Another day, another failed lawsuit
Friday, Oct 30, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Northwest Herald…
McHenry County Associate Judge Thomas A. Meyer dismissed a lawsuit Thursday morning filed by Nunda and McHenry townships’ road districts contending a new state law allowing local townships to be abolished through referendums is illegal under the Illinois Constitution. Attorney James Militello III, who represented the road districts in the suit, filed a notice of appeal of the decision Thursday. The lawsuit named Gov. JB Pritzker and McHenry County as defendants.
The road districts in their lawsuit argued that the state legislation in the matter, sponsored by state Rep. David McSweeney, R-Barrington Hills, and signed into law last year, was unconstitutional because it only applied to townships in McHenry County and nowhere else in Illinois. Their complaint alleged the law, which added a rule to the state’s Township Code that lets voters decide on whether to eliminate townships and their associated road districts in McHenry County through ballot measures, is “special or local legislation,” which is prohibited from being approved by the statehouse.
The law, Militello argued, only applied it to McHenry County because the law’s supporters intended to use the area as a test case for referendums seeking to abolish townships. McSweeney in a Thursday interview agreed that was the intent and said his goal was to eventually expand it to the rest of the state.
- Dotnonymous - Friday, Oct 30, 20 @ 2:20 pm:
Next case.
- Publius - Friday, Oct 30, 20 @ 2:20 pm:
Republican say we need to lower taxes and get rid of govenment. However when we try to do it they sue.
- Ducky LaMoore - Friday, Oct 30, 20 @ 2:34 pm:
Yes, because what we need to do is to remove the most responsive level of government we have and move that to one of the most unresponsive governments (being the county). Because if we arbitrarily have fewer numbers of governmental bodies, and we can concentrate power in fewer people’s hands, that is magically better… said Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov.
- Paddyrollingstone - Friday, Oct 30, 20 @ 3:24 pm:
Ducky - I like this Lenin quote better:
The Dude : Rug BLANK did not do this. Look at it: a young trophy wife, marries this guy for his money, she figures he hasn’t given her enough, you know, she owes money all over town.
Walter Sobchak : That, BLANK BLANK
The Dude : It’s all a BLANK BLANK fake, man. It’s like Lenin said: you look for the person who will benefit, and, uh, uh, you know…
Donny : I am the walrus.
The Dude : You know, you’ll uh, uh - well, you know what I’m trying’ to say…
Donny : I am the walrus.
Walter Sobchak : That BLANK BLANK!
The Dude : Oh yeah!
Donny : I am the walrus.
Walter Sobchak : Shut the BLANK up, Donny! V.I. Lenin. Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov!
Donny : What the BLANK is he talking about?
- Publius - Friday, Oct 30, 20 @ 3:26 pm:
In Dupage county their are overlapping township govenments and city/village govenrments doing the same thing. I don’t think both are needed. Keep townships and get rid of cites or the other way just pick one and not both.
- Anyone Remember - Friday, Oct 30, 20 @ 3:27 pm:
“the most responsive level of government we have”
Decades ago township police departments were abolished. You want to go back to that? Township jails? Township coroners?
- Publius - Friday, Oct 30, 20 @ 3:34 pm:
The only problem with city/village governments is that the borders between suburs looks like they were drawn at a gerrymandering convetion. There are plenty of towns with township enclaves fully/almost surrounded by a village. Then there are fire protection/library/parks districts to cover the gap.
- DuPage - Friday, Oct 30, 20 @ 4:01 pm:
Over the years, I have found the Milton township highway dept. to be very responsive and have always been prompt with snow removal. DuPage county seems to not care. They take much longer to respond to complaints like left turn arrows not sensing cars properly (only giving a default few seconds when there is a line waiting to turn), and an intermittent streetlight, (fixed 4 months later). I would not want Milton township highway to be abolished, I think levels of service would go down, and DuPage county would raise taxes to hire more people to cover the extra work.