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Kane County raise proposal revived to include more politicians

A week after a proposal to give raises to eight Kane County elected officials died, a plan to give raises for 32 elected officials rose to take its place Wednesday.

Kane County Board Chairman Chris Lauzen unveiled the plan at the end of his executive committee meeting. It was not listed as an official agenda item. That didn't prevent the committee from passing along the plan for a full county board vote next week.

The proposal would give raises to department heads who will be elected in November. The officials would receive 2.5 percent increases for each of the next four years. Circuit Court Clerk Tom Hartwell, Auditor Terry Hunt, Coroner Rob Russell and Recorder Sandy Wegman would be the immediate beneficiaries if they are successful in winning new terms. Lauzen is also on the ballot, though he has removed himself from consideration for a raise for now.

Kane County State's Attorney Joe McMahon is also on the November ballot, but his salary is set by the state.

The proposal on the table also calls for the establishment of a residents task force that would examine raises for all elected county department heads plus the 24 members of the county board. Unlike the elected department heads, county board members are part-time employees. They receive a $25,000 salary and the same health insurance and guaranteed pension benefits full-time employees receive.

Lauzen removed himself from immediate consideration for a raise so he could "speak with credibility and authority and without any confusion about what the motives are." He then berated board members for sharing information with the press about the private raise discussions that occurred before the issue became public last week. He said no board member was willing to admit to him in private conversations that they shared a document about the raises obtained by the Daily Herald.

"If there is someone who wants to gossip about something that is out there, that individual should put their name on that proposal," Lauzen said.

Lauzen last week denied ever having seen the document or knowing anything about the raises before the story broke.

Lauzen then joined Treasurer David Rickert, Sheriff Don Kramer and Hunt in arguing for raises. Though he took himself out of consideration, Lauzen told his committee he used to get paid "seven times what my constituents pay me" when he worked in the private sector. Lauzen also projected a large graphic onto a screen showing 196 county employees get paid more than him.

"It is the only organization I'm familiar with where our highly respected jail guards are paid more than the chief operating officer of the organization," he said.

A parade of elected department heads then took turns sharing statistics about financial savings and income increases their departments have brought to the county. To a man, they all said they weren't asking for a raise.

That specific call for raises came from a few county board members present. Board member Bill Lenert said a "small increase would be only fair" given the annual raises rank-and-file county employees receive. In comparison, the countywide elected officials haven't received raises in a decade or more.

"To ask for a $2,500-a-year raise for these elected officials, I think, is something that doesn't take a whole lot of time or thought to come to the conclusion that it's worthwhile," Lenert said.

The total cost of the raises and benefits for the next fiscal year could amount to about $20,000, a figure Lenert and Lauzen said would not have a major impact on the county budget.

That characterization comes in contrast to Lauzen's previous descriptions of expenses he questioned in the coroner's budgets in recent years. Lauzen spent months condemning $19,000 worth of raises and $1,221 worth of spending on Silly Putty promotional items by Russell. In a twist of fate, Russell would be one of the beneficiaries of the raises if he is successful in his re-election bid in November. He was among the elected department heads present for the raise pitch, but Lauzen did not invite him to speak.

The raise plan will come to the full county board for an expedited final vote Tuesday. State law requires approval of the raises at least 180 days before a person is sworn into the elected office.

Tuesday's vote won't be unanimous. Several members of the committee said they can't support any raises at this time. There hasn't been enough public discussion on the matter, opponents said. And there are too many unknowns about state funding for county programs drying up.

County board member Phil Lewis said the county's elected officials make plenty of money already.

"The average wage in Illinois is $53,000," Lewis said. "You're knocking down over $100,000 a year now. For all the people who ask me if I think government officials are well-compensated - absolutely."

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