Townships have been around as a part of American government since the time of the Pilgrims.  As a matter of fact, township government had its beginnings in the Mayflower Compact of 1624.  The first truly organized townships came into being in 1636 in the Providence Plantations in Rhode Island in 1636.  Township government is the longest existing unit of government continuing to serve on the North American continent.

 

Township government was established for the Northwest Territories, including the future states of Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois.  Township government precedes the formal establishment of township government by the Illinois legislature in 1849.    In the Champaign Township Archives, we have records from the original county road commission in 1837! It is a platting of what is now Bloomington Road from the northwest corner of the county all the way to the eastern edge with Vermillion County.

 

The Township Organization Act created a blueprint for the rules and regulations concerning township administration and governance. There have been several revisions to the laws that govern townships, the most recent being from 1970.  Townships are a subdivision of county government and perform a number of duties that support the county, some of which the county does not have the personnel or the money to perform.

 

Champaign Township was originally organized in April of 1860 and was named West Urbana Township, with borders running from Old Church Road in the south, to Cardinal Road in the north, and from First Street on the east to Barker Road on the west, a six-mile by six-mile grid of roads running north and south, and east to west.  In 1867, the name was changed to Champaign Township when the City of Champaign was incorporated.  In the 1800’s, Champaign Township was mostly rural, with only a small portion being the City of Champaign.  In 1922, the Illinois legislature carved out the City of Champaign Township from the original Champaign Township and they are now two separate townships.  In some places, one needs a color-coded map to see what jurisdiction one is in!

Township government is responsible for a number of things within the borders of the township.  The township itself is responsible for basically three things: Property Assessment, General Assistance, and paying the salaries and bills generated by both the Township and the Township Road District.  The Road District is separate, yet a part of township government, as will be explained shortly.

 

Property Assessment:  Townships establish the value of all real property within the borders of the township.  That assessment is the basis for taxation in the Township and the Road District.  The Township Assessor is the only elected township official who has to must pass approved training (and on-going training) before standing for election.  Training and testing are established by the Illinois Property Assessment Institute and the Illinois Department of Revenue.

 

General Assistance: the Township provides money for food and shelter for people who do not have any other means of support.  Emergency is available for someone who has a one-time need to cover a shortfall, provided the person meets the standards established by the General Assistance Training Institute (GATI).  GATI has established standards and procedures for General Assistance that all townships are supposed to follow in order to be fair to all applicants.

 

The Road District (a part of, but independent of the township): is responsible for the roads and bridges within the District.  That includes repair and maintenance of roads and bridges, maintenance of the sidewalks, and the trees that are planted within the easement or rights-of-way.  The right-of-way is different in the suburban areas as opposed to the rural areas, but generally, the right-of-way is the area from the center of the road to a certain number of feet on either side of the roadway.  That distance is established when the roadway, either suburban or rural, was created.  The Road District also does the snow plowing and salting of the roadways in winter.

 

The Highway Commissioner is responsible for anything that is the responsibility of the Road District.

 

The Township Supervisor is responsible for paying the bills generated by both his office, the Assessor’s office and the Road District.  In addition, he/she is the General Assistance Administrator, the creator of both the tax levy and the budgets for the township and the road district, and is the chairperson of the Township Board.

 

The Assessor is responsible for making accurate value assessments of the real properties in the township in preparation for the tax levies for both the township and the road district.  

 

The Trustees are the auditors of the bills and payments for the township and the road district.  They keep watch on expenditures and advise both the Township Supervisor and the Highway Commissioner on things happening within the township borders.