* Time and again over the years, big city newspapers, columnists and good government groups have thundered about the number of townships in Illinois. It’s practically accepted as fact by those folks and others that they should be abolished to bring down property taxes. But not everyone is on board. From Rita Frazer’s RFD Radio interview with Illinois Farm Bureau’s executive director of governmental affairs and commodities Kevin Semlow…
FRAZER: You also mentioned a possibility of a bill being put forward that has to do with consolidation in local government. What’s that about?
SEMLOW: Earlier in session, there was a piece of legislation to consolidate township forms of government.
It was a very aggressive piece of legislation and there was large outcry from township officials. Of course, a lot of our members rely on township services, roads, those types of things and there was pushback.
We’re hearing questions because that bill was never called for a vote.
The sponsor realized, I think, the controversy and sensitivity around this issue.
It is being pushed by [Gov. JB Pritzker’s] office. The governor feels that there are too many units of government in the state of Illinois.
We have 131 different forms of local government in Illinois: Municipalities, counties, townships, school districts… and then all kinds of special districts.
We’ve got over 8,000 different units of local government. That’s a lot.
So, numbers-wise, they’re just saying, “Let’s make this easy and cut those down.” Well, the bad side is townships do provide a valuable service.
We know that legislation isn’t being called by itself. I don’t anticipate it’ll come up this next month, but we’re keeping our eye out for that, working with township officials of Illinois and their association, making sure that doesn’t happen.
But we know the governor’s office is still asking for behind-the-scenes communications and negotiations with the township officials to see if there’s some way to do that.
So, we’ll keep a monitoring of that and in the end line, we want to make sure there’s an efficient, balanced approach to whatever they come up with, if they do want to try and do some type of consolidation, incentivizing those types of things.
We’re keeping an eye on it, but I don’t think it’s going to happen yet this year.
FRAZER: You made mention that even though there is a big number, it doesn’t mean that it’s not efficient.
SEMLOW: Exactly. You’ve got to look at the different types of townships, especially [because] you’ve got townships in urban areas that serve a purpose — and then downstate, it’s a different purpose.
So that’s what I think is getting lost in translation. Legislators in urban areas are seeing it from their perspective and they’re not seeing the other perspective.
There’s some communication back and forth that needs to happen on those differences.
- Guzzlepot - Monday, May 12, 25 @ 1:22 pm:
I think I can see Mr. Semlow’s point, but I don’t understand why those useful services can’t be moved up and done by the county level government.
- low level - Monday, May 12, 25 @ 1:23 pm:
As a lifelong city resident, I agree completely with Semlow.
- Rich Miller - Monday, May 12, 25 @ 1:27 pm:
====why those useful services can’t be moved up and done by the county level government===
Partly because if you live in a sparsely populated township (like the one I grew up in), you’re gonna believe that the county will focus its resources on areas with higher populations.
- I-55 Fanatic - Monday, May 12, 25 @ 1:30 pm:
“…you’ve got townships in urban areas that serve a purpose - and then downstate, it’s a different purpose.”
Yeah. “Different purpose” is putting it charitably. The vast, vast majority of downstate townships are effectively defunct and should be rolled into their county governments. Seriously, nobody needs a township government that covers 30 square miles with a population of 100, maybe 200 people. In these places, the only residents who would notice the absence of the township government are the people who fill the make-believe trustee seats.
Furthermore, I concur with others that I have yet to hear a satisfying answer to the question of why these services that townships provide can’t be done by county or municipal governments instead.
- Rich Miller - Monday, May 12, 25 @ 1:31 pm:
=== I have yet to hear a satisfying answer===
I just gave you one.
- jim - Monday, May 12, 25 @ 1:34 pm:
Champaign County has 30 townships - 30. Who knew that even if one was eliminated, let alone half of them, the world would come to a screeching end?
- very old soil - Monday, May 12, 25 @ 1:36 pm:
I like having the personal cell phone number of the township road commissioner. Has anyone ever done a study comparing the costs of county versus township for roads?
- I-55 Fanatic - Monday, May 12, 25 @ 1:36 pm:
Re: Rich, I hit Post before I saw your comment.
I can see how people would believe that county governments would focus on the municipal areas… but does that actually happen? County boards always have representation from all parts of the county already. And if there is a common problem of county government focus on towns and cities, I’m skeptical that township governments have the capacity to address those gaps.
- very old soil - Monday, May 12, 25 @ 1:37 pm:
My county highway department can’t even get road signs and road map correct.
- Midstate Indy - Monday, May 12, 25 @ 1:39 pm:
Rural townships are as efficient a unit of government as can be. The road & cemetary functions of rural townships could easily be absorbed by counties, at a much higer expense with a much less local presence. Consolidation may well be in the cards, but as a rural downstate township person, consolidation/elimination would seem to be well served in those areas with higher population density rather than lower. Rural townships can’t effectively be absorbed my a municipality because there often isn’t a municipality. The “make-believe” trustee seats also make $20-50 a month in many townships, which isn’t exactly a windfall income, also township officials in low budget areas typically aren’t full-time, meaning no pension expenses, and often no insurance expenses. No one downstate will care if Dolton Township is eliminated, but the people in rural Hancock, Wayne, or Vermillion counties will very much see the impact, and I will bet they would much rather see their township tax levy double vs pay a cent more to any other larger unit of government.
- Leatherneck - Monday, May 12, 25 @ 1:40 pm:
There is no reason why Capitol Township needs to exist. Roll it into Springfield.
Then do the same with the portions of Springfield, Curran, Gardner, Ball, Clear Lake, and Woodside townships which are donut holes totally surrounded by the city of Springfield. That would include Leland Grove and all the donut hole municipalities.
And also, there is no reason that whatever remains of Ball Township after the second step identified above can’t be merged with Chatham Township. As a new “Ball-Chatham Township” “Glenwood Township” or even “Titan Township.”
- jackmac - Monday, May 12, 25 @ 1:42 pm:
We live in an unincorporated area in an extremely fast-growing suburban area on the Chicago area’s fringe. The county could certainly pick up some of the jobs (road and street maintenance, snow removal, brush pickup and even general assistance to low income people. They do a great job and my township officials and employees are accessible, friendly and accountable. I can’t speak for other townships, but mine are MVPs and I’d like to keep them and the township system.
- ItsMillerTime - Monday, May 12, 25 @ 1:44 pm:
The question for me is if the statement “Illinois has the most units of government” is true. And if it is, how do States with large rural areas handle administrating them if they have presumably less townships and other units? And how effective is it?
- Dirty Red - Monday, May 12, 25 @ 1:58 pm:
= why those useful services can’t be moved up and done by the county level government. =
Some services, like tax assessment or assistance grants, could easily transition to the counties.
Other services COULD transition, but there is still a tendency for those basic government services to stay within population centers - not the rurals - and so those residents would continue paying the same tax bill whilst experiencing a drop in service quality. My home rural area is supposed to receive law enforcement and highway department service from the county government. They don’t. Nobody wants to go out that far, especially with heavy equipment. In some instances, the heavier equipment is not right for serving the rural areas.
Governing and regulating open land is very different from policy needs in municipal areas, and so I’m in-favor of keeping townships out of incorporated areas. Think Peoria in Peoria County, Champaign-Urbana and Champaign County, Quincy and Adams County, and so on. Unincorporated area townships allow locals decide at the hyper-local level how much service they want to pay for and receive. You could probably also work with TOI on combining some special purposes districts into the township government umbrella. We could probably also stand to combine some townships with each other, but the GA has already provided consolidation mechanisms. Outright restriction would be a mistake.
- Donnie Elgin - Monday, May 12, 25 @ 1:59 pm:
=how do States with large rural areas handle administrating them if they have presumably less townships and other units? And how effective is it?=
In many states, the counties roll up most of the services that in Illinois are part of distinct units of government. That would include townships, water reclamation, libraries, road districts, all that the others - all done relatively efficiently with one governing body. Oh, and if you want a good laugh, look at the crazy long list of units of local Government Illinois has
https://illinoiscomptroller.gov/constituent-services/local-government/types-of-local-govts body .
- Rich Miller - Monday, May 12, 25 @ 2:03 pm:
===Some services, like tax assessment===
Township assessors are taxpayer advocates.
https://www.wbez.org/2025/05/07/contesting-cook-county-property-taxes-can-feel-like-a-part-time-job
- Anyone Remember - Monday, May 12, 25 @ 2:06 pm:
“… how do States with large rural areas handle administrating them if they have presumably less townships and other units?”
Nye County, Nevada. 18K square miles, 2023 population estimate 55K. No municipalities - the only other unit of government is the school district. Granted, not much snow to plow, but they’ve figured it out.
- jimbo - Monday, May 12, 25 @ 2:20 pm:
Here in DuPage, I pay the same amount for the township as the unincorporated residents do, but they get things like free brush pickup that the township won’t provide those who are in the same township but within a city limits.
- anon2 - Monday, May 12, 25 @ 2:20 pm:
Seventeen Illinois counties, mostly downstate, somehow function without townships. I’ve yet to hear a clamor to institute townships where they don’t exist.
- Neef Jr. - Monday, May 12, 25 @ 2:23 pm:
I agree with you Rich. The smaller board and bodies outside township is where we need to focus. Rural water districts appointed by the county boards … people just need to own land to be on the boards and not live there. WE have one in my county that is a 3 person water district that covers most of 4 townships. They started last month with 1 vacancy and since then the other two have resigned … so we have a district with not governance that is a taxing body. The townships or county government should take it over.
- cal skinner - Monday, May 12, 25 @ 2:27 pm:
A study by my Algonquin Township showed that property in townships with under 5,000 people tended to be less uniformly assessed than in larger townships.
We hypothesized that might be caused by not having a full-time assessor.
I passed the multi-township assessment district bill to address this situation.
Several hundred townships have opted for this consolidation idea.
Nevertheless, with about 70 percent of Algonquin Township are in municipalities.
I am not happy to be force to pay extra to subsidize those living in unincorporated areas, for mosquito abated, for example, when my village does not provide it.
And unaddressed in this threat is the massive administrative costs township taxpayers cough up to distribute General Assistance, a form of welfare that exists virtually no where else in the country.
- DuPage Saint - Monday, May 12, 25 @ 2:27 pm:
I think the opposite is true. Townships should be eliminated in large population counties with lots of cities. How many miles of roadway do townships in DuPage actually take care of. The answer is very few miles. Plus we have a County highway department The low population counties might need townships but not the collar counties
- thechampaignlife - Monday, May 12, 25 @ 2:36 pm:
With a quick search, it appears that there are 737 townships with a population under 1K and 691 over 1K. One way to achieve some efficiencies while ensuring that rural needs continue to be addressed would be to merge all of those under 1K townships into one consolidated rural township per county. That would eliminate 635 townships with minimal impact.
The other big number of local government districts is Road & Bridge Districts. There appears to be much less information available about those, but they might benefit from a similar merger of small districts within a county, or even just simplifying it further by merging them into the townships.
- Donnie Elgin - Monday, May 12, 25 @ 2:43 pm:
=Mosquito abated, for example, when my village does not provide it=
Some Townships have partnered with their incorporated neighbors to provide this service…
“In 1999, Bloomingdale Township became one of the first townships in Illinois to provide township-wide coverage, providing mosquito control for all the incorporated and the unincorporated residents”
https://www.bloomingdaletownship.com/highway/services/mosquito-controhttps://www.bloomingdaletownship.com/highway/services/mosquito-control
- Bob - Monday, May 12, 25 @ 2:47 pm:
==Champaign County has 30 townships - 30. Who knew that even if one was eliminated, let alone half of them, the world would come to a screeching end?==
The highway department probably doesn’t have enough snow plows and bodies to plow every rural road in the county.
But if you merged Ayers (pop. 421), Crittenden (pop. 337), and Raymond (pop. 354), will the world come to an end? No. Will property taxes likely come down a bit? Absolutely.
- Margaret - Monday, May 12, 25 @ 2:49 pm:
Well, it looks like Federal Medicaid cuts will bring urban, suburban, exurban and rural areas all together soon.
- JS Mill - Monday, May 12, 25 @ 3:20 pm:
= all done relatively efficiently with one governing body.=
Data on this “relative efficiency”?
- Jibba - Monday, May 12, 25 @ 3:22 pm:
Local governance typically has the best and the worst of humanity. I’m sure that some townships have honest governance and give good value for money. I am also aware of townships run in less honest ways where some residents get nearly no services and others get much better service, often based on personal relationships or proximity to the lane that the commissioner lives on. Very much agree that urban townships are not needed and service should go to municipalities or counties. I also suspect that, on the whole, fears of uneven funding at the county level do not override the advantages of consolidation.
- Redrepublican65 - Monday, May 12, 25 @ 3:27 pm:
Township Assessors are only taxpayer advocates un COOK COUNTY. In all other counties, they perform the actual tax assessment work, while the County Supervisor of Assessments merely processes the final results. Want a County Assessor instead of a Township Assessor? The rightfully besieged Cook County Assessor is your sparkling example…
- btowntruth from forgottonia - Monday, May 12, 25 @ 3:40 pm:
I’m with Jibba on this.
I have had personal experience with townships and supervisors that lean toward the negative.
- Thomas Paine - Monday, May 12, 25 @ 3:46 pm:
As I understand it, the plan is to merge township government with county government, and pass the township tax assessment on to county government.
In other words, they anticipate that no savings will be achieved.
It seems like we are nibbling at the edges here.
Half the counties in Illinois have fewer than 25,000 people.
Each county requires a county building, a courthouse, a sheriff, a jail, a State’s attorney, judges, an board, a clerk, circuit clerk and so on.
For Jasper County, population 9,144, they have a $1.9 million budget for the Sheriff’s department.
That’s $207 for every man, woman and child.
DuPage County has a population of 933K and a budget of $67 million for it’s Sheriff’s Department, or $71.82 per capita.
Merge the small counties.
- Anyone Remember - Monday, May 12, 25 @ 3:48 pm:
===Merge the small counties.===
Agreed!
- Amalia - Monday, May 12, 25 @ 3:52 pm:
so no other states serve people through fewer local governments? we have the monopoly on serving people? Find what they do elsewhere and change it. the real question may be making sure everyone has good internet connections. I’m sensitive to the people get ignored in favor of more populous areas (see Chicago lakefront vs everyone else) but… what services are needed how can they be delivered more efficiently is something every kind of government has to be more familiar with. And consolidation can mean money spent differently.
- Regan again - Monday, May 12, 25 @ 4:00 pm:
Let a 1,000 flowers bloom. Allocate money to incent local consolidation in all forms of government and then let the locals decide which consolidations are needed. Some places it will be townships, but others as library districts, park districts, mosquito abatement districts. So many options.
- Mason County - Monday, May 12, 25 @ 4:27 pm:
=
- Rich Miller - Monday, May 12, 25 @ 1:27 pm:
====why those useful services can’t be moved up and done by the county level government===
Partly because if you live in a sparsely populated township (like the one I grew up in), you’re gonna believe that the county will focus its resources on areas with higher populations.=
That sums it up for a lot of people in my rural area. Particularly as it relates to roads.
Particularly as it relates to roads.
- Candy Dogood - Monday, May 12, 25 @ 5:02 pm:
Easy fix. Draft a law that puts the township question on the ballot for every township. The voters have to vote to retain their township government.