I want to share two important updates from the Oct. 13 River Forest Village Board meeting.
First, an independent audit of the village budget confirmed River Forest continues to exceed standards for financial management and planning. This responsibility has become increasingly complex, given today’s economic challenges, which is why we continuously pursue new revenue sources and grants to support critical village services. These include emergency response and maintaining essential systems that keep our community running — our streets, sidewalks, and water and sewer networks. This report marks the 13th straight balanced budget for our village.
The second update concerns the ongoing discussion about term limits. The village board reached a consensus to direct staff to prepare a resolution for a binding referendum on term limits to appear on the Nov. 3, 2026, General Election ballot. This step is necessary due to the wording on the referendum petitions used for the April 1 election, which included the words advisory and binding – which are contradictory. Implementing term limits based on that language could have opened the village to legal challenges — something we wanted to avoid, to protect both the integrity of our elections and taxpayer resources.
The resolution for the binding referendum was also considered at our Oct. 27 village board meeting. The village intends to use the same question and effective dates to ensure consistency.
Thank you to all residents for your patience and commitment as we work to make decisions that uphold River Forest’s financial stability and democratic values.
Cathy Adduci
River Forest Village President