A grassroots group of Downers Grove Township residents is working to gather petitions to put the establishment of a 708 Mental Health Board in Downers Grove Township on November’s ballot.

“Downers Grove Township is the only township in DuPage County that doesn’t have a 708 board,” said Debbie Hare, a Downers Grove Township resident and member of the volunteer community group.

“We are the largest township in DuPage County by both population and size,” she said.

The Illinois Community Mental Health Act established the creation of 708 Mental Health boards, which can be created under any unit of government but must be voted into existence.

708 Mental Health boards assess the funding of local organizations that assist residents with issues related to mental health, intellectual and developmental disabilities and substance use disorders.

More than 90 boards exist in Illinois – sometimes under a township’s umbrella or more frequently in rural Illinois at the county level.

So far, nearly 1,000 people have signed the petition. The group is seeking 5,000 signatures from township residents, allowing a referendum to be placed on the November 2026 ballot, Hare said.

“Most everyone these days knows someone affected in some way by mental health issues, developmental and intellectual disabilities or substance issues,” she said.

In November about 65 people attended the official kickoff for the petition drive.

If approved by voters, the tax rate for the 708 Mental Health Board in Downers Grove Township is expected to be .025%, Hare said.

On a $400,000 home that tax amount would be $33.33 per year, Hare said.

“The money raised in the community is required to stay in the community,” Hare said.

In 2023, the Lisle Township Community Mental Health Board was formed and is set to award more than $1 million in fiscal 2026 to local social service agencies including more than $120,000 to Kids Matter, $100,000 to Trinity Services and $85,000 to Easter Seals Medical Rehabilitation.

In 2025, Naperville Township approved just under $500,000 with $77,800 awarded to NAMI DuPage and $57,750 to Alive Center.

Mike Murray, part of the group Advocate for 708, said 708 Mental Health boards began appearing in DuPage County in 2017 “when a referendum was passed in Bloomingdale Township. I was part of that.”

“It is a citizens’ initiative,” Murray said. “No one likes to ask for increases in taxes. But it is a worthwhile investment for the community.”

The board is not another layer of government, he said. Rather, mental health boards cover small grants to fund organizations that already exist in the community but are not adequately funded.

Murray said President John F. Kennedy signing the Community Mental Health Act of 1963 led the way for 708 Mental Health boards to be formed.

“It was President Kennedy’s dream to keep people in the community, and include these individuals in community life,” he said. “Ultimately, the goal is to create a more loving community.”

Corin Hammond, who helped lead the group that created the Downers Grove Township Mental Health Advisory Committee, said the group is in the process of “coalition building and reaching out to agencies and providers that are currently providing services and could be underfunded or unfunded for some things.”

The advisory committee is a precursor to an advisory board, she said.

Right now the group is “doing the boots on the ground, understating the need, creating relationships and understanding the changing needs of our community as federal changes roll down,” Hammond said.

“Everyone, all humans, are impacted by mental health. We all know someone or have experienced events ourselves,” she said. “A good deal of our community knows someone or loves someone who is finding their way in the world through an intellectual or developmental disability. When you really scratch the surface, all humans need these services.

“Coming on the ballot, people can contemplate what this could mean for the community.”