll either toast for a victory," she said, "or we'll toast to campaigning as well as we could."

For complete Highland Park news and updates, sign up for our free newsletter, "like" us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.