Commentary: Stop bad-mouthing township government – Chicago Sun-Times

"The Illinois General Assembly is gearing up for its spring session and like clockwork, one issue is likely to emerge from so-called fiscal conservatives: legislation to eliminate township government. Just as predictably, those efforts will be wildly unsuccessful. Why? Because taxpayers experience first-hand the value and low cost of township services."
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nixit
3 years ago

Township gets to be the good guy. No police in their budget. No surly garbage men. Give old and young people something to do. Assessor helps you fight the county on property tax. Make any valid case against them and a flurry of senior citizens will make you look like a monster. I don’t think folks are questioning the value of the services inasmuch as the layer in govt in which they reside. If these services instead rolled up at the village level, wealthier towns benefit. If these services instead rolled up at the county level, poorer towns benefit. Pikc… Read more »

Goodgulf Greyteeth
3 years ago

Our rural township road commission’s line on our property tax bill (one of about 20 different taxing authorities) is about the only tax that I’m happy about. I’ve here over 30 years – my wife her entire life – does a great job. Problem is, we have to drive over three road-commission townships on our way to and from the nearby towns we go to, and the other two township’s roads are in terrible repair, and rarely plowed. Three different school districts on my property tax bill. And a library, sewer commission (we have a well and septic), fire district,… Read more »

debtsor
3 years ago

2/3rds of my real estate tax bill goes to the elementary school district, high school district, and community college. The other dozen or so taxing entities – including township, city, mosquito, sewer, etc. are the remaining 1/3rd. Even if I could hack and slash the levy of the remaining 1/3rd IN HALF, it would only reduce my tax bill by 1/6th, i.e. from $6,000 down to $5,000. Don’t get me wrong, $1,000 is a $1,000 but that’s peanuts and doesn’t really address the root of the problem. The real money, at least in my district, are the schools, and their… Read more »

Last edited 3 years ago by debtsor
FJB
3 years ago
Reply to  debtsor

Complaining about her? You mean complaining about zir. These fools don’t know if they’re a boy, a girl, or a toaster.

your dime, your dance floor
3 years ago
Reply to  debtsor

While you may not save much in taxes, the number of public employees that will eventually collect pensions will fall. And if we could combine the over 650 school districts into the number of school districts Florida has (70) we could save even more.

debtsor
3 years ago

My township has a food bank, some social services, and like 2 roads it maintains. It’s a completely worthless entity that is nothing more than a breeding ground for nepotism.

Indy
3 years ago

Spoken like a true corrupt bureaucrat that takes taxpayer dollars and disserves the people.
Township government is corrupt, outdated and needs to go.

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