It’s just a bill
Friday, Nov 16, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sounds like a decent, bipartisan bill…
A proposed bill that could give McHenry County residents the power to abolish townships with a majority vote at the polls cleared another hurdle this week in Springfield to make it to the Senate floor.
After a second reading Tuesday, House Bill 4637 passed the Senate Executive Committee, 11-6. Now in the hands of sponsor state Sen. Terry Link, D-Vernon Hills, the bill has advanced to the floor.
House co-sponsor state Rep. David McSweeney, R-Barrington Hills, said Link could call the bill on the floor for a vote as early as the week after Thanksgiving.
“I feel very good about where things stand,” McSweeney said. “And I think we’re going to pass it.”
* Opposition has mounted to this bill since it was first passed, so the cleanup trailer bill has been delayed…
The controversial effort to make it easier for private companies to take over public water systems, which Gov. Bruce Rauner signed into law about three months ago, was thrown into doubt on Thursday.
It came down to a missed deadline.
In August, Rauner signed an amendment extending a 2013 law that allows private companies such as Illinois American Water and Aqua Illinois to buy water utilities and spread the costs across their existing ratepayers. The amendment to the Illinois Water Systems Viability Act removed a limit on the size of water systems that private companies can buy and extended the act for another 10 years.
But the original act’s expiration date was June 1 of this year, two months before Rauner signed the amendment. That missed deadline led supporters back to the floor of the statehouse on Thursday to change the date of the law’s expiration to Aug. 9.
When several legislators critical of the law and the amendments spoke against both, the bill was pulled.
Oops.
* One more…
Counties would have more flexibility with sales tax dollars meant for public safety under a bill that has been sent to the Illinois House.
In counties were voters had previously approved tax hikes to fund public safety, the bill would give local officials the ability to use that revenue for other purposes, including to address mental health and substance abuse issues.
- Shemp - Friday, Nov 16, 18 @ 2:37 pm:
There is a good chance abolishing some townships could reduce overall spending, but no guarantee. Many townships, particularly road districts, accomplish things for cheaper by using part-time or lower wage help for maintenance, plowing, etc.
And also, why only McHenry? Why isn’t this bill good enough for the whole State? There needs to be a serious discussion on the role of townhships in the State of Illinois. They do provide services, but with very little oversight or press coverage in most areas.
- IllinoisBoi - Friday, Nov 16, 18 @ 3:05 pm:
The Illinois Township Code already provides for voters to petition to place a proposition on the ballot to abolish township organization by majority vote. I assume the McHenry bill changes some of the details of the process, but I really don’t know.
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs4.asp?DocName=006000010HArt%2E+25&ActID=770&ChapterID=13&SeqStart=6800000&SeqEnd=7400000
- California Guy - Friday, Nov 16, 18 @ 3:25 pm:
@Shemp
These sleepy Townships and other “under the radar” forms of government intensely lobby their state legislators when the issue comes up. It’s done on a per-county basis because it takes a lot of coalition building within that county to get it done. Highly unlikely that this move would go over well in Cook County, for example.
- Cream of Wheaton - Friday, Nov 16, 18 @ 3:38 pm:
Townships in North East Illinois is redundant and unnecessary. If a binding vote was held in Milton Township to eliminate it… it would pass. The time for Townships in DuPage County to be eliminated is here.
- Been There - Friday, Nov 16, 18 @ 3:43 pm:
===But the original act’s expiration date was June 1 of this year, two months before Rauner signed the amendment. ===
Almost had a similar situation a few years ago. But our LRB person pointed it out and we created new language to get around it in the original bill
- Turner - Friday, Nov 16, 18 @ 3:46 pm:
== If a binding vote was held in Milton Township to eliminate it… it would pass==
You are absolutely correct. The only problem is who will employ all of the family members of the road commissioner and erect Jeanne Ives signs? snark
- Big Jer - Friday, Nov 16, 18 @ 4:29 pm:
While I think Illinois has way too many units of local government, this particular bill seems like a power grab by McHenry County Board president Jack Franks.
===From the article: the township should be eliminated and consolidated under the umbrella of county government.===
On the one hand it could reduce the units of government in McHenry County which is a good thing. On the other hand it centralizes power and control in the county government. One upside of units of local government is decentralization focused on local needs.
As Shemp mentions: “There needs to be a serious discussion on the role of townships in the State of Illinois. They do provide services, but with very little oversight or press coverage in most areas.”
However as Shemp also mentions: “And also, why only McHenry? Why isn’t this bill good enough for the whole State?”
Why? IMO because it is a glory, media, and power pursuit by Jack Franks and his cronies: McSweeney and Skillicorn.
Another question is how much of property taxes are attributed to townships? I thought I read a article about the above bill where the townships portion of property taxes was small. Thoughts?
Lastly in looking at the Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_townships_in_Illinois_by_county
The are many county’s with small populations that have way to many townships. All the county governments in Illinois need to be streamlined but with some thought and research that best meets the services of the residents.
- Payback - Monday, Nov 19, 18 @ 9:54 pm:
“They do provide services, but with very little oversight or press coverage in most areas.” Take a drive by the Union Grove Township building in Whiteside county, for example. There is no signage whatsoever on the building to show that it’s owned by the local taxpayers.
Next look all over the building to try and find a notice as to when the next meeting of the township board takes place. You won’t find any notice, because the state does not mandate it. Rick Deter and highway commissioner Arnold Vegter prefer to operate a private good old boys club, without any pesky taxpayers present. Township road districts should be dismantled like the Ku Klux Klan.