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VOL. 12 • NO. 49
Sunday, May 8
Seatings 9:30am - 2:30pm Reservations and deposit
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W h it e P in e s Go lf Club
& Banquets 500 W Jefferson | 63 0-766-0304 x2 | wh itepinesgolf.com A facility of Be nsenville Park Distric
t
WWW.THEINDEPENDENTNEWSPAPERS.COM
241907
THURSDAY, MAY 5, 2016
Legislation in House lets local government decide about townships Effort began by Governor’s executive order signed in 2015 By Dee Longfellow For The Independent
In a release received from the office of State Rep. Deb Conroy (D-Villa Park), the Independent learned that legislation is currently being considered in the Illinois House of Representatives to allow local government to make the decision on the consolidation of townships, which will save taxpayer dollars and reduce the size of government. While DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin has been touting the benefits of dissolving township government, this action will put the decision in the hands of local community government. Conroy said she would be supporting the measure. “Illinois has more units of local government than any other state in the country,” she said. “There is still more to be done to reduce waste and ensure that tax dollars are being spent efficiently, and this bill helps to achieve that goal.” While there is no mechanism currently on the books to eliminate township government, Senate Bill 388 would give local voters the power to merge or dissolve those agencies. The proposal recently passed the Senate with bipartisan, unani-
mous support and awaits consideration in the House. “The hard-earned dollars of middle-class families should not go towards wasteful or duplicative layers of government,” Conroy said. “Whether it is bloated levels of govern-
ment or rampant misuse of taxpayer dollars at the College of DuPage, I will continue to work to rein in wasteful spending in DuPage County and throughout Illinois.” In February of 2015, Cronin brought Governor Bruce
Rauner and many other state and local government officials to the DuPage Water Commission building for the signing of an Executive Order creating the Local Government Consolidation and Unfunded Mandate Task Force, headed by Lt. Gov-
ernor Evelyn Sanguinetti. With nearly 7,000 separate government entities, including state, county, local, township, school district and other taxing bodies, Illinois has the most
See TOWNSHIPS, Page 4
Students make dog toys for humane society These eighth graders from a local junior high show off what they made with funds collected from the “Pennies for Paws” program. The dog toys will be donated to the Hinsdale Humane Society.
Inside:
Police Reports......3, 6 Sports �������������������� 12 Viewpoint.................8 Classifieds..........25-26
Walk-In Clinic In Jewel-Osco 1127 S. York Road Bensenville (630) 527-3645
courtesy photo
Steer your fevers and coughs our way.
To check out wait times visit EEHealth.org 241911
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