Page 85 - Illinois Association of Park Districts Benefits of Membership 2017 - 2018

The real key to determining whether a large number of local governments is good or bad for Illinois citizens rests primarily on three issues:
1. Accountability and transparency
2. Cost and duplication of services
3. Efficiency
Accountability and transparency
In Illinois, citizens have been empowered by the Illinois General Assembly to create special districts by referenda when they feel that specific needs are not being met or higher levels of service will enhance the quality of life in particular areas.
With the creation of a park district in Illinois comes the creation of a locally elected board of park commissioners. Commissioners serve either four- or six-year terms. They serve without compensation, and studies show that the average commissioner donates more than 400 hours a year serving in this capacity. Park commissioners in Illinois are professionals, homemakers and businesspeople whose common goal is to see their community thrive through the availability of parks, the protection and preservation of natural resources, and the benefits of recreational programming. Studies conducted by the University of Illinois over a 25-year period have shown that park districts have a higher level of visibility within the communities they serve than almost any other form of government.
Transparency of local government, which is the ability of citizens to observe the decision-making process and have an impact in the decisions being formulated, is exemplary among park districts. State lawmakers also put a number of controls in place, including the Freedom of Information Act, which allows access to all public records, and the Open Meetings Act, which requires most units of local government to post notice of all public meetings both physically and on the Web. Such controls ensure that park districts and other units of local government conduct their business in full view of the public. The strategic planning processes and focus groups that park districts frequently use further involve Illinois citizens in this local governmental activity.
Finally, the Illinois General Assembly provides that any park district in the state of Illinois can be dissolved by a citizen initiated referendum, with its assets turned over to either a general-purpose unit of local government (e.g., a municipality) or a school district depending upon geographical location. To date, citizens have not
85