The lobbying arm of Illinois Township Officials is urging local members to call their legislators to ask them to oppose two bills.

One takes money from a state subsidy that should have been phased out decades ago. It looks like an income tax to business. Actually, it is an income tax, but it was levied when the hated Personal Property Tax was lifted from business in order to replace the lost local tax.

I wish I had been in office so I could have tried to keep the total amount replaced from increasing. It should have been a tax whose negative impact on business would have decreased over time as the rate needed to raise the lost local tax revenue would have gone down.

In any event, the Township Officials of Illinois object to diverting part of that replacement tax to pay the salaries of Regional Superintendents of Schools.

The lobbying group also opposes Jack Franks’ bill to prevent increasing local governments’ tax take when property values and, hence, real estate assessments are going down.

Here is the email of lobbyist Bryan E. Smith, Executive Director of TOI:

• House Bill 3828 was introduced and would divert money from the Corporate Personal Property Replacement Tax Fund to pay the salaries and benefits of Regional School Superintendents. TOI is OPPOSED to a diversion like this that would take money away from local governments, including townships and road districts. Late yesterday the bill was called in the House Revenue and Finance Committee and was passed out on a strictly party-line vote despite the opposition of virtually all local government groups. WE NEED YOUR HELP NOW! We need to have everyone call their State Representative(s) NOW and ask them to vote NO on House Bill 3828 when it is called for a vote in the House. It is time the State stop diverting money that is designated for local governments.
• Another bill we have been closely following is House Bill 3793. This bill amends the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL) to prevent a taxing district (Townships and Road Districts included) from capturing the CPI increase for its extension limitation if the district’s total EAV is less than the previous levy year. TOI OPPOSES this bill because it would reduce available property tax revenues for Townships and Road Districts. PTELL (Tax Caps) already limits (in those counties that have tax caps) the ability of Townships/Road Districts to capture all available growth during good economic times. It would be very unfair to also prevent a township/road district from capturing minimal cost-of-living increases that are available.

Naturally, tax dollars finance the Township Officials of Illinois.

Don’t you wish you could get tax dollars to finance your lobbying of the state legislature?