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Editorial: Don't let distractions derail momentum for consolidating governments

It's hard to get bipartisan support these days in Illinois as Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Democrat-led General Assembly butt heads on most items of importance.

But one idea that does have bipartisan support and which we have long supported is the consolidation of the 7,000-plus units of government in Illinois, most in the nation. A task force created and appointed by Rauner and led by Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti of Wheaton is expected to release soon its final recommendations on this topic. Sanguinetti said "the savings are gong to be huge."

That certainly sounds like good news. But it would be a shame if the progress the task force could make is stunted by efforts to go beyond the scope of the good-government issue of consolidation.

That's what some members are saying, according to an Associated Press story published in the Daily Herald earlier this week. Democratic state Rep. Jack Franks of Marengo and state Sen. Linda Holmes of Aurora told the AP of some proposals aimed at weakening unions.

That's a separate hot topic in Illinois and not one we are commenting on today. Instead, we urge the task force and state politicians in general to not get so far afield that the issue of consolidation gets lost. We've seen that happen with the ongoing state budget debate.

"When Bruce and I were chosen to lead, we promised the people we would change Illinois," Sanguinetti said, explaining that the proposals cited by Franks and Holmes were requested by local officials as a way to save money.

As we understand it, the task force was to find ways to consolidate government and look at unfunded mandates imposed by the state. The mandate issue is a more complicated animal - some will be easier to repeal than others.

But consolidation efforts should get top billing and move quickly through the political process. For example, the group wants to impose a four-year moratorium on new governments and give Illinois voters the ability to dissolve or consolidate governments through a referendum. In addition, the task force wants to expand a 2013 law that allowed DuPage County to consolidate its units of government to all counties in the state.

All those proposals make sense and, as DuPage County has proved, can be successful in reducing government waste.

DuPage County Chairman Dan Cronin has been given appropriate kudos for his efforts - which some say could even go further. Those include dissolving a fire protection district and a sanitary district. And he successfully pushed for the state to eliminate the DuPage Fair and Exposition Authority. In addition, he's championed other savings through simplification, shared services and using technology in a more useful way.

And other groups like the Metropolitan Planning County and the Better Government Association are also working together to find ways to reduce government bureaucracy.

The momentum is there - it's time to get this done.

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