Poll: Voters reject diverting funds from local communities

LOMBARD, Illinois—Illinois voters overwhelmingly oppose efforts in Springfield to funnel hundreds of millions of dollars from local communities like Lombard, to help pay down the state's budget deficit, according to a recent poll.

More than 80 percent of Illinois Voters surveyed said the state should return the funds as required under current state law, while just over 12 percent replied that they preferred the state keep the funds and just over 7 percent were uncertain, according to the automated poll conducted by We Ask America.

Some Illinois legislators have proposed changing the law to use locally generated revenue, legally owed to municipalities that go toward the funding of local services, to help close the state's budget gap.

Illinois municipalities rely on the Local Government Distributive Fund, which was instituted in 1969, in exchange for cities and towns not imposing their own income tax. It guarantees municipalities a share of state income tax receipts to help fund local services.

Lombard Village President William Mueller is concerned that taking away this revenue, which pays for essential local programs, front-line services and critical personnel, will shift the state's burden onto municipal and county governments.

“Municipalities have already been making significant sacrifices and reducing costs during these difficult economic times”, said Mueller. “The impact of the state diverting local funds to use for the state's budget deficit would result in a revenue loss up to $3.4 million that would directly affect Village services.”

Mueller emphasizes that the result of this poll reveals that Illinois voters will not tolerate lawmakers taking money from their communities, particularly in light of the 66 percent income tax increase passed recently.

The DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference in conjunction with municipal groups throughout the state, have been organizing to fight the proposed cuts to local communities and the impact their individual communities will sustain if state lawmakers succeed in denying the money.

The poll surveyed 2,970 voting households throughout Illinois. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.85 percent.