Voters in DuPage High School District 88 and School District 45 approved separate referendum questions in the Nov. 3 election.
District 88 includes two schools—Willowbrook and Addison Trail high schools. Voters in the district voted to approve an issuance of $118 million in referendum bonds to fund facility improvements, including security and safety upgrades. According to the district, the referendum will fund the updates without a net tax increase because the district has existing referendum debt that is expiring.
The latest unofficial election results show the District 88 referendum passed by a margin of nearly 70 percent to 30 percent, with 18,490 voters approving the proposal in last week’s election, while 8,029 voters voted not to approve the bond issuance.
According to information in the Illinois State Board of Education’s Illinois Report Card, District 88 had an enrollment of over 3,600 students in the 2025-26 school year, with more than 1,800 students each at Willowbrook and Addison Trail.
District 88 Superintendent Jean Barbanente and District 88 Board of Education President Donna Craft Cain issued a statement after last week’s election.
“We are appreciative of the level of community engagement and interest from our stakeholders in learning about the bond referendum,” stated Barbanente and Craft Cain. “Regardless of their position on the referendum, community members repeatedly expressed a genuine gratitude for the opportunities and support we provide for our students and the dedication of our staff.”
The statement also included an overview of the projects that will go forward with the referendum’s passage.
“As we’ve previously shared, the bond referendum will fund safety and security upgrades, as well as improvements to infrastructure, ADA accessibility, Career and Technical Education (CTE) spaces, athletic spaces and the auditoriums at Addison Trail and Willowbrook high schools without a net tax rate increase,” noted the statement from Barbanente and Craft Cain. “This is the result of a comprehensive facilities assessment that was completed by the district’s architectural firm, as well as engaging the community for over a year to gather feedback and input from a variety of stakeholder groups.”
District 45, which feeds into District 88, includes nine schools—Jackson and Jefferson middle schools in Villa Park; Ardmore and North elementary schools in Villa Park; Schafer, Stevenson, Westmore, and York Center elementary schools in Lombard; and the District 45 Early Childhood Center in Villa Park. District 45 had an enrollment of nearly 3,100 students in the 2025-26 school year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.
District 45’s referendum question in the Nov. 3 election asked voters to improve a tax rate increase that, according to the district, will provide an additional $4.4 million annually for district schools. The district stated that the tax rate increase will cost the owner of a $350,000 property an additional $299 per year.
The unofficial election results show the District 45 referendum question in last week’s election passed by a margin of nearly 56 to 44 percent, with 7,880 votes to approve the tax rate increase and 6,263 votes against the proposal.
Earlier this year, in the March 17 election, District 45 voters rejected a proposal to raise the tax rate. That proposal failed with 3,811 No votes and 3,618 Yes votes. Following that election, the district announced there would be nearly $1.7 million in reductions for the current 2026-27 school year. After last week’s referendum was approved, District 45 related that the programs and activities affected by those reductions would be restored.
Before the Nov. 3 election, District 45 warned of dire consequences if the referendum did not pass. The district claimed that if the referendum was not approved, there would be an additional $1.7 million in reductions in the 2027-28 school year. Those reductions would include the closure of one or more school buildings, with some students being assigned to different schools.
District 45 Superintendent Brian Graber issued a statement after voters approved last week’s referendum question.
“With the referendum approved, District 45 is expected to receive approximately $4.4 million in additional annual revenue to support student programs and services, maintain reasonable class sizes, address ongoing operating costs and support safety and security improvements,” Graber stated. “The additional funding will also allow the district to begin restoring programs and services reduced for the 2026-27 school year while helping address its ongoing funding gap and declining fund balance.”
Graber added that the district’s board members would discuss the election results at their next meeting, which takes place next week.
“As rising costs continue to affect households throughout our community, we recognize the significance of this decision and the importance of continued fiscal responsibility,” Graber stated. “We thank everyone who took the time to learn about the proposal and participate in the election. At its next regular meeting on Tuesday, November 17, the Board of Education will review the election results and next steps. We will share updates as plans develop.”
Blair-Sherlock and Glowiak Hilton win re-election
Villa Park’s representatives in the Illinois State Legislature won re-election last week. State Representative Diane Blair-Sherlock of Villa Park, who represents the 46th District in the Illinois House of Representatives, was elected to a third term. According to the unofficial election results, Blair-Sherlock, a Democrat, defeated Republican Pedro Mendoza by a margin of about 69 to 31 percent. Blair-Sherlock received 21,350 votes, while Mendoza garnered 9,739 votes.
Glowiak Hilton, a Democrat, was elected to another term to represent the 23rd District in the Illinois State Senate. She defeated Republican Linda Polacek by a margin of about 64 to 36 percent. Glowiak Hilton, who was first elected to the State Senate in 2018, received 46,277 votes in last week’s election, while Polacek earned 25,627 votes.
