Illinois lawmaker seeks to abolish townships to lower taxes [View all]

CHICAGO (AP) — A state lawmaker says Illinois needs to consolidate some of its roughly 7,000 units of government to reduce local property taxes, and he thinks eliminating townships would be a good start.

Republican state Rep. David McSweeney of Barrington Hills is sponsoring a bill to make it easier to mount township abolition campaigns in McHenry County, the Chicago Tribune reported. He said "the reason property taxes are so high in Illinois, is because we have 7,000 units of government."

"The only way we're going to reduce property taxes is to consolidate local governments," McSweeney said. "Townships are just a start."

Illinois has more than 1,400 townships and more units of government than any other state.

Read more: http://www.nwitimes.com/news/state-and-regional/illinois/illinois-lawmaker-seeks-to-abolish-townships-to-lower-taxes/article_bc2e4d65-8785-58b9-911b-95f5fe1b8a0d.html