What Is “Home Rule”
Home rule is a term which was given to a concept created to provide units of local government with an increased means of local control. The theory behind home rule was that some problems are inherently local in nature and, thus, are better dealt with at the local level since a “one-size fits all” state legislative solution couldn’t possibly foresee problems which are uniquely local in nature. The creation of home rule was triggered by the increasing urbanization and complexity of society. As municipalities became larger and less rural, they desired governmental independence and the ability to deal with local problems at the local level. What home rule does is to reverse what is commonly known as “Dillon’s Rule.” “Dillon’s Rule” stands for the proposition that in order for a municipality to be able to act or legislate in a given area, it must point to statutory authority to act or its actions must be necessarily implied from a given statute. Thus, prior to home rule, municipalities had to point to a specific statute in order to act.
*Excerpt from: Illinois Municipal League, Municipal Review Magazine Legal Q & A (Published June 1997) By Beth Anne Janicki and Lore Ann Verkuilen