Voters near O’Hare take up unfunded state mandates

Voters in Leyden Township will be sounding off April 1 on state mandates made without state funding being provided. Unfunded mandates force local governments to raise taxes to comply with new rules.

Leyden Township voters will have a chance to voice their opinions on unfunded mandates, which drive up property taxes on Illinoisans statewide.

Leyden Township  has about 93,000 residents and includes Rosemont, Franklin Park, River Grove, Northlake and other towns bordering O’Hare International Airport in Cook County.  On April 1, ballots will display the following question:

“Should the state of Illinois be allowed to force unfunded mandates on local governments who may raise property taxes to cover the costs of those mandates?”

Unfunded mandates are when the state dictates that local governments carry out a task without supplying the money and expecting the local taxpayers to fund the demand. If a state law changes election rules, local governments have to budget for it, meaning higher taxes to comply with the new law.

Leyden Township Supervisor Rocco Biscaglio said unfunded mandates put local governments in a tough spot.

“When we have a mandate for more service without additional money, we have no choice but to raise taxes, cut other services or risk not complying with the law,” Biscaglio said.

The question is advisory, meaning it won’t directly change any laws, but it will send a message to lawmakers. The more governments, the greater the voice. Leyden Township falls within multiple Illinois House districts.

Illinoisans pay the second-highest property taxes in the nation, and unfunded mandates compound the issue. The Illinois Municipal League lists hundreds of mandates proposed by state lawmakers, 30 of them passing both chambers just in 2024.