Originally published on March 2, 2021 6:16 pm Illinois has long held the record for the most units of local government in any state — 8,923 local taxing bodies to be exact, according to a recent report by the Chicago-based Civic Federation. This total is higher than estimates from other government officials, including the U.S. Census Bureau, Illinois Department of Revenue, and state Comptroller’s office. In addition to county and municipal governments, Illinois has many special districts designed to provide a specific public service — including school districts, drainage districts, fire protection districts, road and bridge districts, and cemetery districts. However, not all of these districts are counted in the same manner. Although both the Civic Federation and the Comptroller’s office tally the number of local governments in the state at over 8,000, the Census Bureau’s numbers are closer to 7,000, and the department of revenue’s count has it at around 6,000.