In his Feb. 18 State of the State address, Governor Pritzker claimed that federal funding cuts have cost Illinois $8.4 billion, saying that “none of us … should be OK with that” and insisting that any discussion of the FY2027 budget must begin with demanding the return of those federal dollars. Yet his own $56 billion spending plan is balanced with $649 million in tax increases and adjustments — including another $60 million reduction to the Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF).
LGDF was created in 1969 as part of the agreement that allowed Illinois to enact its first income tax. Municipalities gave up the ability to levy their own income taxes in exchange for a guaranteed share of state income tax revenue. That share has steadily eroded: from 10% in the 1990s to roughly 7% today. According to the Illinois Policy Institute, this reduction has cost local governments $10.9 billion over the last 12 years.
For the village of Brookfield, the estimated loss is $16.2 million, or about $1.35 million/year and for Riverside, $7.7 million, about $643,000/year, significant amounts for communities of 18,885 and 8,900 residents respectively. This is roughly what is needed annually just to keep roads in serviceable condition. Meanwhile, millions of dollars are required in unfunded mandates to replace lead service lines.
Residents are paying these costs through higher property taxes and water bills, on top of numerous other unfunded mandates for police training, firefighter safety, workers’ compensation, and HR requirements. Now the Governor proposes taking even more LGDF revenue, further reducing our ability to meet state‑imposed obligations.
Illinois already has some of the highest property taxes in the nation for retirees and residents on fixed incomes, this is unsustainable.
LGDF reductions are not partisan — they affect every resident in every community. The state cannot continue balancing its budget by shifting costs onto municipalities and homeowners.
I urge everyone to make your voice heard by contacting your local Illinois House and Senate Representatives to reject further LGDF cuts and work to restore the fund to its originally promised level. Our budget should be affordable for all Illinois residents, not balanced at the expense of local communities. You can find your local representatives at the ILGA.gov website and click on the Find my Legislator Button.
Sources:
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Tribune editorial on Feb. 18: “In State of State address, Gov. JB Pritzker pitches affordability and Illinois resilience to Trump”.
Tribune Editorial March 12: “Cities and towns have just cause to complain about how Gov. JB Pritzker’s budget treats them”
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Illinois Policy Institute article on Jan. 2: “Illinois Local Governments lose out on $10.9B in State Taxes.” Please see the following link to the article. Note, in the article under “Illinois municipalities down $9.49B in state income tax share from fiscal years 2012-2024, they have a Search Box to find your municipality. Entering La Grange Park, in the search box, it shows that the tax revenue lost for the village was $11,514.445 in the 12-year timeframe. See link below:
Illinois local governments lose out on $10.9B in state taxes
Divided $11.5 million by 12 years to come up with the $960,000/year loss
Population of La Grange Park, AI search, (see below)
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Lead Water line Replacement Information from Village Website:
2026 and 2016 Road Referendums from Village of La Grange Park’s FAQ for the 2026 Road Referendum (see next page)
From Village Website regarding passage of 2026 Referendum:
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Unfunded Mandates: AI Search
Robert Koncel
La Grange Park