The vote
During 1952 Lisle voters went to
the polls to vote on the issue of incorporation for the first time. The result
of this vote was 301 for and 425 against incorporation. Both the Lisle
Improvement Club and the Lisle Civic Association had worked tirelessly on their
educational efforts, but many individuals in the town were still skeptical or
simply against incorporation. The
biggest fears were that Lisle would lose its small town feel and residents
would be subject to higher taxes. Although taxes would have risen slightly,
residents of Lisle would have received many benefits as a large portion of the
taxes they paid would stay in Lisle and contribute to improvements in the
village. Doris Gurtler, then a writer for The
Lisle Advertiser, stated that “people just haven’t arrived at the
conclusion that incorporation is for Lisle.” Remnants of the good old days were
alive and well in Lisle and many of the original residents of the area did not
want to lose those memories. With that said, Lisle would remain a part of Lisle
Township. Members of the community would soon realize that suburbanization of
Lisle was inevitable and they needed formal authority to control the area.