By A. B. VILLANUEVA
Professor of political science at Western Illinois University, Macomb, he has served on several local government bodies, most recently (1973-74) as executive director, Mayor's Governmental Advisory Commission, Macomb.

Western Illinois Regional Council: supergovernment or its antidote?

FOUR YEARS ago six rural counties joined several municipalities in Western Illinois to form the Western Illinois Regional Council (WIRC). Primary impetus for this move was to get more state money for roads in that part of the state, but it was also thought that by working together these governments could provide themselves with technical advice and assistance in seeking to solve common problems.

Illinois has 15 regional (multicounty) planning agencies ranging from the Southeastern Illinois Regional Planning and Development Commission at Harrisburg serving a population of 50,575 to the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission at Chicago serving almost 7 million people. WIRC, headquartered at Macomb, serves a population of 193,514. These regional planning agencies may be the most controversial form of public agency in Illinois. Some view them with deep suspicion as the forerunners of sub-state regional governments. Others see them as a form of intergovernmental cooperation which may make more layers of government unnecessary. The Western Illinois group has run into its own share of flak, has suffered some withdrawals of membership, but can also point to accomplishments. And in one case, it took a tornado to convince a doubting official that WIRC was worthwhile.

The legal basis
The 1970 Constitution encourages intergovernmental cooperation, granting the authority to local units to cooperate with each other in obtaining, paying for and sharing services; and their offices and employees are authorized to participate in intergovernmental activities without relinquishing their offices and positions (Article VII, section 10). The formation of regional councils of public officials and private regional organizations is specifically provided for by Public Act 76-913, effective August 20, 1969, and found in Illinois Revised Statutes (1975), chapter 85, beginning at section 1011.

WIRC was formed in 1972 by Fulton, Hancock, Henderson, Knox, McDonough and Warren counties and cities such as Bushnell, Canton, Galesburg, Macomb, and Monmouth. Warren County, Galesburg and Monmouth have since withdrawn, but some additional municipalities as well as Western Illinois University have joined the council.

Accomplishments Although the council is only in its fourth year, it has helped members obtain grants totaling almost $150,000 for projects as of the end of 1975, and under its technical assistance program it has: Prepared a revised zoning ordinance for Macomb. Prepared a capital development program for Colchester and helped set up a planning commission. Prepared a solid waste study for Hancock County showing the best area to locate a landfill. The report was accepted and the county has purchased the land. Prepared a mobile home ordinance for Hamilton which has been adopted as part of the city's zoning ordinance.

26 / June 1976 / Illinois Issues

Formed to get more road money, provide technical aid to local units, WIRC has suffered defections but can claim successes. A tornado made a believer out of one city official

5. Prepared a bike route for Carthage. Federal funds are now being sought to help finance its construction.

6. Helped Bushnell obtain more than four acres of surplus federal land for parkland use by the city.

Problems, too WIRC was criticized by Monmouth officials as an empire builder when plans were being discussed to merge the organization with the Southeastern Iowa Regional Planning Commission. "It started with a budget of $8,000 and now it has increased to $94,000," said Don Wills, a city planning commissioner who represented Monmouth on WIRC. Monmouth has since withdrawn from the council. Another case of empire building, critics said, is the attempt to merge the Western Illinois Crime Commission with WIRC. Such an attempt was opposed on the basis that the crime commission might become just another committee on WIRC, A land reclamation study conducted by WIRC for Knox County was released by WIRC to a mining company — prematurely in the opinion of the Knox County Board. The board was considering an amendment to its zoning ordinance prescribing standards of reclamation of strip-mining, and Knox County officials felt WIRC should have consulted the county board before giving the company a copy of the report. Officials felt the release of the report weakened the county's position when the company went to court to challenge the validity of the proposed zoning ordinance. Knox County has withdrawn from the council. The "Forgotonia" movement also got WIRC into trouble with Mayor Robert F. Jennings of Canton who thought the communications coordinator of the council should not have helped promote Forgotonia. The movement, which began as a joke, was organized by a senior student at Western Illinois University and proposed that Western Illinois secede from Illinois and become the 51st state. No one took the joke seriously, but it did serve to focus attention on the region's concerns. The council has faced its most serious opposition from those who object to the concept of a regional organization with powers to review applications of local governments for federal grants. It was argued that WIRC's plan to make itself a clearinghouse for federal grants would lead to a third layer of government.

"We don't want another layer," said George Bersted, mayor of Monmouth. "We did not form the council on that basis," he was quoted in the Galesburg Register Mail, January 18,1974. "All this council needs is one stamp that says 'approval.' All we have gotten from this council is a newsletter saying, 'We know how to run things.'" Monmouth later withdrew from the council.

Future outlook
Can the council survive these losses? Galesburg has also virtually withdrawn, and the Register-Mail ran a cartoon showing Monmouth and Knox County abandoning the ship WIRC, and tagged it "a hopeless cause" (January 21,1974). Lee Rodgers, a member of the Warren County Board, told the Peoria Journal-Star (January 25, 1974), "The need of regional planning is not felt by the population of Warren County."

On the other hand, TV executive Robert Rice in an editorial by WRAU-TV 19, Peoria (September 16, 1973), emphasized that "it will take cooperation to solve the area's problems." Mayor Robert Anstine of Macomb, WIRC chairman, told the Peoria paper that WIRC was simply "a valuable arm of government and I hope that is all it will ever be" (February 22, 1974).

Mayor Jennings of Canton gave the group its strongest endorsement after the tornado that struck his city last July. "The staff came to our city immediately after the storm and have worked with us every day since. Had they not been available, I do not know what I, or the City of Canton, should have done. They have taken a lot of load off my shoulders and have been able to advise me many times," he said. Jennings, who at one time had urged his city council to withdraw from WIRC, admitted in a letter to Richard Gale, WIRC executive director, "We have found . . . you do not know their [WIRC's staff] value until they are needed. I feel that all counties and cities within the boundaries of this organization should belong, even though they may never need their services such as we have."

Membership and financing
To become a member of the council, a unit of local government or nongovernmental body must adopt a resolution supporting the council. Major financial support comes from the members' contributions, which are based on population; in the case of Western Illinois University, the contribution is negotiated. For fiscal year 1976, assessments total $24,861, exclusive of the university contribution. The council is also receiving federal planning funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In addition, it was awarded a $3,000 work-study contract by HUD and is receiving special grants amounting to $47,000.

June 1976 / Illinois Issues / 27