August 19, 2018

To the Honorable Members of

The Illinois House of Representatives,

100th General Assembly:

Today I veto House Bill 4282 from the 100th General Assembly, which restricts the ability for a property owner to disconnect from a municipality.

Under current law, certain owners of property on the border of municipal limits are able to petition county courts to disconnect their land from the municipal territory. This ability to disconnect is limited by requirements that it cannot create a substantial disruption to the municipality’s tax revenue, municipal services or zoning ordinances, among other limitations. This legislation would further  inhibit property owners from disconnecting if their land is part of a redevelopment project area or otherwise subject to tax increment financing.

Tax Increment Financing (TIF) programs, while they may serve some legitimate blight-removal purposes, are vulnerable to corruption and abuse and contribute to the property tax crisis Illinois taxpayers struggle with every day. This legislation would allow municipal governments to use TIF districts to block property owners from disconnecting from the city and will likely promote the creation of more TIF districts. The legislature should be actively pursuing reform of the state laws that govern TIFs instead of further incentivizing their creation.

Therefore, pursuant to Section 9(b) of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return House Bill 4282, entitled “AN ACT concerning local government,” with the foregoing objections, vetoed in its entirety.

Sincerely,

Bruce Rauner

GOVERNOR