Illinois Senate President John Cullerton says he’s in favor of consolidating local governments. Illinois had more than 69-hundred units of local government as of 2013, more than any other state.
“It doesn’t directly affect the state”s finances that much but it does it does affect the property tax payers in those county and townships where they are paying for extra layers of government. It is really a political issue but I don’t disagree with an effort to consolidate,” says Cullerton.
However, Cullerton has opposed some consolidation efforts in the past, such as the governor’s push in 2011 to force school districts to merge.
There’s been some movement to eliminate government entities, such as DuPage County’s recent push… though legislative leaders say there should be a more statewide approach.