Committee debates asking pillow-tax municipalities to help fund countywide tourism marketing

During the Feb. 20 meeting, committee member Brian urged the LaSalle County Tourism Committee to ask cities that collect hotel/motel ('pillow') tax to contribute toward countywide marketing campaigns.

Brian said countywide online marketing has driven regional interest and argued that municipalities with pillow-tax receipts should share in larger campaigns. "They should be putting in 25% of their money into this to assist us," he said, adding that many cities are finalizing budgets and this is an appropriate time to request contributions.

Other members noted legal and practical constraints. Committee members discussed home-rule differences (Peru and Utica described as home-rule) that may allow municipalities greater discretion over how they spend pillow-tax money, and recommended checking with the state's attorney and inviting municipal representatives to a tourism meeting to explain their rules and contributions.

Members discussed options for formalizing contributions, including intergovernmental agreements, and suggested Heritage Corridor could convene municipal representatives. No formal policy change or binding requirement was adopted at the meeting; members resolved to do outreach and gather information before proposing guideline changes.