The position of Township Trustee is
the oldest still-existing form of elected government on the continent
of North America; it was the formation of townships, in fact, which
provided the basic foundations for democracy within the United
States. In Illinois, the Constitution of 1848 gave
the
citizens in each county the opportunity to adopt Township
Government. By 1850, the first township governments began
operation. Today, 85 of Illinois 102 counties operate under the
township form of government and the 1,433 townships serve more than 8
million people. Capital TownshipCapital Township was established by the Sangamon County Board on March 6, 1878. On February 17, 1892, the boundaries of Capital Township and the City of Springfield were made contiguous. One of the largest townships in the states, it contains 136 precincts. Capital Township holds the following duties:
Because of the co-terminus boundaries, the Sangamon County Clerk also serves as the Capital Township Assessor, and the County Treasurer concurrently serves as the Township Supervisor/Collector. They are not elected in April 2009, but rather, when their county seats come up (next in November 2010). The current Capital Township Trustees are Candice Trees, Rich Berning, Sarah Delano Pavlik, and Dave Robisch - the first three of whom are seeking re-election. Phil Chiles is running for the other spot, on the Township Board. These positions will be elected, this April 7th.
|
