Over 100 mayors from across Illinois participated in a press conference at the IML Annual Conference to kick-off an effort to place a Constitutional Amendment on the ballot regarding unfunded state mandates.

The press conference occurred at the 82nd Annual Conference of the Illinois Municipal League held in Chicago September 28 - October 1.

The purpose of the press conference was to introduce a statewide effort by local officials, the Illinois General Assembly, constitutional offices and numerous local government associations to place a Constitutional Amendment on the November 1996 ballot. The Constitutional Amendment will address the imposition of unfunded state mandates on local government.

"In reality, there is no such thing as an unfunded mandate because local government and its taxpayers pick up the funding costs for every one of them," said Paul Green, Director of the Institute for Public Policy. and Administration at Governors State University.

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley told the assembled crowd that state mandates cost the City of Chicago more than $70 million each year. "Programs passed by state government should provide a stream of revenue to localities or they should not be passed," he said. "Particularly hard hit are smaller communities that don't have the breadth of revenue that larger communities have.

"Our citizens today are demanding that government at all levels reexamine the way they do business," Daley continued. "We in local government face these issues directly and that is why it is important for us to work together."

DeKalb Mayor and Illinois Municipal League President Greg Sparrow added, "The time has come to address this drain on local resources. To that end, the passage of a Constitutional Amendment on unfunded mandates is the top priority of the Illinois Municipal League for 1996."

However one wishes to look at it, narrowly defined, special interest oriented state mandates represent a breakdown in the state/local relationship. The increasing inability of locally elected officials to control local budgets and to represent their citizens is, in large part, a result of programs and requirements imposed by the state.

The call for an Unfunded Mandates Constitutional Amendment is a serious effort to restore both fiscal and elected integrity at the state and local level. Before an unfunded mandate is imposed it should be so only after certain criteria and a super majority vote requirement is met.

To that end the Illinois Municipal League, in cooperation with other groups, has established an Unfunded Mandates Constitutional Amendment Drafting Committee. The Committee is charged with drafting language for a Constitutional Amendment, to be passed by the General Assembly for the citizens of Illinois to be able to vote on in the general election ballot in November 1996.

Meetings with leadership of both the House and Senate of the General Assembly have been held. As a result of those meetings leadership has agreed to assign both legislators and staff to participate in the committee deliberations and drafting.

In the center of this magazine is a special insert with additional information on the Constitutional Amendment and actions the League urges you to take immediately.

Please participate!

Your prompt assistance and active participation will be needed to inform the General Assembly and our citizens of the unparalleled need for an Unfunded Mandates Constitutional Amendment. •

October 1995 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 5