Eye On Illinois: How many agencies and public employees to implement a single new idea?

Mosquito lessening districts.

Any discussion about how there are too many governmental units in Illinois – whether it starts by complaining about townships or K-8 school districts – eventually includes mosquito abatement districts as shorthand for the supposed largesse of having a different taxing body for every last public service.

I’m not here arguing things are right-sized. Curious clickers could spend an entire work week paging through the Local Government Warehouse at illinoiscomptroller.gov, a collection of “more than 9,200 financial reports from counties, municipalities and special taxing districts.”

But I am always cautious about two things: people who look to remove someone else’s right to self-governance and those who quickly dismiss subject-matter expertise. Do you know how to engineer a drainage ditch or safely and effectively control the mosquito population?

That said, sometimes a legislative proposal is so rich with layers of government it beggars belief. Consider Senate Bill 2448, a well-intentioned proposal to simplify the public university admissions process for high school students and community college transfers.

Capitol News Illinois reported on the bill Friday, noting Gov. JB Pritzker pushed the idea and state Sen. Christopher Belt, D-Swansea, spoke in support, calling the plan “a critical step we’re taking to make higher education more accessible to students across Illinois.”

The idea is for students who opt in to get one notification of admission offers to every Illinois public college, then have the ability to accept and enroll through the same portal.

How do we get there?

Each school would give its grade point average standards to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission by March 1. Starting July 1, the Commission would collect data from school districts to determine which students qualify for which colleges, then send that information to the Board of Higher Education. By Aug. 1, the board would report to the governor and General Assembly.

However, the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will have their own programs. That comes through collaboration with the Commission and State Board of Education, resulting in a “pre-selection outreach campaign to encourage qualifying upperclass students to apply.

Altogether, that’s extra work for staff at every Illinois high school – reporting already collected data in a new way – as well as admissions offices at all 12 public universities and 48 community colleges. Then there’s the alphabet soup: ISAC, IBHE, ISBE and the ICCB – the Illinois Community College Board, which has to collaborate with the others to establish and administer the program starting with Class of 2028 (this year’s freshmen).

At least the bill doesn’t call for creating a new agency. But consider how many government employees it takes to bring this one idea to fruition. Is it truly the best option?

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Local News Network. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.