'The value of time': Longtime DeKalb County treasurer talks about retirement, next steps

SYCAMORE – Christine Johnson, longtime DeKalb County Treasurer who's been reelected seven times over the past nearly 25 years, said that, after giving it a lot of thought, now was the time to retire.

Johnson said there wasn't a specific catalyst or event that drove her to consider retirement. She said she certainly has enjoyed her time serving the county in her capacity as treasurer for the last couple of decades.

"I started thinking particularly with COVID-19 … about the value of time," Johnson said. "My parents are still here and I want to spend some time with them. And I’ve been working since I was 16 years old, and I just wanted to think about spending more time with family and pursuing some other interests I may have.”

Johnson's comments come after she announced that she will retire Dec. 11 in a November news release.

Johnson was appointed to the office in March 1994 after Charlotte Sundly, the county treasurer at the time, died in a car accident in January 1994. She was formally elected to the seat that November, but she recalled that time crunch and she remembered falling asleep while reading through Illinois state statute books.

"It was a lot to take in," Johnson said.

Johnson has served longer than any other treasurer since the founding of DeKalb County in 1937, according to the news release. She also was appointed to represent the 35th District in the Illinois State Senate in 2011 to serve the remainder of J. Bradley Burzynski's term through 2013.

Since there remains two years left of Johnson's term as she'll retire mid-term, she said the county's Republican Party will eventually nominate an appointee to finish the term and she suspects the party will be looking at someone who would be willing to run for the office again.

Ultimately, Johnson said, she wants to maintain continuity in the office and to have as seamless of a transition from her retirement to the

“I think that’s very important,” Johnson said.

During her tenure as treasurer, Johnson said in the news release she has seen many changes and made multiple improvements in the office, both in technology and procedural security. When she took office, all the computer processing of tax levies, tax bill calculations, and printing were done in Kane County. Tax bills were picked up in Geneva, and brought back to the treasurer’s office in Sycamore, where they were hand-stuffed for mailing.

Since then, DeKalb County is now a design-development partner with Devnet, a Sycamore-based company, for an in-house property tax billing and collection system now in use by more than 60 Illinois counties, according to the news release.

Johnson had said she implemented the first real estate tax payment options for accepting credit cards, debit cards and electronic payments online. Recently, she implemented a Treasurer’s Helpline, where callers can be directly connected with the tax office who can best answer their questions, the release states.

She instituted DeKalb County’s first written investment policy. She has earned $25 million in interest on the county’s investments for the benefit of the taxpayers and earned $4 million in interest that was distributed back to the other taxing districts in the county, according to the release.

She said she's proud to have served as a Republican precinct committeeman for more than 36 years. She also served two terms as vice chairman of the DeKalb County Republican Central Committee and as its secretary.

In 2013, she returned to DeKalb County and was once again appointed county treasurer, according to the news release.

Johnson said the Immediately going to enjoy Christmas season with family to extent can see everyone

And, as silly as it may sound, she is planning to go to Disney World in Florida soon, Johnson said.

Johnson said she plans on working with Calvary Lutheran Church in Lee, the DeKalb Rotary Club and Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary after she leaves office. She said she also continue to serve DeKalb County residents through her work as incoming vice chairman of the DeKalb County Community Foundation.

“I think they touch every level of service in our community … so I’m very anxious to spend some time looking at some community foundation projects,” Johnson said.

Johnson said she feels that she really has been privileged to serve the taxpayers of DeKalb County. She said she's grateful for the confidence that residents have placed in her.

“I’m not going away," Johnson said. "I’m just going to be serving the county in a different capacity.”