Amid all the discussion of local government reform, there has been an elephant in the room that everyone has noticed, but no one wanted to talk about.

That fellow with the long trunk and thick skin is Unigov, a radical restructuring of Lake County government that would merge the municipal and county governments much like what was done in Indianapolis under then-Mayor Dick Lugar's leadership.

Our compliments to Lake County Council President Larry Blanchard for broaching the subject of Unigov.

Blanchard said he is so upset by the push for a county income tax supported by the county's mayors that he is ready to discuss merging all 19 municipalities.

That would save the taxpayers tens of millions of dollars by eliminating needless government duplication while still providing essential services, Blanchard said.

"If we are becoming that desperate -- and I understand some of these municipalities are -- then we need to see if there is support for some sort of consolidation in order to avoid passage of an income tax," Blanchard said.

Gary has received plenty of public attention for its appeal to the Indiana Distressed Unit Appeals Board, but it isn't the only municipality under pressure.

Whiting has cut a quarter of its work force already since Mayor Joe Stahura took office, and more jobs are at risk. The city is already planning to merge its fire department with Hammond.

And that's just one example.

Stahura put forth the income tax proposal with the support of his fellow mayors.

Blanchard's idea needs to be discussed now, too.

This is a highly emotional issue, to say the least. Communities would need to retain their sense of identity somehow, just as Miller has accomplished so well since that town was absorbed by Gary in the early 1920s.

But emotions aside, what are the pluses and minuses of a consolidation similar to what Marion County accomplished in the 1970s?

How would property taxes be affected? How would resources be deployed? How would the quality of life be affected? How much would consolidation cost, and how much would it save? These questions and more need to be answered.

Past consolidation efforts in Lake County have failed, but that was then. This is now.

Let's give the idea a thorough review before giving it a definite thumbs up or thumbs down.