ROCHELLE — Amid bills the state is considering that would see townships consolidated into county government, Flagg Township officials spoke with the Rochelle News-Leader and Ogle County Life on April 4.
Senate Bill 2504, Senate Bill 2217 and House Bill 2515 were introduced by the 113th Illinois General Assembly in March 2025 asking for the consolidation of township government. Gov. JB Pritzker also included township consolidation as a fiscal year 2026 proposed budget initiative for the state. Townships in Illinois provide services including road and bridge maintenance, property assessment and general assistance. Under the state's potential new bills, those services would be provided by the county after townships were eliminated. The bills would not impact Flagg and Byron Townships, which would remain due to being large enough in size.
“Not being affected is a positive for our township specifically,” Flagg Township Supervisor Sue Messer said. “What would impact us is if it was tagged into the budget on a bigger scale. I think the biggest thing is that people just don't understand what townships do. The state believes it would lower taxes, which everyone is in favor of. But they don't understand how it's going to impact the residents and their taxes directly and how it would all work. The counties really don't want it either.”
In Ogle County there are 927 miles of road and 199 bridges currently maintained by 24 townships. In the state as a whole, 72,000 miles of road and approximately 12,000 bridges are maintained by townships.
SB 2217 provides that all townships with a population less than 5,000 are dissolved and must either consolidate with an adjacent township or the county containing the geographic boundaries of the dissolving township. SB 2504 abolishes the offices of township assessor and multi-township assessor in counties with a population of less than 50,000 after their term expires with the county assessor assuming their responsibilities. HB 2515 provides that all townships with a population less than 500 are dissolved two years after the effective date of passage with duties transferred to the county.
The Flagg Township Board of Trustees passed a resolution in March opposing the state bills and consolidation of township government. The Ogle County Board passed a resolution against consolidation in March as well. Messer has written letters to State Rep. Bradley Fritts (R-Dixon) and State Sen. Li Arellano Jr. (R-Dixon) stating her and Flagg Township's opposition to the bills seeking consolidation of township government.
“The research shows it would cost substantially more if township work went to the county level,” Messer said. “We believe there would be a decrease in services to residents. For snow plowing, the county is further away and they have more high-traffic roads to address. Some of the roads with less traffic would be that much further down the list. Ogle County is one of the biggest in the state. The road and bridge work has to be done. The assessing work has to be done. And some of the things like emergency and nonprofit assistance that don't have to be done, I'd hate to see go away.”
Townships in Ogle County have four elected positions: supervisor, clerk, assessor and road commissioner. In the case of Flagg Township, the largest township in Ogle County, it also has two additional full-time positions and two part-time employees. The rest of the work is done by seasonal employees.
“There would be a huge difference in expenses,” Messer said. “We have a skeleton crew here. It's not more than is needed. Our annual budget for 2023-2024 was a little over $2 million. That's been typical for recent years. Our department with the largest budget is the highway department, which has to have equipment and prepare for the unexpected in the winters.”
Flagg Township Assessor Susan Rothenberger and Assessor-Elect Rachel Berry said they maintain property record cards on 5,322 land parcels in Flagg Township alone. Information on property parcels are updated every four years. The local office also helps township residents with matters like exemption forms to keep them from having to travel to Oregon, and with answering questions on the assessment process.
Rothenberger said assessing at a township level allows for people familiar with the area to keep eyes on parcels and work with local residents that they know.
“Each township can provide direct information on and are familiar with local properties,” Rothenberger said. “A township in that sense is a good thing. Assessment is the base for all taxing bodies to be able to operate. It needs to be done correctly and fairly and us being in this area makes us familiar with it and gives us a better handle on it. What bothers me about consolidation is how it's presented as this great, cost-efficient change. But it won't play out that way. Knowing how we and all the other townships operate, going to an all or mostly county system is not going to be good.”
The Flagg Township highway department maintains 48 miles of road and five bridges. Messer said having a local crew also allows for quick help in emergency situations, such as deploying and moving signs during a recent wind storm and providing an excavator for a recent house fire.
“Our highway department goes above and beyond,” Messer said. “When the EF4 tornado hit this area 10 years ago, they were very involved with the cleanup and they do that for any storm. Even when it's something the county is responsible for, they do it because they're closer.”
Flagg Township does work it is not required to do by statute, including providing emergency assistance to residents for resources like shelter and utilities, Messer said. Flagg Township budgets a certain amount each year to help nonprofits in the area and offers an economic development loan program to help people bridge funding gaps for their businesses.
Messer said she believes township consolidation decisions should be left up to the people who live in them. There is already state law in place for local voters to decide to consolidate their own township into the county.
“There's a difference between rural and urban settings in Illinois,” Messer said. “In an urban setting, it's much different in Chicago where towns and townships run into each other. In a rural setting where a lot of areas aren't covered by a town of any kind, it's completely different. And there's already legislation in place on how that can be done. There's no reason to overstep those people. We just enjoy serving the community and our neighbors. That's why we do this. It's important to us. I get satisfaction out of it. You see it in our staff. They care. It's not just a job.”
