Bethalto Mayor Alan Winslow is concerned about details in the budget address delivered Feb. 18 by Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner. The newly elected Governor’s budget will cut in half the share of state income taxes distributed to municipalities (known as the Local Government Distributive Fund or LGDF).
Winslow forwarded a message that was sent to all municipal leaders by Brad Cole, Executive Director of the Illinois Municipal League (IML) in which Cole states “Now is the time that all community leaders must come together to support full funding of the municipal share of state income taxes.” Cole implores the public to act by going to its IML website, where a page has been set up specifically for citizens to send a message of opposition to Governor Rauner’s drastic reduction in the amount of tax dollars returned to municipalities all across Illinois. He writes “The impact of this monumental reduction in revenue sharing (your citizens’ tax dollars coming back to their community) should be broadcast as widely as possible, so your constituents can better understand the negative reality of the situation we all face.”
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Once a visitor to the IML page completes the process, an email opposing the planned cuts will automatically be sent to the Governor, the Representative and State Senator from your area and to the four legislative leaders. The sender will also receive a copy of the message and have the option to print a copy, preaddressed to the Governor, for postal mailing.
Executive Director Cole concludes his message to municipal leaders with optimism writing “If we all act quickly, thousands of emails will be generated and our message will be sent loud and clear: don’t cut funding to local municipalities.”
Mayor Alan Winslow, former Chief of the Bethalto Police Department was voted in as Mayor in April 2013. Bethalto, population 10,000, is located in the northwestern quarter of Madison County Illinois.
