Illinois Government Research no. 44 1977: Variations in Expenditure Levels by Illinois State Governments, 1942-1972

As they become increasingly apparent, ditferences among local governments in levels of expenditure are beginning to be a prominent policy concern. To the extent that expenditure levels reflect policy commitments and/or service levels, variations among them also reflect unequal levels of policy benefits. To local officials interested in raising levels of service in their communities, the existence of these differences often serves as an arguing point in efforts to obtain more state aid and to persuade the state to take action to reduce differences in levels of expenditures among localities. Many state officials are beginning to adopt the view that state government should ensure some minimally acceptable level of government services in each of its localities. However, the issue of equalization remains controversial. In addition to the conflict which usually revolves around questions of equity and unequal distribution of state funds, this issue also involves the right of local officials to autonomously formulate and implement policy independent of state action. In light of the implications of these expenditure differences, this study examines the extent of diversity in expenditures for various policy areas for all Illinois counties and for Illinois municipalities above 10,000 in population for the period 1957-72. The extent of diversity of expenditures for a set of municipalities above 25,000 population is then examined for the period 1942-72. The focus throughout is upon whether there has been any change in the extent of inequality over the respective time periods. A limited examination of why some policy areas evince more diversity than others is also undertaken.published or submitted for publicatio

Ideological Extremism and Public Participation

Does aggregate ideological extremism reduce public participation? Does participation in governance processes fall when the social environment shifts to the extreme left or the extreme right of the political spectrum? Our main hypothesis is that the aggregate ideological orientation of the social environment constrains volunteerism in social regulatory programs. Copyright (c) 2006 by the Southwestern Social Science Association.