Illinois Official Says Work To Cut Local Governments Begins This Week
From Reuters
A new task force charged with cutting some of Illinois' nearly 7,000 local governments, the highest number of any U.S. state, will be unveiled this week, according to the state's lieutenant governor.
With a plethora of local governments that tax residents - from mosquito abatement districts to cemetery authorities - "everything is on the table," Lieutenant Governor Evelyn Sanguinetti, a Republican, who is in charge of the task force, told Reuters.
The number of local government units is so great that nobody is sure exactly how many there are, and it depends on who is counting, Sanguinetti said.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the state has 6,963 local governments. But the Illinois Comptroller's Office says the number is far greater, with nearly 8,500 local government units registered in 2014, the latest figure available.
"We know the number is incredibly high and we are first place in the whole country when it comes to the numbers of local government we have in Illinois," Sanguinetti said. "Right now the focus is on the duplication of services. We want to take a look at streamlining that and to save taxpayer money."
According to the Census Bureau, Illinois eclipses all other states in the number of local governments. Texas, which ranks second, comes in at 5,147. Pennsylvania follows with 4,897. And Florida, with a population of nearly 20 million, compared to Illinois' 13 million, has just 1,650 local government units.
Read more in our daily News Update...
From Reuters
A new task force charged with cutting some of Illinois' nearly 7,000 local governments, the highest number of any U.S. state, will be unveiled this week, according to the state's lieutenant governor.
With a plethora of local governments that tax residents - from mosquito abatement districts to cemetery authorities - "everything is on the table," Lieutenant Governor Evelyn Sanguinetti, a Republican, who is in charge of the task force, told Reuters.
The number of local government units is so great that nobody is sure exactly how many there are, and it depends on who is counting, Sanguinetti said.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the state has 6,963 local governments. But the Illinois Comptroller's Office says the number is far greater, with nearly 8,500 local government units registered in 2014, the latest figure available.
"We know the number is incredibly high and we are first place in the whole country when it comes to the numbers of local government we have in Illinois," Sanguinetti said. "Right now the focus is on the duplication of services. We want to take a look at streamlining that and to save taxpayer money."
According to the Census Bureau, Illinois eclipses all other states in the number of local governments. Texas, which ranks second, comes in at 5,147. Pennsylvania follows with 4,897. And Florida, with a population of nearly 20 million, compared to Illinois' 13 million, has just 1,650 local government units.
Read more in our daily News Update...