Why Illinois Has More Local Governments Than Any Other State

Most people don’t think about local government until a tax bill or a road project lands on their doorstep.

Illinoisans have more layers of it than residents of any other state, and the reasons go back more than a century.

Here’s how the state ended up with such a crowded field.

Note: This is general information, not tax advice. Property tax rules and rates are subject to change, so confirm the current details with your county clerk.

What the Census Counted

The 2022 count put Illinois at 6,930.

The Census Bureau repeats that count every five years.

Texas came next with 5,533, and Pennsylvania followed with 4,851.

If you picture counties and city halls, you’re picturing only part of the total.

The total breaks down into 102 counties, 890 school districts and 3,218 special districts.

Add 2,720 cities, towns, villages and townships, and the sum lands on 6,930.

Special districts lead the list.

Township Government

Township government is one layer of local government, and it traces back to the Illinois Constitution of 1848.

That document let voters in each county decide whether to adopt it.

Not every county opted in.

As of the Civic Federation’s 2021 report, 85 of the state’s 102 counties had township government.

Texas has 1,225 cities, towns, villages and townships combined, less than half of Illinois’s 2,720.

If you live in one of those counties, your township also handles general assistance, helps with real estate assessments and maintains township-owned roads and bridges.

The 1870 Debt Limit

Local governments faced a borrowing cap in the Illinois Constitution of 1870.

It barred any county, city, township or school district from owing more than 5 percent of the value of its taxable property.

Special districts offered a workaround, according to the Encyclopedia of Chicago.

A district could issue bonds and levy taxes without touching the limits on the county, city or township you already lived in.

You can think of each district as a separate borrower.

The workaround caught on.

After World War II, suburban residents around Chicago wanted urban services without always wanting an urban government to provide them.

Districts also formed to meet demands for services that older governments couldn’t or wouldn’t provide.

Special Districts

Special districts are local governments that handle a limited job, and the Census Bureau names water, fire, library and mosquito abatement districts among its examples.

The state Comptroller’s office lists 836 fire protection districts, 377 library districts and 347 park districts that file reports with it as of January 2025.

Another 17 are mosquito abatement districts.

A mosquito abatement district starts with a petition from 5 percent of the legal voters in the proposed area.

The circuit court then puts the question to voters.

Neighbors start the process.

Fire protection districts can levy taxes on property inside their boundaries, within rate limits set by the state’s Fire Protection District Act.

If you live inside a fire protection district, part of your property tax bill can go to it.

Home Rule in 1970

Home rule arrived with the Illinois Constitution of 1970.

Townships can form in a county when voters approve them in a countywide referendum.

If your city has more than 25,000 people, it's a home rule unit.

So is any county with an elected chief executive.

Smaller towns can opt in.

Home rule units can act on matters that pertain to their government and affairs, unless the Article limits them.

If you live in a special district, it gets less freedom, since the constitution gives it only the powers the law grants.

Your Property Tax Bill

Local governments that levy property taxes show up together on a property tax bill, and Jackson County's guide shows how long that list can get.

That list has 12 kinds of taxing district, including schools, the county, cities and villages, townships, park districts, fire protection districts and library districts.

It's a long list.

If your home sits inside one of those districts, a locally elected board at the district level decides how that district spends property tax money.

Which of those districts appear on your bill depends on where your property sits.

Reporting on a 2021 Civic Federation report, NPR Illinois noted that these units tend to rely heavily on property taxes to operate.

When Counts Differ

If you search for the total number of local governments in Illinois, you'll find numbers from about 6,000 to more than 8,900.

The Civic Federation's inventory identified 8,923 units in Illinois using 2019 data.

That's a wide gap.

NPR Illinois reported in 2021 that the difference from Census Bureau figures comes down to different counting methods.

The Census Bureau identifies governments using three criteria: organized entity, governmental character and substantial autonomy.