Despite recent reports citing the slowdown in the economy, Illinois’ financial health is still the strongest it has been in decades. With that in mind, the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association, along with other regional councils of government, are calling on lawmakers to restore Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF) dollars to communities this year. LGDF, derived from personal and corporate state income taxes, is an important revenue source for every local government in the state, not only because it is stable and reliable year after year, but because each community can use it wherever it is most needed to stabilize and improve the community.

Unfortunately, since 2011, the State has decreased the portion of LGDF that is returned to each community. Rather than 10% of income taxes, Illinois lawmakers have allocated just over 6% to local governments in recent years. That means that municipalities and counties across the state have lost out on more than $8 billion that could be used in lieu of property taxes or other revenues to replace lead service lines, train police officers, buy equipment for first responders, pay down public safety pension obligations, improve or repair infrastructure projects, and more. For SSMMA municipalities that loss approaches half a billion dollars in revenues that could have been put to good use to stabilize and improve our hard hit cities and villages across this region. 

We need your help! With only a few weeks left for Illinois lawmakers to finalize this year’s State Budget, now is the time for the General Assembly to prioritize funding for infrastructure, public safety, and community services in the south suburbs and in all Illinois communities by restoring LGDF. Add your voice to government leaders urging the General Assembly to Invest in Communities and restore the Local Government Distributive Fund to 10% this year.

Visit InvestInCommunities.org to learn more and make your voice heard by contacting your state legislators and posting on social media using #InvestInCommunities. Thank you!