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The report author, Civic Federation Senior Policy and Research
Associate Lily Padula, said Illinois statute makes it easy to
create governments but difficult to consolidate or remove them.
“Many of these governments were created decades ago to meet
specific needs and instead of replacing them, we just added new
layers,” Padula told The Center Square.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker recognized the issue when he spoke at the
Illinois Local News Summit in Chicago.
“Let's face it, with more local units of government than any
other state – this is a problem we should be covering – there’s
never a shortage of news in the land of Lincoln,” Pritzker said.
Padula said consolidation has mainly been driven at the county,
township and municipal level. She said the cost savings vary
greatly.
“Some efficiencies like reducing administrative overlap can
happen relatively quickly and have some cost savings with them.
Others take time, and so the report emphasizes that the outcomes
depend on how consolidation is designed and how it's implemented
and then that can lead to some cost savings,” Padula said.
Padula said consolidating government units doesn’t necessarily
relieve tax burdens.
“Consolidation can reduce duplication and improve efficiency,
which can help manage the cost over time, but a lot of those
property taxes are driven by broader factors and funding needs,”
Padula said.
Padula said consolidation is a spectrum.
“Illinois' current system has developed over time, not by
specific design, and that creates the opportunity to make it
work more efficiently today,” Padula said.
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