January 11, 2019
To the Honorable
Members of
The Illinois House of
Representatives,
100th General
Assembly:
Today,
I return House Bill 4637 of the 100th General Assembly with specific
recommendations for change.
This
legislation amends the process by which townships in McHenry County may be
dissolved in an effort to consolidate and reduce Illinois’ excessive layers of
local government.
While
I applaud the effort to create a clear process that aligns with the Illinois
Constitution’s vision that townships may be dissolved if approved by
referendum, this is a process that should be available with equal clarity
across the state.
This
legislation also mandates the abolition of certain road districts in Lake and McHenry
County. This question of consolidating services should also go to the voters
through a referendum, a process that Lake and McHenry County—and all other
counties—can already pursue under state law.
Therefore,
pursuant to Section 9(e) of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I
hereby return House Bill 4637, entitled “AN ACT concerning local government,”
with the following specific recommendations for change:
On
page 3, by replacing lines 11 through 16 with the following:
“(55 ILCS 5/5-1184 new)
Sec. 5-1184. Dissolution of townships in a
county. If
a township in a county dissolves as provided
in Article
24 of the Township Code, the respective county
shall assume the
powers, duties, and obligations of each
dissolved township as
provided in Article 24 of the Township Code.”; and
On
page 3, by replacing line 21 with: “TOWNSHIPS IN A COUNTY”; and
On
page 4, by replacing line 3 with: “under this Article shall be in addition
to”; and
On
page 4, by replacing lines 8 and 9 with: “means the registered voters of any
single township.”; and
On
page 4, by replacing line 11 with: “Sec. 24-15. Dissolving a township. By”;
and
On
page 4, by replacing line 13 with: “any county may submit a proposition to
dissolve the”; and
On
page 4, by replacing line 21 with: “township must be filed with the”;
and
On
page 4, by replacing line 22 through 23 with: “governing board of the
township, the county board of the county in which the township is located, and
the county clerk not less than 122 days”; and
On
page 5, by replacing line 16 with: “the county clerk shall, by publication
in one or more”; and
On
page 5, by replacing line 22 with: “Residents of (dissolving township) and
(name of county) County are”; and
On
page 5, by replacing line 24 with: “township) and (name of county) County
requesting a referendum to”; and
On
page 6, by replacing line 3 with: “liabilities being transferred to (name of
county) County.”; and
On
page 6, by replacing line 20 with: “transferred to (name of county) County?”;
and
On
page 7, by replacing line 8 through 9 with: “dissolving township shall be
transferred to the county. All township funds of the dissolved township shall”;
and
On
page 8, by replacing line 7 with: “the county except as provided in
paragraph (6).”; and
On
page 8, by replacing line 8 with: “(6) The county board of the county shall
give”; and
On
page 8, by replacing line 23 with: “one or more offers are received by the
county on or”; and
On
page 8, by replacing line 25 with: “dissolving township, the county board of
the county”; and
On
page 9, by replacing line 4 through 5 with: “road district or road districts
are retained by the county. The receiving unit of local government that assumes”;
and
By
deleting page 9, line 14 through page 10, line 16.
With
these changes, House Bill 4637 would have my approval.
Sincerely,
Bruce Rauner
GOVERNOR
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