After reading this chapter, you will be able to

• Identify the three main types of local government and how they are different,
   
• Describe the three basic forms of county government,
   
• Explain the four basic governance systems used by municipalities,
   
• Summarize Dillon’s Rule and how it shapes the relationship between state and local governments,
   
• Discuss how politics and political participation are different at the local level compared with the state and federal levels of government, and
   
• Describe how the Great Recession changed local governments.