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THURSDAY, MAY 5, 2016
Legislation in House lets local government decide about townships
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 government or rampant misuse of tax-
payer 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
Jackson artists dedicate mosaic to Larry Gould
Inside:
Police Reports...........6 Sports �������������������� 12 Viewpoint.................8 Classifieds..........25-26
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. Governor Evelyn Sanguinetti. With nearly 7,000 separate government entities, including
state, county, local, township, school district and other taxing bodies, Illinois has the most layers of government of any state, Governor Rauner noted. He said the task force would look into each level of govern-
See TOWNSHIPS, Page 4
A high point of an exhibition of the artworks of various students from District 45 Schools, including Jackson Middle School pictured here, was the unveiling of a large mosaic jaguar, dedicated to the memory of Larry Gould who worked for District 45 for 40 years. Led by art teacher Tara Challenger, the piece was done entirely during the lunch hours of the 17 artists who took part in its creation. Also interesting: the students used some of Gould’s tools and glass to make the mosaic. Full story and more photos on page 13.
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