Press Release - Wednesday, March 21, 2001
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Gov. Ryan Calls to Eliminate 81 State Boards and Commissions
CHICAGO -- Governor George H. Ryan today recommended 81 state boards and commissions be eliminated, continuing his efforts to streamline Illinois government.
The Governor is recommending the immediate elimination of 50 advisory bodies which are defunct, duplicative, have satisfied their original objective, or no longer serve a useful purpose. Thirty-one other advisory bodies have been proposed for elimination and will sunset at the end of 2002, unless an in-depth review performed before then concludes any of them should be continued.
"It is important that we constantly review government operations to make sure we are as efficient as possible. Sometimes boards and commissions live on long after their purpose has been served," Governor Ryan said. "Our commitment to the important issues and to delivering state services will not waiver. In fact, this initiative will help us to be more focused and to be sharper in our efforts."
Among the boards proposed to be eliminated are the Sheep and Wool Production Development and Marketing Program Temporary Operating Committee, which hasn't met since 1997, and the Mobile Home Manufactured Housing Advisory Council, for which there have been no new appointments since 1993. The post of the Sanitary District Observer would also be repealed.
Most of the board positions are unpaid, although members receive reimbursement for such expenses as mileage and meals. Gov. Ryan said the benefit of the initiative is to streamline government operations.
"This initiative will reduce the size of government, improve our accountability and the level of service we provide to our customers--the taxpayers of Illinois," Gov. Ryan said.
The streamline plan will also eliminate 81 different outdated laws, codes or executive orders creating the panels.
This proposal builds on the list of 26 boards and commissions that were abolished last year by the Governor's office--without diminishing service to citizens. The streamlining reflects the advice of the State Government Accountability Council, chaired by businessman Ed Noha, chairman of the Board of CNA Financial. The proposed legislation will be offered as an amendment to SB 1173, sponsored by Sen. Tom Walsh, R-Westchester.
This initiative furthers Ryan's strong commitment to streamlining state government while enhancing state services. In addition to eliminating more than 100 unneeded and unnecessary boards and commissions, the Governor has streamlined government service by:
- Proposing the consolidation of 16 state bonding authorities into the Illinois State Financing Authority, a move that would save taxpayers an estimated $10 million annually in unneeded administrative costs.
- Eliminating outdated or redundant portions of the Illinois Administrative Code by slicing 640 pages of unneeded rules and regulations affecting the operation of state agencies.
- Translating 411 sections of the Administrative Code from formal legal language into English that can be understood by all taxpayers.
- Initiating the transfer of five program areas from the State Board of Education to other state agencies more in line with those functions - a move that will cut red tape for taxpayers and schools while eliminating 120 positions through attrition, transfers and downsizing. The Governor also suggested privatizing some audits now done in-house by the State Board of Education.
- Undertaking an extensive re-writing of the state's 40-year-old criminal code, an out-dated 1,200-page patchwork of criminal statutes, to improve the administration of justice and the system's efficiency.
- Ordering a re-write of the state's 600-page school code to eliminate unnecessary red tape with statutes that focus on student learning, safety and accountability rather than process and procedures.
- Ordering a review of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act to streamline it and make it more user friendly. In the 20 years since its enactment, the Act has swelled from 20 pages to more than 200 pages and has never been comprehensively reviewed.
- Creating the first-ever Illinois Technology Office to coordinate, for the first time, the application and use of modern technology between more than 40 state agencies that had operated independently.
- Consolidating, for the first time, the state's varied waste recycling programs into the "Green Illinois" initiative.
- Forming, for the first time, the "Illinois Reads" program to oversee and direct the myriad of literacy programs within state government.
- Bringing together, for the first time, all state programs designed to prevent children from harming themselves under First Lady Lura Lynn Ryan's "Futures for Kids" program.
- Consolidating 18 separate workforce and job training programs from six different agencies into one cohesive system overseen by one state agency.
The initiative to eliminate boards and commissions is led by the Governor's Office of Statewide Performance Review which monitors the operations of all executive agencies under the Governor's control to encourage greater accountability, efficiency, effectiveness, customer service and quality.
A complete list of boards and commissions eliminated last year and proposed for elimination or review this year is attached.
The following Boards and Commissions are proposed for elimination or sunset:
| BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS |
REPEAL |
SUNSET |
| Affordable Housing |
1 |
|
| Advisory Board for Conservation Education |
1 |
|
| African American Family Commission |
1 |
|
| Aging Veterans Task Force |
1 |
|
| Agricultural Education, Illinois Committee for |
1 |
|
| AIDS Advisory Council |
1 |
|
| Alcoholism & Other Drug Dependency Advisory Council |
1 |
|
| Alcoholism & Substance Abuse, Department of |
1 |
|
| Alzheimer's Disease Advisory Committee |
1 |
|
| Anti-Crime Advisory Council |
1 |
|
| Biotechnology Advisory Council |
1 |
|
| Blind Services Planning Council |
1 |
|
| Budget Advisory Panel |
1 |
|
| Cattle Disease Research Advisory Authority |
1 |
|
| Chicago Community Schools Study Commission |
1 |
|
| Cigarette Vending Machine Task Force |
1 |
|
| Clinical Laboratory and Blood Bank Advisory Board |
1 |
|
| Coal Sales Tax Feasibility Study, Task Force on |
1 |
|
| Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service |
1 |
|
| Community & Residential Services Authority |
1 |
|
| Coordinating Committee of State Agencies Serving Older Persons |
1 |
|
| Corn Marketing Program Temporary Operating Committee |
1 |
|
| Deaf/Blind Individuals, Advisory Board for Service for the |
1 |
|
| Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program Advisory Committee |
1 |
|
| Distance Learning Foundation, Illinois |
1 |
|
| Early Intervention, Illinois Interagency Council on |
1 |
|
| Economic Emergency Council |
1 |
|
| Education of Children with Disabilities Advisory Council |
1 |
|
| Educational Council, Illinois |
1 |
|
| Electronic Data Processing Advisory Council |
1 |
|
| Electronic Funds Transfer Advisory Committee |
1 |
|
| Emergency Employment Development Coordinator |
1 |
|
| Endangered Species Protection Board |
1 |
|
| Fiduciary Advisory Committee |
1 |
|
| Geriatric Services, Advisory Committee on |
1 |
|
| Global Climate Change Task Force |
1 |
|
| Governor's Commission on Gangs in Illinois |
1 |
|
| Governor's Council on Health & Physical Fitness |
1 |
|
| Hazardous Waste Advisory Council |
1 |
|
| Health Care Worker Task Force |
1 |
|
| Health, State Board of |
1 |
|
| Hearing Impaired/Behavior Disordered Children, Interagency Board for |
1 |
|
| Hemophilia Advisory Committee |
1 |
|
| Homeless Children Committee |
1 |
|
| Illinois Council on Vocational Education |
1 |
|
| Industrial Commission Review Board |
1 |
|
| Infant Mortality Reduction Advisory Board |
1 |
|
| Job Opportunity Advisory Council |
1 |
|
| Juvenile Advisory Board (DOC) |
1 |
|
| Labor Management Community Cooperation Committee |
1 |
|
| Laboratory Review Board |
1 |
|
| Lake County Metro Expo and Auditorium Authority Board |
1 |
|
| Livestock Commissioners, Advisory Board of |
1 |
|
| Low-Level Radioactive Waste Task Group |
1 |
|
| Manufacturing Technology Alliance Board of Directors |
1 |
|
| Meigs Users Advisory Committee |
1 |
|
| Mental Health Services, Technical Task Force on Community |
1 |
|
| Midwestern Higher Education Commission |
1 |
|
| Minority Males, Task Force on |
1 |
|
| Mobile Home and Manufactured Housing Advisory Council |
1 |
|
| Mortgage Insurance Agency |
1 |
|
| Natural Resources and Conservation, Board of |
1 |
|
| One Church One Child Advisory Board |
1 |
|
| Policy Advisory Council |
1 |
|
| Public Arts Advisory Committee |
1 |
|
| Reclamation, Advisory Council on |
1 |
|
| Reuse of Military Bases, Advisory Board on the |
1 |
|
| Sanitary District Observer |
1 |
|
| Science and Technology Advisory Committee |
1 |
|
| Sheep & Wool Production Dvlpmnt & Marketing Program Temporary Operating Comm. |
1 |
|
| Soybean Marketing Program Temporary Operating Committee |
1 |
|
| Special Committee on Access and Availability for the MS |
1 |
|
| State Trauma Advisory Council |
1 |
|
| Statewide Independence Living Council |
1 |
|
| Summer School for the Arts, Board of Trustees |
1 |
|
| Technology Innovation and Commercialization Grants in Aid |
1 |
|
| Toll Highway Authority Advisory Committee |
1 |
|
| Truth in Sentencing Commission |
1 |
|
| Venture Investment Fund, Development Finance Authority |
1 |
|
| Voluntary Action Advisory Council |
1 |
|
| TOTAL |
51 |
30 |
The following Boards were eliminated in 2000:
Alzheimer's Task Force
High Blood Pressure Advisory Board
Rheumatic Diseases Treatment Authority
Solid Waste Advisory Council
Task Force on Foster Parents' Bill of Rights
Tourism Promotion Fund Advisory Committee
Mass Transit Employee Anti-Crime Training Program Review Committee
Automotive Engineering Advisory Panel
Alternate Fuels Advisory Board
Safety Inspection and Education Advisory Committee
Year 2000 Technology Task Force
Pollution Prevention Advisory Council
White Goods Task Force
Underground Storage Tank Advisory Committee
Multicultural Services Committee
Regional Youth Planning Committee
Curricula Committee
Board of Agricultural Advisors
Export Promotion Coordinating Council
Advisory Board of Cancer Control
First Aid Task Force
Advisory Committee for Dental Student Grants
Healthy Families Initiative Steering Committee
Long Term Care Facility Inspection Consolidations Task Force
Campground Licensing and Recreational Area Advisory Council
Illinois-Indiana Bi-State Commission
Office of Public Counsel
Taxpayer Ombudsman
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