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ILLINOIS
TAKES STEPS TOWARD CONSOLIDATING ITS 7,000 UNITS OF GOVERNMENT
Illinois Policy Institute
Illinois’ duplicative and overlapping units
of government contribute to the state’s high property tax burden, but
luckily some small steps have been taken to consolidate them.
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 Illinois has the most units of local government in the country, with nearly
7,000 across the state, many of which provide overlapping and duplicative
services. This is one of the biggest reasons Illinois residents pay among the
highest property taxes in the nation.
Fortunately in 2016, some small but significant steps were taken to provide a
more efficient government. For example, the Belleville City Council voted to
dissolve the city’s township, which covered the same boundaries as the city, and
for the city to take over the township’s functions. This move is estimated to
save taxpayers $260,000 per year on administrative costs. Gov. Bruce Rauner also
signed into law a bill that gives McHenry and Lake counties the authority to
consolidate and dissolve units of local government within their boundaries. Both
of these actions are steps toward a more efficient government.
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 In 2016, voters also weighed in on making government more
efficient. Voters in Naperville responded with support for ballot
questions regarding consolidating layers of local government. The
residents approved the dissolution of township governments, and
about consolidating road maintenance and mosquito abatement
districts. The Peru City Council also approved adding a ballot
question asking Peru residents if they would like the city to
consider dissolving its township and consolidating the services with
the city.
More government officials need to take steps toward providing their
constituents with property tax relief by looking for ways to reduce
excessive government layers and increase government inefficiency. A
good place to begin would be to expand the McHenry and Lake County
law to apply to all counties. Another good step would be to
consolidate school districts together. Better government efficiency
and consolidation, such as these, could lead to significant savings
for taxpayers.
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