Kendall County NOW - Dec. 2, 2015 | Original article

By Mark Fitton and Greg Bishop

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SPRINGFIELD – A task force aimed at the Illinois local government glut began shaping its report to the governor and legislature two weeks ago as members approved nine proposals.

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The task force, appointed by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and led by Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti, includes state legislators, local government and education officials and others.

State Sen. Linda Holmes, D-Aurora, cast two “no” votes and two present votes on the last four items, which are the ones expected to draw the most scrutiny from legislative Democrats. Holmes’ district includes northeastern Kendall County, including portions of Oswego and Montgomery.

Holmes, the lone Democratic lawmaker voting in this task force session, said she thinks the group has “fostered a lot of good discussion, so I think that’s definitely a positive.”

Still, Holmes said, she’s not entirely comfortable with all the items on the group’s agenda.

“Let’s be completely blunt here,” she said. “I think in some cases,  some of these items are bleeding over into this administration’s goal of eliminating the powers of organized labor.”

She said she wonders if those items involving collective bargaining are “more items on the governor’s turnaround agenda than … specific to the unfunded mandates and government consolidations committee.”

The group – formally the Local Government Consolidation and Unfunded Mandates Task Force – intends to finish its report in December.

For the full article, go to Kendall County NOW.

Senator Holmes held a meeting at her Aurora office Monday with area superintendents and State Reps. Linda Chapa LaVia and Stephanie Kifowit.

Dr. Jeff Craig, Dr. Michael Popp, Dr. Matthew Wendt, Dr. Karen Sullivan, and Dr. José Torres were invited. Participants discussed unfunded mandates and other budgeting challenges facing their school districts. Senator Holmes is planning a similar meeting in January.

Associated Press - Nov. 29, 2015 | Original article via Chicago Sun-Times

By Sara Burnett

On the campaign trail and in his first weeks in office, Gov. Bruce Rauner pledged to save taxpayers money by eliminating some of Illinois’ nearly 7,000 units of government — a piece of his legislative agenda with rare bipartisan support.

Now a task force the Republican governor named to put that idea in motion is preparing to present its final recommendations. Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti, the commission’s chairwoman, says its suggestions could make government more efficient and effective if the Legislature and Rauner choose to implement them.

“At the end of the day the savings are going to be huge,” she said.

But some task force members say the year-long process is being tainted by a push to include anti-union provisions that are among Rauner’s top priorities, and that politics could prevent progress on yet another issue before Illinois lawmakers.

Here’s a closer look at the task force and what’s coming next:

THE ISSUE

From townships to park districts to counties, Illinois has more units of government than any other state. The state with the second-highest number — Texas — has about 1,800 fewer units.

Rauner said Illinois’ “unnecessary layers of government” led to waste, high taxes and the opportunity for corruption. In February, he issued an executive order creating the task force, whose roughly two dozen members include legislators and local government officials, and tasked them with finding ways to consolidate.

Rauner also asked the group to look at the unfunded mandates the state has imposed on local governments and recommend which ones should be repealed to reduce costs.

Since then the group has held about a dozen meetings statewide, inviting local leaders to speak about changes they think could streamline government.

The task force has voted on dozens of proposals that will likely be part of their final report, which is due Dec. 31.

UNFUNDED MANDATES

GOP state Rep. Mark Batinick, a member of the task force, says some of the proposals they’re considering may seem small, but “the small things add up to big things.”

Take a state mandate regarding oil changes for government-owned vehicles. State rules require the oil to be changed every 3,000 to 5,000 miles, Batinick said. That’s true even if the vehicle or the oil being used has a recommended range of 7,500 miles — meaning that over several years, government could be spending thousands of dollars on oil changes that aren’t needed.

Batinick would like to see that rule eliminated.

The task force also is recommending eliminating a requirement that governments pay to put public notices in local newspapers if those same notices are available online, among others.

CONSOLIDATION

To reduce layers of government, the group wants to impose a four-year moratorium on new governments and give Illinois voters the ability to dissolve or consolidate governments through a referendum. Passing such a ballot measure would require a three-fifths vote — the same as amending the Illinois Constitution.

It also wants to expand a 2013 law that allowed DuPage County to consolidate units within its borders, giving the same authority to all 102 counties. Since the law passed, DuPage County has dissolved a fire protection and a sanitary district.

Rep. Linda Holmes, an Aurora Democrat, says the key is letting local areas decide rather than using a “blanket approach.”

“What might work in Aurora may not be the same thing that works in Decatur,” she said.

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State Reps. Stephanie Kifowit and Linda Chapa LaVia joined me this week to speak with Latinos in my Aurora office about everything from access to social services to the challenges facing prospective Latino-owned small business.
 
In a wide-ranging talk, we touched on affordable housing-shelters, assistance to the elderly, programs that support small business owners and we discussed lack of Latino management leadership in local non-profit organizations and how to build a Latino business community.
 
Some of our participants included representatives of the Aurora-based Foundation for the Advancement of Mexican Americans, Waubonsee Community College, the Hispanic Advisory Board of Aurora and Rush Copley Hospital.
 
I’m always interested in matters that concern the Latino community in the district I represent. We'll hold another meeting in January. If you have questions or concerns or want to be a part of the January meeting, contact my office!