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 Communities with both city and township government layered atop
one another could have an easier time eliminating redundant local government
under a new bill in the Illinois House.
House Bill 2525, sponsored by Rep. Tom Demmer, R-Dixon, allows a township board
or residents of a township to put a question on the ballot to eliminate the
township when it shares or substantially shares boundaries with a municipality.
If voters agree to eliminate these “coterminous” townships, township duties are
absorbed by the municipality.
The bill removes current restrictions on which coterminous townships are
eligible for voter elimination. Currently the townships must share officers with
the city or be in Cook or St. Clair counties. The bill would allow a ballot
question if either the township board voted for one, or if a petition drive
succeeds in gathering 10 percent of the township voters’ signatures.
Illinois townships have three main functions: administer general welfare
assistance, evaluate property for taxes, and maintain roads and bridges. When
the township shares boundaries with a city, it often has no roads to maintain
and sometimes has no property to evaluate when the county fulfills that job.
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Voters in Belleville, Illinois, fought for years to
eliminate Belleville Township and needed a state law passed to let
them do so. The move quickly saved taxpayers $260,000 a year by
eliminating a layer of government that’s sole duty was to hand out
aid to about 40 needy residents a month. It cost taxpayers more than
$3 in overhead for every $1 the township distributed.
Taxpayers in Evanston saved over $780,000 when they
consolidated their coterminous township.
Alton Township in Madison County shares boundaries with the city of
Alton. The township spent less on services than on administration
and overhead.
Illinois has nearly 7,000 layers of local government, more than any
other state. Illinois is well ahead of second-place Texas with its
5,100 local governments, but Texas is bigger and has more people.
Florida has about 6 million more people than Illinois and exists
without any townships.
Each unit of local government in Illinois serves about 1,500 people,
driving up property taxes without necessarily improving public
service.
HB 2525 could help voters eliminate redundant layers of government
that have outlived their public benefit and absorb too many tax
dollars. If voters cannot tell the difference between two layers of
government when outlined on a map, maybe the community can live
without one of them.
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