Recently, during his State of the State, Governor Pritzker announced his budget initiatives for the upcoming fiscal year. These initiatives included language seeking to consolidate Townships. Since his address to the state numerous bills have been introduced in Springfield with that goal in mind. One such bill, SB2504, includes some of the most aggressive Township consolidation language we have ever seen. This includes reducing the petition threshold from the current 10% of registered Ela Township voters (33,536) to 5% of actual voters on the last Township election (roughly 5,100). Additionally, SB2504 gives power to county boards to pass a county wide referendum via a simple county resolution. Meaning, with no petitions, the fate of Ela Township would be in the hands of ALL Lake County voters.
Ela Township is requesting a CALL TO ACTION for all Township residents to support Ela by drafting a “What My Township Means to Me”, letter of support which will be taken to Springfield during the Township Officials of Illinois (TOI) Lobby Day event on April 29, 2025. This letter of support can be a paragraph, a page, or 10 pages highlighting the importance Ela Township and the services it provides to you. Please submit your letters of support to info@elatownship.org with “What My Township Means to Me” in the subject line. Letters should be submitted by 8:00 a.m., on April 28th. Please contact Township Manager, Ted Marciniak, at (847)438-7823 or tedm@elatownship.org if you have any questions.