Guest Column                                                             

Townships defended 'last bastion of pure democracy in an otherwise bureaucratized republic' By GEORGE H. MILLER

Township government, introduced in North America in the mid-17th century and in Illinois in 1848, has always had its detractors and opponents. Pre-revolution opposition came from those wealthy landowners who favored the feudal system of lord and vassal. In Illinois, opposition based on alleged savings in tax dollars began in the 1870s and reappears in 50- to 60-year cycles.

Despite many strong anti-township campaigns and referendums held during these cycles, only one, in Williamson County in 1932, permanently discontinued township government. Almost all other attempts to abolish townships have failed by substantial margins. The most recent effort, 1992 in Cook County, failed to come even close to obtaining sufficient petition signatures to place the question on the ballot.

Although today's townships still function according to provisions of the Township Act of 1874, amendments to the act have kept township government as modern as any and more progressive than most. In addition to providing the three services mandated by statute — assistance to the poor, assessment of property for taxation and maintenance of roads — townships have assumed responsibility for dozens of permissive functions authorized by statute. These include a wide variety of social service programs "tailored" to fit the needs of specific communities.

The state-mandated duties of townships, which exceed the number placed on county or municipal governments, are, by themselves, important to the state's welfare. General assistance (now transitional assistance) at the township level provides immediate help to the destitute of a given community according to local standards and needs and with local dollars. Accurate property assessments (evaluations) provide income through tax levies for all local governments. The greater the proficiency of the township assessor, the more equitable the taxes paid by the property owners.

Township road district commissioners are directly responsible for maintaining more than 53 percent of the state's total road miles and nearly half of all bridges. These roads and bridges provide access for police and fire protection, school buses and rural postal service. Even in highly urban areas township highway commissioners play an important role. In Cook County alone the 22 highway commissioners are directly responsible for more than 300 miles of local roads. Township roads may not be as heavily traveled as the ones under the state or interstate systems, but they are lifelines that must be maintained and kept open despite floods, snow, etc., especially in rural Illinois. Neither the state, county nor municipal road systems could accept the responsibility of the townships' more than 71,000 miles of road and 17,000 bridges without increasing their own tax rates or abandoning some of them, or both.

Those who suggest the abolition of general purpose townships as a means to reduce the number of governments and save tax dollars overlook the more than 2,000 special districts that elect officials and levy taxes for single purposes such as street lighting, water conservation, drainage districts, etc. All of these may, by a vote of the people affected, be merged into the townships, resulting in a savings of tax dollars and a reduction of what some people see as too many governments.

Regarding the savings of tax dollars, Money magazine recently released a report that placed Illinois No. 28 in total per capita taxes in the 50 states plus the District of Columbia. If all the state's townships and the taxes they collect were eliminated, Illinois' ranking would change from 28 to 26. Elimination of townships would also reduce the number of "people" programs administered by them unless other units of government were willing to take them over, but they can't afford to without substantially increasing their taxes.

Many township detractors claim that the annual town meeting is archaic and out of date. They overlook the fact that the annual town meeting is true democracy in action, giving citizens of the township a direct say in how "their" government is run. Despite its critics, the town meeting concept has been seized upon by President Clinton and members of Congress as the way to reach out to the people and to hear their ideas.

In a 1980 Illinois Fourth District Appellate Court decision (Griffie v Spanski), Justice Albert G. Webber III wrote: "Township government today is probably the last bastion of pure democracy in an otherwise bureaucratized republic. It is the direct descendant of the idealized state envisioned by the ancient philosophers where every man could speak his piece and be afforded a hearing by his peers. . . . The government may propose action, but it is subject to the will of its constituents."

Democracy was never intended to be cheap. It was, and is, intended to follow the will of the people and to respond to their needs. Township government meets these criteria better and more effectively than any other example of government we have today. *

George H. Miller is executive director of the Township Officials of Illinois.

Click here for Michael Richardson's Response

March 1993/Illinois Issues/9