SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Legislation passed by state Rep. Sam Yingling D-Grayslake, to encourage the consolidation of units of local government to reduce the cost of government was signed into law on Monday.

“Superfluous layers of government are inefficient and a waste of taxpayers’ hard earned dollars and now residents will be able to decide for themselves whether certain layers of government are serving a valuable purpose in their communities,” Yingling said. “Too many of Illinois’ units of government are duplicative or obsolete, yet taxpayers continue to pay for it. These bipartisan reforms pave the way for a much needed break for taxpayers.”

Yingling sponsored House Bill 607 and Senate Bill 3 to give taxpayers the tools to make choices to consolidate or eliminate units of local government. Illinois has more units of local government than any other state. Yingling’s new laws enable voters to approve via a referendum the consolidation of township governments and expands a pilot program statewide to allow voters to approve the consolidation or elimination of local taxing bodies.

“Each of these units of government has the ability to tax residents, contributing to the skyrocketing property taxes Lake County residents pay,” said Yingling, who serves as Chairman of the House Government Consolidation and Modernization Committee. “Consolidation is an important step to reduce the property tax burden on local families.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Building upon his momentum of recently passing a comprehensive property tax relief package and government consolidation measure in the House, state Rep. Sam Yingling, D-Grayslake, is carrying new legislation to expand consolidation efforts.

“We simply cannot continue down a path that punishes hard-working families and pits taxing districts against each other,” Yingling said. “Our current taxing bodies are duplicative which result in possible double taxation with taxpayers paying more money for the same level of services. That is a horrible deal for homeowners and small businesses.”

Yingling’s Senate Bill 3 allows voters to approve via referendum the consolidation of township governments. The legislation also expands a DuPage County pilot program statewide that would allow voters to approve the consolidation or elimination of local taxing bodies that provide duplicative or obsolete services, or if the services can be efficiently and effectively absorbed by another unit of local government.

“I have established myself as a fighter for working families and small businesses and will continue to stand up for them,” Yingling said. “It is my hope that we can successfully get this pro-taxpayer bill out of the House and onto the Governor’s desk for his signature.”

Senate Bill 3 passed the Senate with bi-partisan support.