DELIVERING EFFICIENT, EFFECTIVE, AND STREAMLINED GOVERNMENT TO ILLINOIS TAXPAYERS Final report submitted by: Task Force on Local Government Consolidation and Unfunded Mandates In consultation with: Office of the Lieutenant Governor, Evelyn Sanguinetti and Northern Illinois University, Center for Governmental Studies Approved by the Task Force on December 17, 2015 148 N. Third Street DeKalb, IL 60115
[email protected] December 15, 2015 Hon. Evelyn Sanguinetti Lieutenant Governor, State of Illinois 214 State Capitol Springfield, IL Dear Lt. Governor Sanguinetti: Illinois has long been recognized as having the largest number of governmental units and relatively high effective property tax rates. Much of the existing governmental structure was created under very different conditions that determined how public services are delivered. Concern about the large number of governmental units in Illinois, compared with other states, has triggered several attempts in the past to update or modernize the current delivery system. Closely related to the costs of delivering local public services are mandates imposed by state government, often without input from local officials or funding sources. While the State of Illinois has a State Mandates Act, frequently the costs imposed on local governments are not calculated or disclosed. In February, 2015, Governor Bruce Rauner, through Executive Order 15-15, created the Government Consolidation and Unfunded Mandates Task Force which you chair. The Center for Governmental Studies at Northern Illinois University is pleased to have worked with the Task Force in data-gathering activities to inform analyses and recommendations to the Governor. We hope that our analyses provide a basis for useful implementation activities as well.