Lee County Board weighs pros, cons of proposed legislation to dissolve township government

DIXON – The Township Officials of Illinois’ legislative chairman urged the Lee County Board at its meeting March 20 to oppose four bills that would dismantle many township governments across the state.

Arnold Vegter, who also is the road commissioner for Union Grove Township in Whiteside County, told the board that the TOI has been working with the Illinois Association of County Board Members along with other local government organizations to oppose SB 2504, SB 2217, HB 3581 and HB 2515, which were introduced in early 2025.

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The South Dixon Township building as seen Wednesday, March 26, 2025. The state legislature has introduced four bills that would dismantle many townships across the state. (Alex T. Paschal)

All four bills “are very vague,” Vegter said.

“The township situation is going to be, or is, if I’m not mistaken, already a headache. There’s a lot of questions and a lot of controversy,” Lee County Board member Mike Koppien said.

SB 2217 dissolves all townships with a population of less than 5,000. It must either consolidate with an adjacent township or the county. Similarly, HB 2515 dissolves all townships with a population of less than 500.

HB 3581 eliminates road districts less than 15 miles and SB 2504 gets rid of all township tax assessors in counties with a population of less than 50,000. In both cases, that duty would fall to the county.

Lee County has a population of about 33,544, according to July 2024 U.S. census data.

There are 22 townships in the county, which collectively totals about 967 miles of roadway jurisdiction. If these bills were to pass, all townships aside from Dixon Township would be eliminated.

“Most counties have told us they don’t want it,” Vegter said. “There’s no way a county could take over all of the township roads and do it as effectively as townships do.”

“It could end up being a very costly venture,” Koppien said.

Lee County Highway Department engineer Dave Anderson estimated that it could cost the county $300,000 more a year in labor than what the townships spend.

Vegter said that according to one of the bills, the county could only levy 25% of what the townships levy, meaning the county “would take all the township roads and you’d only get 25% of our money.”

Aside from the roads, the county also would have to pick up general assistance and take care of township cemeteries, Vegter said.

However, not everyone was opposed to the idea of dismantling townships.

Board member Chris Norberg referred to SB 2504, which would get rid of township tax assessors, and said, “I’m firmly a believer in that we need to get rid of multi-township assessment and township assessors – at least here in Lee County [simply because] we don’t have enough qualified people."

After the April election, the county only will have one elected township assessor, Norberg said. “The assessment ... is already being done by the county.”

“We do know that is a problem,” Vegter said. “That is a problem statewide.”

Still, “it’s hard to get rid of one organization, one department,” he said.

These bills aren’t specific enough to successfully do that, he added.

The board didn’t vote to take any action on opposing or supporting the bills, but other nearby counties have voiced their opposition.

The Ogle County Board voted unanimously March 18 to oppose the bills after two board members argued that they would create more expenses rather than saving money.

At Whiteside County’s Coloma Township board meeting March 19, Supervisor Kristine Dobbs said there will be a resolution to oppose the consolidation of townships at the annual town hall meeting at 6:15 p.m. April 8.

“Township government is the government closest to the people,” Coloma Road Commissioner Ruthie Rogers said in an interview with Shaw Local.

Rogers said her hope would be that if the bills were approved, Coloma would be absorbed by another township and remain a township.