Chambana Sun

A bill that will give communities in two counties the ability to consolidate local governments passed in the Senate, but State Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Champaign) is not a fan.

House Bill 4637, which passed on Nov. 27, would amend the Local Land Resource Management Planning Act and the Township Code and allow McHenry and Lake counties to dissolve townships in order to consolidate governing bodies.

The bill passed with 33 yes votes and 16 no votes. State Sen. Terry Link (D-Gurnee) sponsored the bill.

Chapin Rose (R-Champaign) noted that debt could be dispersed to the rest of the county once a township is dissolved.

"Once dissolved, that debt is put out on the rest of the county, and that debt factors into a property tax increase to everyone else in that county," Rose said during the session. "That issue and that issue alone, until it’s resolved…no one should be voting for this bill."

Rose said the bill will cause property taxes to rise.

"It will be a property tax increase," Rose said. "This is taxation without representation, because those other folks will have to pay the bill. Vote no."

"We’re trying to save the taxpayers money," Link countered.

Link said as the sponsor, he would do a trailer bill for the bill in the next session to address the issues several state senators expressed concern over during the floor session.

A trailer bill adds on to an existing bill.

Illinois has the most governing bodies in the nation, nearly 7,000, according to the Illinois Policy Institute.