Community Corner
Illinois: Way Too Many Levels of Government
If you start out almost any night of the week planning on going to a local government board meeting you need to take along a scorecard. First of all, which one do you want to go to and when? The Village Board, the Library District, the Park District, the Fire District, Planning and Zoning Commission, County Board, School Board, PTO? Then you could throw in Township Boards, Public Pension Boards, Forest Preserve Boards and Sporting Boards. I'm out of boards, but I'm certain you could think of a few more that I have missed. With so many levels of Government in Illinois it's difficult, if not impossible, to keep score. In many cases we have partially paid members on these boards with full time paid staff members supporting them. They have budgets and payrolls and power that can be, and in many cases is, abused. If our tax dollars were being used in a more focused manner by a smaller group of people who we could hold more accountable maybe Illinois would not be in such dire financial shape! Vote for Richard Chapman Candidate for the 97th Illinois District and help get Illinois government back on track!