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Governments in Illinois By NORMAN WALZER* The number of governments providing services in Illinois has been a topic of discussion for many years.1 Illinois has the dubious reputation of having the largest number of governments and has often been criticized for overlapping jurisdictions and duplicative services. Illinois has several factors contributing to the large number of governments providing services. First is that Illinois is one of 19 states containing town or township form of government. This is a result of preferences by early settlers in New England and many midwestern states. Responsibilities for services vary among states. Services provided by townships in some states are provided by counties or municipalities in other states. Second is that Illinois has a large number of special districts which overlay the three multipurpose governments — counties, townships, and municipalities. Third is that education is provided by single function districts in Illinois while it is provided by general purpose governments in some other states. One cannot equate number of governments with level of service or spending patterns. The amount of service provided is not necessarily linked with number of governments. For instance, in Illinois 17 counties provide equivalent services without townships while 85 counties have townships. Other instances could be cited where services are provided by special districts in some areas but are provided by counties or municipalities elsewhere. This article examines data published by the Department of Commerce on number of governments and changes in recent years. The origin of these figures is the 1987 Census of Governments currently being tabulated. Two comparisons are made in subsequent discussions. First is numbers of government by type in Illinois in 1987 and selected previous years. The intent is to identify where growth or declines occurred. The second section compares in Illinois with other states in number of governments when adjusted for 1987 population. This comparison permits a better appreciation of the importance of population size. Illinois compares more favorably with other states after this adjustment. Number of Governments in 1987 A comparison of changes in governmental structure in Illinois between 1982 and 1987 shows virtually no change in number of general purpose governments. There was one fewer municipality reported in 1987 than in 1982 and 20 fewer school districts (Table 1). This is pretty much as expected, given difficulties associated with creating or eliminating general purpose governments. A major change occurred in number of special districts, though. In 1982, there were 2,602 special districts in Illinois. By 1987, however, the number had increased to 2,782, a growth of 6.9 percent. This increase reversed an earlier downward trend between 1977 and 1982 when 143 special districts were eliminated. The growth in special districts occurred in several service categories. The number of fire protection districts increased from 771 to 800 (3.8 percent growth) after virtually no change between 1977 and 1982. Library districts increased from 107 in 1982 to 183 in 1987 (71 percent). Parks and recreation districts grew from 318 to 335 (5.3 percent) and the number of cemetery districts increased from 23 to 52 (126.1 percent) during this period. The number of special districts in several service areas declined. There were 133 sewerage districts in 1982 and 125 in 1987 (-6 percent). The "other" category exhibited a small decline but detailed information is not available to determine precisely which services are included. There have been shifts in services and changes in district categories, making a direct comparison more difficult. A comparison in number of governments providing services in Illinois over a longer period also is interesting. For instance, the number of municipalities increased from 1,251 in 1962 to 1,279 in 1987. The number of townships decreased by one and number of school districts declined by 511. Special districts, on the other June 1990 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 7 hand, increased from 2,126 in 1962 to 2,782 in 1987 (30.9 percent). Within the special district category, fire protection, library, and cemetery districts led the list in growth. The number of hospital districts declined.
It is hard to assess the importance of governmental structure on local finance in Illinois, although many researchers have tried.2 On one hand, examples can be cited of essential services in rural areas provided by a district encompassing municipalities and unincorporated areas. Fire protection is commonly mentioned. At the other extreme, examples are presented where overlapping services cause substantial confusion. A fire protection district covering part of a municipality served by a municipal department might be an example. Thus, determining when special districts are necessary or preferable is difficult. The issue is even more complicated when one understands that providing services with single purpose districts typically places more of the financing burden on real estate taxes. This usually occurs because single purpose districts do not have access to a wide range of revenue sources. It is ironic that a reason commonly given for special districts is property tax rate limits. These limits are reached by general purpose governments and, in order to obtain additional property taxes, special districts are created. There is some evidence to support this contention when a comparison in number of governments is made between areas with home rule and those with property tax limits. While special districts have critics, other researchers emphasize the importance of citizen involvement in governmental decisions. One theory is that special districts cost little to operate because there is no paid staff and much of the effort is volunteer. The opportunity to become involved in governmental decision-making is viewed as worthwhile and desirable. This theory, of course, assumes that special interests do not dominate the decision-making process and cause higher taxes for services not desired by a majority of residents. Page 8 / Illinois Municipal Review / June 1990 Yet a third reason advanced for the growth of special districts is that taxpayers want to bypass competition for funds in multipurpose governments. Allegedly, residents seeking specialized services such as libraries or parks, for instance, find it easier to cause higher spending when they do not compete with traditional public services such as police protection, fire protection, and streets. By establishing a special district, special interests can lobby for more spending on that service. The budget for this special service remains so small a portion of the total tax bill that residents may not protest the relatively minor tax increase. Governments Per Population Large states are expected to have a large number of governments providing services. An important issue is whether the number of governments per 10,000 residents is higher in Illinois than in comparable states. In practice, Illinois with 11.5 million residents and 6,627 governments has one governmental unit for each 1,741 residents (Table 2). This places Illinois 14th from the most governmental units. In Wisconsin, Missouri, Iowa, and Indiana, the number of governments per 1,000 residents is not much different from Illinois. Wisconsin had one government per 1,759 residents, Iowa had one for each 1,536 residents, and Indiana had one for every 1,961 residents. Without the high number of special districts, Illinois would rate much lower in number of governments but it is conceivable that services in some areas, particularly in remote rural portions of the state, might be lower.
June 1990 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 9
Summary This article is neither to justify nor criticize governmental structure in Illinois. The type of governmental structure required to efficiently provide services is the one which should be used. For certain, the same governmental structure will not be effective throughout the state. Rural areas need different structures from urban areas. Economies of scale in services are involved, but guaranteeing a minimum level of service is important in other cases. When a new set of numbers is developed by a public agency such as the Bureau of the Census, the raw numbers immediately hit the news media. Unfortunately, often there is insufficient time for detailed analysis or comparison with other states. Hopefully the material in this article will assist in making more complete comparisons. A more detailed comparison of structure is underway. • *Professor of economics and director, Institute for Rural Affairs, Western Illinois University. NOTES 1 An early study of taxing units in Illinois was conducted by Clyde F. Snyder and Roy Andersen, Local Taxing Units: The Illinois Experience (Urbana: Institute of Government and Public Affairs, 1968); John Rehfus and David Tobias, "Special Districts: The Little Governments Providing Specialized Services" Illinois Issues (September 1977), pp. 22-26. 2 One of the most extensive examinations of local government structure in Illinois is David L. Chicoine and Norman Walzer, Governmental Structure and Local Public Finance (Boston, MA: Oelgeschlager, Gunn, and Hain. Inc., 1984). Page 10 / Illinois Municipal Review / June 1990 |
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