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Kane chairman, coroner at odds again

Despite inking an agreement to funnel $88,000 of supplemental funding to the Kane County Coroner's Office, relations between Coroner Rob Russell and county Chairman Chris Lauzen continued to deteriorate Tuesday. As Russell accused Lauzen of being “ignorant” and “misrepresenting” facts about the functions of the coroner's office, Lauzen hinted at a growing sense of incompetence regarding Russell's leadership.

“We really need to help the coroner,” Lauzen told county board members while introducing the supplemental funds request. “It's obvious that a hard time is being experienced, even after a year on the job.”

The $88,000 will fund cost overruns, such as payroll and autopsies, already committed to by Russell. The long-term plan is to hold Russell to an annual budget of $843,000 for the next three years. That amount is both more than the $817,000 Lauzen originally wanted to give Russell for 2014 and less than the $955,000 Russell wanted.

Lauzen vowed to hold Russell to the deal by scrutinizing autopsy expenses if necessary. A clash in the costs of that duty may be inevitable in 2014 as Lauzen and Russell disagree, by a wide margin, on how much an autopsy costs. Lauzen said his own research puts the cost at about $825. Russell said the real cost is up to $2,000 when a toxicology test or other special diagnostic is required.

Lauzen also told the county board he believes there have been some conflicts about how Russell conducts death investigations versus the overall criminal investigations conducted by law enforcement when a body is discovered. Lauzen plans on having a public meeting with Russell, Sheriff Pat Perez and other local law enforcement personnel to hash out any concerns.

Russell was silent on those points during the meeting. But in an interview later, Russell said Lauzen's quips about autopsy costs and investigative conflicts are unfounded.

“To misrepresent the facts, it's just unfortunate,” Russell said. “And it's unfortunate that he takes the opportunity to browbeat me. I come to the table with as much knowledge and accurate information as I can. I wish he would do the same.”

As to Lauzen's plans to scrutinize the expenses and investigative practices of the coroner's office, Russell said he has nothing to hide.

“Every autopsy we perform has a sheet that says why we're doing it,” Russell said. “As far as the investigations, I have absolutely no idea what he's talking about. There is no conflict with other offices. It just shows the ignorance of his understanding of what we do.”

In an interview, Lauzen responded that he's heard far more complaints about the coroner's office in Russell's first year at the helm than he did during all of previous Coroner Chuck West's tenure. West died in office while facing criminal charges. Lauzen was a state senator at the time.

“He either hasn't been told, or he's ignoring the input he's receiving from law enforcement,” Lauzen said.

Asked for specific examples, Lauzen said there is a documented incident of Russell showing up to a death scene wearing a hat that said “sheriff” on it, causing confusion about the officials present.

“Sheriff Perez told him if he did that again, he would be arrested on the spot,” Lauzen said.

Perez didn't immediately respond to an interview request. Russell confirmed the hat incident during a second interview. He said he had apologized to Perez, and both men have put the matter behind them.

“I was coming from a family function to a death scene, and it's just what I happened to be wearing at the time,” Russell said. “It had nothing to do with any actual investigation. I have not received one phone call from any police chief about how we conduct an investigation. I know most of the chiefs, and they are not going to let any issues they have with me just go without saying anything. The hat thing is just the chairman grasping at straws.”

The public meeting with Russell, Perez and other law enforcement officials has not been scheduled. Russell said he won't participate.

“If any of the police departments have a problem, they can call me,” Russell said. “They haven't.”

Chris Lauzen
Rob Russell
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