ILLINOIS NEWS NETWORK
The Illinois House overwhelmingly approved legislation last week that would allow voters to dissolve townships that share boundaries with a municipality.
House Bill 496, sponsored by State Rep. Tom Demmer, R-Dixon, passed by a vote of 111-2.
If approved in the Senate and signed by Gov. Bruce Rauner, the legislation will allow residents of townships that share or are very close to sharing boundaries with a municipality to place a referendum on the ballot and then vote to dissolve the township.
There are 19 townships in Illinois that meet that criteria.
Illinois has nearly 7,000 units of government, by far the most of any U.S. state.
“We know one of the primary factors driving our high property taxes is that we have more local governments than any other state,” Rep. Barb Wheeler, R-Crystal Lake and a co-sponsor of the bill, said on her website. “House Bill 496 puts the control directly in the hands of residents to reduce their tax burden and save money through a direct vote.”
Residents would have two options to place a referendum on the ballot, according to Wheeler, “through a petition signed by at least 10 percent of the registered voters in the community, or by an ordinance passed by the city council to put the referendum on the ballot.”
The municipality would take over all responsibilities of the township if voters decided to eliminate it.
