CHICAGO – Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner's task force on local government consolidation and unfunded mandates offered 27 recommendations to streamline government operations and reduce taxpayer costs.
The report was presented to Rauner Jan. 4 by task force leader, Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti, at a meeting with DuPage County local leaders.
"This is about giving power back to local leaders so you and I can decide what's best for our community," Sanguinetti said. Illinois leads the nation with 6,963 units of local government and ranks second in property tax rates.
The group recommends a four-year moratorium on creating new local governments, allowing voters to decide whether to consolidate or dissolve local governments, allowing all counties to dissolve local units whose boards are under their oversight, and expanding townships from the current cap of 126 square miles to allow for consolidation.
Smaller road districts should be allowed to merge and the Illinois State Board of Education should have flexibility to promote district consolidation through incentives, the task force said. The report also recommends that downstate and suburban public pension funds be merged into one entity.
The final 27 recommendations were culled after taking testimony from officials at government associations, nonprofit think tanks, researchers, and state agencies.
"This report shows the efficiencies and inefficiencies within local governments and provides concepts on how to give the people of Illinois more control over their future and their tax dollars," Rauner said.
Rauner pitched the idea of government consolidation early last year in announcing his "turnaround" agenda after taking office.
While the focus of the task force was on consolidation and an examination of unfunded mandates, the task force is also promoting a key item on Rauner's agenda. The task force suggested that collective bargaining with public-worker unions be optional for local governments and prevailing wage requirements be reformed or repealed. Those proposals are also included in the governor's proposal to freeze local property taxes.
In a commentary last year, Moody's Investors Service said it considered the appointment of a task force a positive credit step.
"Any reduction in the number of distinct local governments that provide similar services would lower the overall costs supported by Illinois taxpayers," Moody's analysts wrote. "Further, the governor tasked the commission with reducing unfunded state mandates on local governments, potentially resulting in greater fiscal flexibility for the sector."
