Johnson, municipal leaders statewide clash with Pritzker over local funding cuts

By Sean Reed | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Mayors and municipalities across Illinois have called on Gov. JB Pritzker to reverse course on local government state funding decreases.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson appeared at the State Capitol alongside other Chicago-area mayors late Wednesday, dropping in on the legislature during a busy part of the legislative season.

The Local Government Distributive Fund – as its name suggests – provides state funding to municipalities statewide and was originally intended to be allocated at 10% of all state income tax revenue.

In the many years since creation, the LGDF has seen a significant decrease to only 6.47%, which many local government leaders say has created significant hardship in balancing their municipal budgets.

As mayor of the largest city in the state, Johnson said the decrease in funding proposed by Pritzker for the coming year would slash an additional $12 million in funding to the city of Chicago, and a combined $60 million statewide.

“These cuts inhibit our ability to increase accessibility on our public transit systems, make the investments we need to build safe communities, and build the affordable housing that we need,” Johnson said.

State Rep. Anthony DeLuca, D-Chicago Heights, who is the longtime chair of the Cities and Villages House Committee – and a former mayor – said it’s time to return to the original 10% rate.

“Over the last 10 years, municipal governments have contributed greatly to the Illinois budget. They have sacrificed needed dollars for our first responders while watching the state spending increase. Municipal governments have subsidized the state budget since LGDF was originally cut by an amount over $10 billion. It’s time to make it right,” DeLuca said.

DeLuca also proposed an immediate change that could further bring costs down for local governments: a slashing of a 1.5% fee the Illinois Department of Revenue collects on some municipal taxes.

State Rep. Jennifer Sanalitro, R-Carol Stream, reflected the concerns of municipal leadership in a statement Tuesday.

“The bottom line is that the governor wanting to cut these LGDF funds from local governments will make it harder for communities to manage costs and potentially force them to raise property taxes as a result,” Sanalitro said.

The coalition of 275 municipalities from across the state is diverse in it’s make-up, including Republicans and Democrats from rural, suburban and urban areas. Another prominent member of the group is Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson.

Broadview is host to the single Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in state, and Thompson’s village saw unrest as ICE and Border Patrol carried out operation Midway Blitz during the Fall last year.

Johnson noted what he thinks the role of local government ought to be in such a time.

“Local municipalities have had to bear the brunt of the federal attacks. And it’s imperative in this moment that we remain united, no matter what section of the state that you live in, that we are not harming working people,” Johnson said.

Thompson said a cut to LGDF – along with costs to the village from last year’s events – will force her and other municipal leaders to choose between essential local government services for funding.

“We have already observed over $700,000 in cost from operation Midway Blitz, which includes significant losses to our local businesses,” Thompson said. “These are not luxuries in communities like ours, they are necessities. Decisions made without us are still being paid for by you. This is just not fiscally irresponsible, it’s inequitable.”