Saving taxpayers’ money and improving efficiency are the goals of a government reform measure signed into law this week allowing affected county clerk’s offices to absorb the functions of their separate county election commissions.
House Bill 5123 came from DuPage County, where residents passed an advisory referendum in March stating they wanted their county election commission merged into the county clerk’s office, a move that is predicted to save $300,000, improve efficiency and streamline election reporting.
House Bill 5123 will enable that consolidation to move forward, and would allow a similar action in Kankakee County, the only other county in Illinois where a separate county election commission presently exists.
Proponents of the bill say this is a step in the right direction to eliminate duplicative layers of government that are a burden to Illinois taxpayers.