The Illinois Commission on Intergovernmental Cooperation compiled this volume of information from a comprehensive survey of all Illinois state agencies. The publication of State Assistance to Local governments, 2001 would not have been possible without the cooperation and support of many program managers, budget analysts and state agency directors. Although it is not possible to list every individual’s name, we are grateful to all for their contribution.

Contacts: Betty Husky, Federal Aid Coordinator
Courtney Lubrant, Research Associate
(217) 782-6924

Introduction

The relationship between Illinois state government and over 5,800 units of local government and special districts (excluding school districts) involves the transfer of over $8.7 billion a year. Both federal and state funds are distributed to local units from many different state agencies.

Two hundred and forty one financial assistance programs are administered by the State, including grants for public library services for the blind and physically handicapped, soil and water conservation, housing, fire protection, museums and drug enforcement, to name just a few. The state also shares revenue with local jurisdictions, which is used for a variety of programs at the discretion of the local governments. The Department of Revenue administers and distributes a percentage of the state’s income tax receipts and personal property replacement tax monies (totaling almost $1.9 billion in (FY 2000) to local governments. The Department of Transportation allocates a portion of its motor fuel tax revenues to counties, municipalities and townships. In FY 2000, $573 million was distributed to those units for road and transportation purposes. In addition, salary subsidies and bonuses are provided to many local officials, including state’s attorneys, assessment officers, county clerks, police officers and probation officers.

The information gathered on the dollar amounts distributed to local units is important data for policymakers, but it captures only part of the state/local relationship. State agencies also provide various kinds of technical assistance. This includes training local officials, answering inquiries, and providing computerized data, group health insurance or surplus property. This catalog, then, is a summary of more than 380 state financial and technical assistance programs provided to local governments in Illinois. It is intended to provide legislators, their staffs, community organizations and local officials with the most comprehensive information on state assistance to local governments. This is the ninth edition of the catalog.

This handbook describes the state programs available to local governments. The 38 agencies providing assistance are divided into three sections (Elected Officers, Code Agencies, and Other Agen-cies), and the agencies and programs within each group are arranged alphabetically. Each program summary is outlined as follows:

Objective: Outlines the purpose and objectives of the assistance and any qualifications.

Eligibility: Identifies which types of local governments are eligible for assistance.

Funding: Lists the amounts of funds available for distribution, where applicable.

Further Information: Identifies the Illinois Compiled Statutes and/or the Illinois Administrative Code citation applicable to the program and lists the appropriate state agency address and phone number.

It is hoped that the information contained in this guide will be helpful to state and local officials and the citizens of Illinois. To make the handbook easy to use, there is a detailed program index at the back as well as a table of contents which lists all of the programs and their respective page numbers. These features should allow readers to readily locate information in which they are interested.

Catalog Of State Assistance to Local Governments - Table Of Contents