Last week, the Better Government Association stood with other members of a coalition promoting government efficiency to urge the passage of legislation to help streamline nearly 7,000 units of government in Illinois.
Dubbed the Transform Illinois Coalition, the group held a press conference at the State Capitol on April 6, 2016, to support a bipartisan package of 22 bills that would make it easier to consolidate townships, mosquito abatement districts, and other single-purpose units of government.
Illinois has more local governments than any other state in the nation, which has produced overlapping and duplicative units that drain tax dollars unnecessarily, according to the group.
“While there’s a lot of attention being paid to what’s wrong with government in Illinois, today we’re pointing you to 22 solutions that are due consideration by the Illinois General Assembly,” said Alden Loury, a senior policy analyst with the BGA.
Transform Illinois was formed in 2014 by DuPage County Chairman Dan Cronin. In addition to the BGA, the group includes the Metropolitan Planning Council, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, Illinois Chamber of Commerce, Northern Illinois University Center for Governmental Studies and Taxpayers’ Federation of Illinois.
