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 |  | SR0760 |  | LRB099 13157 MST 37047 r |  
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| 1 |  | SENATE RESOLUTION
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| 2 |  |  WHEREAS, Illinois has more units of local government than  | 
| 3 |  | any state in the country, numbered at over 7,000; and
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| 4 |  |  WHEREAS, The General Assembly finds that consolidation of  | 
| 5 |  | units of local government will result in cost-saving for the  | 
| 6 |  | taxpayers; and
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| 7 |  |  WHEREAS, The General Assembly finds that consolidation of  | 
| 8 |  | units of local government shall only occur with no reduction in  | 
| 9 |  | the quality of service to taxpayers; and
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| 10 |  |  WHEREAS, Lake County and the 31st Legislative District  | 
| 11 |  | would benefit from a study assessing how specific units of  | 
| 12 |  | local government may be consolidated or dissolved; therefore,  | 
| 13 |  | be it
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| 14 |  |  RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL  | 
| 15 |  | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the Working Group on  | 
| 16 |  | Local Government Consolidation is created to identify ways to  | 
| 17 |  | eliminate barriers to consolidation and resolve certain  | 
| 18 |  | discrepancies in the Illinois statutes governing local  | 
| 19 |  | governments and special districts in Lake County and the 31st  | 
| 20 |  | Legislative District; and be it further
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 |  | SR0760 | - 2 - | LRB099 13157 MST 37047 r |  
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| 1 |  |  RESOLVED, The Working Group shall consist of the following  | 
| 2 |  | members: | 
| 3 |  |   (1) one member of the Senate appointed by the President  | 
| 4 |  |  of the Senate, who shall serve as chair; | 
| 5 |  |   (2) one member of the Senate appointed by the Senate  | 
| 6 |  |  Minority Leader; | 
| 7 |  |   (3) one member selected from recommendations provided  | 
| 8 |  |  by the Lake County Board appointed by the Governor; | 
| 9 |  |   (4) one member selected from recommendations provided  | 
| 10 |  |  by the Lake County Forest Preserve District appointed by  | 
| 11 |  |  the Governor; | 
| 12 |  |   (5) three members selected from recommendations  | 
| 13 |  |  provided by an association representing local townships  | 
| 14 |  |  appointed by the Governor; | 
| 15 |  |   (6) two members selected from recommendations provided  | 
| 16 |  |  by an association representing local fire protection  | 
| 17 |  |  districts appointed by the Governor; | 
| 18 |  |   (7) two members selected from recommendations provided  | 
| 19 |  |  by an association representing local park districts  | 
| 20 |  |  appointed by the Governor; | 
| 21 |  |   (8) one member selected by the College of Lake County  | 
| 22 |  |  appointed by the Governor; | 
| 23 |  |   (9) two members from local elementary school districts  | 
| 24 |  |  selected from recommendations provided by the  | 
| 25 |  |  Superintendent of Schools appointed by the Governor; and | 
| 26 |  |   (10) two members from local high school districts  | 
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 |  | SR0760 | - 3 - | LRB099 13157 MST 37047 r |  
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| 1 |  |  selected from recommendations provided by the  | 
| 2 |  |  Superintendent of Schools appointed by the Governor; and be  | 
| 3 |  |  it further
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| 4 |  |  RESOLVED, The Working Group shall meet periodically but no  | 
| 5 |  | less than once every 3 months; the group shall meet in  | 
| 6 |  | accordance with the requirements of the Open Meetings Act; and  | 
| 7 |  | be it further
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| 8 |  |  RESOLVED, That the Illinois Department of Revenue shall  | 
| 9 |  | provide administrative support and technical assistance to the  | 
| 10 |  | Working Group; and be it further
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| 11 |  |  RESOLVED, The Working Group shall accept testimony and  | 
| 12 |  | evidence from third parties, including comments from the public  | 
| 13 |  | at large, in crafting their report to the General Assembly; and  | 
| 14 |  | be it further
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| 15 |  |  RESOLVED, That Working Group shall submit their report to  | 
| 16 |  | the General Assembly no later than October 1, 2016; the report  | 
| 17 |  | shall include findings including, but not limited to, the  | 
| 18 |  | following issues as they occur in Lake County:
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| 19 |  |   (1) an assessment of the number of units of local  | 
| 20 |  |  government and the costs associated with each unit,  | 
| 21 |  |  including salaries, expenses, and operating costs; | 
| 22 |  |   (2) an assessment of the units of local government are  |