The Huffington Post reprinted a story on city initiatives that quoted Michael Pagano, Dean of the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs and GCI Fellow. Dean Pagano said that while states are sovereign, there’s a question of how much local autonomy should rightfully be allowed. The article originated in the Pew Trust’s Stateline and also ran in Governing Magazine and Government Technology.
Michael Pagano, dean of the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said that states are turning to preemption because legislators don’t trust the decisions made by local governments or appreciate their autonomy.
“If the states are squeezing local autonomy so that cities and counties have no decision-making authority, then why have local elected officials at all, if they have no power?” Pagano said.
