Illinois has most government units, but consolidation brings challenges

By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – A new report says Illinois is among the most fragmented states in the nation when it comes to local government, but consolidation is not always an effective cost-cutting option.

The Civic Federation report found that Illinois has 8,923 local government units, over 3,000 more any other state in the nation.

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.