The State of Illinois has more units of local government than any other state in the nation.

Illinois has 6,963 units of local government, much more than any other state, and over 1,800 more than the second place state of Texas.

The state may have a large population and economy, but it is smaller than Texas, California, and Florida, all of which have smaller numbers of local governments despite having more land, more residents and growing populations. Those states are growing and producing new jobs while Illinois population is shrinking and its job growth lags.

Consolidating the number of local governments would be a key step toward increasing transparency and reducing property taxes that are growing at 6X the rate of incomes.

Here is the original story as reported by Illinois Policy:

ILLINOIS OVERRUN WITH LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, BUT CONSOLIDATION STILL PROVING DIFFICULT

One community in northern Illinois’ McHenry County is a case study on the glacial pace of consolidation in a state with the most units of local government – and some of the highest property taxes – in the nation.

After advocating for government consolidation for 30 years, Bob Anderson knows a thing or two about patience.

The McHenry Township trustee, who won his seat last April after running on a platform of local government consolidation, introduced a measure Jan. 11 that would allow citizens to vote to abolish their road district and transfer its responsibilities to the township.

But after public comments and a discussion between trustees at the Jan. 11 township board meeting, Anderson’s measure was rejected on a 3-2 vote.

Illinois is home to the most units of local government in the nation by far, with nearly 7,000. Reducing that number is a key step toward increasing transparency and reducing the growth in Illinoisans’ property tax bills, which are among the highest in the nation and grew six times faster than the median household income from 2008-2015.

But Anderson’s board meeting confirmed how difficult it is to consolidate government in Illinois – even though McHenry County residents pay the fourth-highest property taxes in the state.

At the meeting, critics of Anderson’s consolidation measure said it was his job to educate the voters before giving them the opportunity to vote. McHenry Township Highway Commissioner James Condon was one of Anderson’s harshest critics in an effort to keep the status of his job away from voters. Others opposed to Anderson’s measure argued there was no substantial research to support the idea that consolidation of the road district would ultimately save money.

But given the enormity of Illinois’ local government problem, the onus is on those opposing consolidation to prove it would raise costs in the long term – not the other way around. Further, the purpose of putting an issue to a vote is to have both sides to present their arguments to the voting public.

Anderson didn’t respond to most of the heated speeches directed his way.

“I’m not here to make friends,” he said. “I’m here to serve the people that elected me.”

Anderson, who has owned and managed his own barber shop for 56 years, was able to raise the motion because of House Bill 607, which went into effect Jan. 1, 2018. The bill allows townships to put motions on voting ballots asking citizens if they want to consolidate their local government by removing their road district.

CONTINUE READING….

 This story originally appeared on Illinois Policy on January 13, 2018, and was written by Amanda McDonald

 

During Tonia Khouri’s tenure on the DuPage County Board, the county has cut its budget by $36.5 million and saved taxpayers an estimated $110M through shared services, joint procurement, and consolidation.

 

“I’M GOING TO SPRINGFIELD TO DEFEND OUR HOMES, REPRESENT THE PEOPLE’S INTERESTS AND STOP THE RAISING OF PROPERTY TAXES.”

Illinois is Worth Fight For (Video)

For more information: Read about Tonia Khouri, her experience, leadership, stand on the issues and her endorsements.