GENEVA – When Chris Morris of Geneva thinks of her two developmentally disabled daughters, she considers how a near total lack of housing support affects their lives.

“Haley is 21, and Caroline is 18,” Morris said. “There is just a lack of funding for adults with disabilities in Illinois, and specifically in Kane County. Funding from the state level is declining and inadequate. So it’s important for us in Kane County to try to secure additional funding locally for Kane residents. It goes back to taking care of your own in your own community.”

Morris and other advocates are collecting 20,000 signatures to put a referendum on the April 9 consolidated election ballot. Voters would be asked to support a 0.1 percent property tax levy increase for housing and other services for developmentally disabled adults. The deadline to file a ballot referendum is Jan. 7.