Wabash Co., Ill. (ECWd) –
Wabash General Hospital (“WGH”), a Hospital District in Wabash County, is another example of a hospital district complying with state law, when it passed a referendum where the voters authorized the district to operate outside of its corporate boundaries.
Since this hospital district levies a property tax, the referendum is required under the Hospital District Law, Section 15, paragraph 1, which states, in part:
“If a Hospital District utilizes its authority to levy a tax pursuant to Section 20 of this Act for the purpose of establishing and maintaining hospitals or hospital facilities, such District shall be prohibited from establishing and maintaining hospitals or hospital facilities located outside of its district unless so authorized by referendum.“
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WSJD, published an interview/statement by WGH CEO Jay Purvis, encouraging voters in this district to vote yes, and more importantly for this series of articles, he explained that in order to provide services outside of Wabash County, the referendum must be approved.
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Wabash County voters passed a referendum in the fall of 2018 authorizing it to conduct business outside its corporate boundaries.
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The district currently conducts business in other counties, which include the municipalities of Albion, Grayville, Fairfield, Flora, Carmi, Olney, Lawrenceville, and Mount Carmel.
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Whiteside County also operates outside its boundaries with an approved referendum, while Crawford County (Crawford Memorial) operates outside its boundaries, the law be damned.
