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Politics & Government

Colosimo: Bike Trail Question on Campaign Materials a Mistake

Ward 1 Alderman Candidate Carlo Colosimo said he accidentally implied that the bike trail referendum would cost $300 a year in property taxes.

Alderman candidate acknowledged he accidentally sent a questionnaire with the wrong figure for the to about 200 households in Ward 1.

The questionnaire was included with campaign materials Colosimo had planned to send to about 800 households with residents who voted in recent municipal elections. Colosimo said he removed the questionnaires from the remaining packets after Corey Johnson, a proponent of the bike trails referendum, brought the error to his attention Tuesday evening.

“I obviously screwed up,” Colosimo said Wednesday afternoon. “I just misprinted it.”

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The question asked: Are you willing to add $300 per year (x 20 years) to your property taxes to include bike trails during our road improvement project?

The bike trail referendum will ask voters to give Yorkville leaders permission to sell up to $1 million in bonds to fund 13.25 miles bike trails along sections of routes 34, 47 and 71.

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The $1 million would provide the city’s 20 percent grant match as well as interest payments for the bond, with the state providing 80 percent of the project costs. A separate state grant would fund a trail along Kennedy Road from Route 47 to Mill Road.

Officials have estimated a 20-year bond would cost the owner of a $300,000 home $13 annually in property taxes. A 10-year bond would cost that same homeowner $20 annually.

Colosimo’s opponent, , questioned whether Colosimo had educated himself on the issue before creating the questionnaire. Allen characterized the incorrect questionnaire as an insult to Ward 1 residents who had signed petitions supporting adding the referendum to the April 5 ballot.

“If people see this for what it is, hopefully they will take a close look at other statements he is making and whether he has really prepared himself to be a member of the city council of Yorkville,” Allen said.

Colosimo said the error was an honest mistake. He said he drafted the question soon after his infant son, Luca, was born – a time that was marked with restless nights and little sleep.

He plans to either correct the questionnaire or not include it with future campaign packages. He said, as of Wednesday afternoon, he had only received one questionnaire response.

“I’m not going to go out there and put out false information,” Colosimo said.

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