With nearly 7,000 units of government, Illinois has about 2,000 more than any other state in the nation, resulting in a behemoth bureaucratic industry that costs state taxpayers upwards of $60 billion annually.
To address the glut of local taxing bodies, Gov. Bruce Rauner in February 2015 issued an executive order that commissioned the Task Force on Local Government Consolidation and Unfunded Mandates to find ways to reduce the number of local government units in Illinois and provide homeowners with property tax relief.
At the DuPage County Mayors and Managers Conference in Oak Brook on Monday, the task force's chairwoman, Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti, in consultation with Northern Illinois University's Center for Governmental Studies, presented Rauner with 27 recommendations outlined in a 400-page report she says could streamline local government efficiency, reduce costs to taxpayers and lower property tax rates.
"Our recommendations are designed to empower Illinois citizens and to allow local officials to lead by tackling consolidation, shared services and unfunded mandates on a case by case basis dependent on the needs of each community," Sanguinetti wrote in a letter to Rauner.
From the Daily Herald:
"Today is great day for taxpayers of Illinois. This is a critical document," Rauner said.
"We can transform the future of our state with this document. These recommendations can save billions of dollars every year," he said. "This is major, major transformation we're talking about."
Critics of the report, particularly members of public unions, say several of the recommendations, such as more local control over collective bargaining and repealing or reforming prevailing wage requirements, would hurt working-class families by driving down wages and benefits.
More from the Associated Press:
Rikeesha Phelon, spokeswoman for Senate President John Cullerton, said the Chicago Democrat has supported efforts to consolidate local governments in the past. But she said attaching measures that would weaken labor unions could derail those efforts.
"They are tough to pass even in the purest form," she said of government consolidation proposals. "Recommendations that include anti-union poison pills make passage nearly impossible."
*Illinois Office of the Comptroller (IOC), U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (COG), Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR)
Here are brief summaries of the 27 recommendations from the report.