The administrative divisions of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

are

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

, townships, precincts,

cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

villages A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

, and

special-purpose district Special districts (also known as special service districts, special district governments, limited purpose entities, or special-purpose districts) are independent, special-purpose governmental units that exist separately from local governments such ...

s. The basic subdivisions of Illinois are the 102

. Illinois has more units of

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loc ...

than any other state—over 8,000 in all. The Constitution of 1970 created, for the first time in Illinois, a type of "

home rule Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wi ...

", which allows localities to govern themselves to a certain extent. Illinois also has several types of

school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations. North America United States In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, w ...

s and additional units of government that oversee many other functions.

Property tax A property tax or millage rate is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or net wealth, taxes on the change of ownership of property through inher ...

es are a major source of

tax revenue Tax revenue is the income that is collected by governments through taxation. Taxation is the primary source of government revenue. Revenue may be extracted from sources such as individuals, public enterprises, trade, royalties on natural resour ...

for local government taxing districts. The property tax is a local tax, imposed by counties, townships,

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

, school districts, and special taxation districts. The property tax in Illinois is imposed only on

real property In English common law, real property, real estate, immovable property or, solely in the US and Canada, realty, is land which is the property of some person and all structures (also called improvements or fixtures) integrated with or aff ...

. Illinois counties, townships, cities, and villages may also promulgate

local ordinance A local ordinance is a law issued by a local government. such as a municipality, county, parish, prefecture, or the like. China In Hong Kong, all laws enacted by the territory's Legislative Council remain to be known as ''Ordinances'' () a ...

Counties

The basic subdivisions of Illinois are the 102 counties.

Cook County Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 20 ...

is the only

county.

Townships and precincts

Of the 102 counties, 85 are divided into townships.

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

is within a township but both its township and municipal governments are carried out by the same governing body. The remaining 17 counties are divided into 261 precincts, instead of townships.

Municipalities

Municipal government A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

s are the cities, villages, and

incorporated town An incorporated town is a town that is a municipal corporation. Canada Incorporated towns are a form of local government in Canada, which is a responsibility of provincial rather than federal government. United Kingdom United States An in ...

s. The minimum size for incorporation as a city is 2,500, and the minimum size for incorporation as a village varies by the county population. Municipalities having a population above 25,000 automatically have home rule status, whereas smaller municipalities have the option via referendums.

School districts

Illinois has several types of

s: *

Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the third-largest school district in the United States, after New York and Los Angeles. ...

* Common school districts * Community college districts (the Illinois Community College System) * Community high school districts * Community unit school districts * Non-high school districts * Special charter school districts * Township high school districts Elected boards of education and boards of trustees (in the case of community college districts) govern these districts, except for the Chicago Public Schools and the

City Colleges of Chicago The City Colleges of Chicago is the public community college system of the Chicago area. Its colleges offer associate degrees, certificates, free courses for the GED, and free English as a second language (ESL) courses. The City Colleges system ...

, for which the boards are appointed by the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

with the approval of the

Chicago City Council The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 wards to serve four-year terms. The council is gaveled into session regularly, usually mon ...

, and the special charter districts, which may have elected or appointed boards. The Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) is the administrative agency with responsibility for overseeing all higher education in Illinois. With regards to the Illinois Community College System, the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) is the state coordinating board for community colleges. Area vocational centers and special education cooperatives may be formed by joint agreement between two or more school districts. A board consisting of representatives of each participating school district governs each entity of these two types. Educational service regions replaced the former county school units administered by county superintendents. Each region originally served one county but now may serve multiple counties because of minimum population requirements. Each region is headed by a regional superintendent of schools and is also governed by a regional board of trustees; the latter deal primarily with district boundary changes. Township land commissioners manage school lands and funds in certain counties. Educational service centers are established by the state board of education and function primarily to coordinate and provide special and ordinary services to affiliated school districts. These service centers are governed by boards consisting of members appointed by the regional superintendent.

Special districts

Special purpose districts in Illinois are forms of local government that are responsible for a narrow set of responsibilities. Illinois has the most special purpose districts of any

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

. The exact number depends on how one defines a “special purpose district.” The

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

has determined that Illinois has 3,227 special purpose governments as of June 30, 2012. The Office of the Illinois Comptroller, which uses a broader definition that includes special districts without budget autonomy, determined the state has 4,755 as of December 2015.

Notes

References

* * {{United States topic , title =

Local government in the United States Local government in the United States refers to governmental jurisdictions below the level of the state. Most states and territories have at least two tiers of local government: counties and municipalities. Louisiana uses the term parish and Al ...

by political division , prefix = Local government in