Will County Board members worry legislation could alter checks on executive

Will County Board members voiced specific concerns about legislation pushed by County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant which could change the way county government functions.

During a meeting on Tuesday, members of the Legislative & Judicial Committee discussed aj amendment to SB 1015, which has already passed the Illinois Senate to the surprise of many county officials on Feb. 24. The bill still needs to pass the House of Representatives to become law.

Bertino-Tarrant has said the legislation aims to codify the county’s process of appointing new board members when a vacancy occurs. But sitting members have questioned other proposed changes to the executive’s office control over internal operations, like hiring without board approval.

“It’s not clear to me, and maybe to some others, what internal control really means,” said Denise Winfrey, D-Joliet, chair of the Legislative & Judicial Committee. “What problem does this bill actually fix? And what [would the county executive] be able to do then, that they can’t already do today?”

Mitch Schaben, Bertino-Tarrant’s chief of staff, answered members’ concerns about specific provisions during the meeting.

Some members questioned why the language codifying the process for filling vacancies carves out Champaign County, which is the only other county in Illinois that uses the executive form of county government. The need for this legislation stemmed from a dispute in Champaign County over who appoints replacements.

Schaben said the language was included at the request of representatives from Champaign County, though he conceded it was not “our ideal situation.”

He also addressed the proposed change to give the county executive control over the “internal operations of the county executive’s office and procure the necessary equipment, materials and services to perform the duties of the office.” Schaben said it’s the same language used for the duties of other countywide elected officials, though board members have argued the executive doesn’t have the same authority as a treasurer or sheriff.

Schaben said a provision to allow the executive to hire subordinates without board approval “is probably the only change to existing practice.” He emphasized this did not apply to the hiring of department heads.

Bertino-Tarrant has said this change would allow for hiring new employees more efficiently than waiting for each monthly board meeting for approval.

Some members still were not warm to the idea of removing their vote on certain hires.

Amanda Koch, D-Frankfort, acknowledged that hiring some employees can take a long time, but said the purpose of such a process was transparency.

“I’m just a little confused why we’re removing some of those checks and balances, because to me that’s really why we’re here,” Koch said.

Majority Leader Meta Mueller, D-Aurora, echoed Koch’s sentiment, and said other members will likely take issue with the proposed change.

Schaben said the board’s check on the executive’s power is the ability to pass a budget which includes funding for the office.

Speaker Mimi Cowan, D-Naperville, said the board still needs a better explanation of what it would mean for the executive to have internal control over their office. She and Winfrey also pointed out that the previous county executive, Larry Walsh Sr., brought various items to the board for approval, unlike Bertino-Tarrant.

Cowan asked Schaben if the executive has spent money on outside consultants without board approval.

Schaben said the executive’s office spent money on communications support and a lobbyist. A spokesman for Bertino-Tarrant said the executive’s office spent $72,000 for the communications support from FOURCE Group, and $19,500 on the lobbyist firm Madiar Government Solutions.

Cowan said the board should have received information on those moves earlier. She and other members have said the lack of communication has damaged trust between the board and the executive.

“I wish there had been proactive and collaborative communication about those decisions,” Cowan said. “And I think that’s what you’re finding a lot of this response is about.”