The IAPD is working in cooperation with the Illinois Municipal League and other groups representing local government to seek a constitutional amendment on unfunded state mandates. The bipartisan committee composed of members of both the Illinois House and Senate has been meeting to formulate language which would be acceptable to the leadership of the General Assembly. This effort is designed to stem the tide of unfunded state mandates and will go a long way towards controlling unexpected costs at the local level. Following is a brief overview on some of the most commonly asked questions regarding mandates. A state mandate is one imposed by a state law or regulation.
Federal mandates can apply to either states, local governments, or both.
In many cases a federally imposed mandate is reimposed by the state and so is both a federal and state mandate on a unit of local government. A. Individuals elected to run a park district, forest preserve, municipality, township, county, school or other unit of local government come into office believing they will have authority to make decisions that will reflect the will of their citizens and to move the community according to that will. Local officials are expected to make decisions regarding higher spending for increased services or limiting services and reducing local taxes. In either instance, a newly elected official soon realizes that decisions made in Springfield or Washington too often divert local resources to fulfill mandated requirements. The end result is the local official either has to raise additional taxes or decrease non-mandated locally desired services.