The performance of township governments in Illinois was on display Tuesday night.
At the Eagle's Lodge in Kane County's Rutland Township, residents gathered to hear from the board of trustees. The board provided a summary of how it spent taxpayer dollars over the past year. State law requires all township boards in Illinois to hold these meetings every April. This year's meetings come at a time when township governments in Illinois are fiercely defending the value they provide to taxpayers. Some in Springfield say the state has too many layers of government, and that money could be saved by dissolving certain governmental bodies, including ones that serve townships. Rutland Township assessor, Jan Siers, disagrees.
"Whoever takes over, the county or whatever, they would have to have the resources to do what all of the township assessors are doing now."
Other supporters of township governments say residents feel more connected to these elected officials, and dissolving them would result in a lost sense of representation.