Money, guns, newspapers top Kane Co. hit list for 2010

Getting more money back from the state, gaining the ability to confiscate guns through orders of protection and ridding itself of the requirement to publish information in local newspapers are the top items on Kane County's list of legislative goals for 2010.

The county board's Legislative Committee set the agenda for the coming year as it prepares to meet with local state lawmakers.

County board member Phil Lewis said he's sick of the county only receiving minimal return on the money it sends to Springfield every year. In fact, Lewis said that lack of return is one of the major reasons he voted to ban video gambling in the county. He simply wasn't convinced Kane County would see any of the capital projects video gambling will fund actually benefit the county. Lewis said he'll have a hard time changing his view until more state money comes back to the county on a regular basis.

"In the end, when we leave 2010, we want more Kane County dollars back in Kane County," Lewis said. "Let's really hammer on that."

On a similar note, the supervisor of assessments office and the treasurer's office said the county could save a couple hundred thousand dollars just by eliminating the legal requirement to publish the names of delinquent property taxpayers and reassessed properties in the newspaper. Officials said it costs the county an extra $100,000 every year of the quadrennial assessment when information on all the parcels in the county must be published in the newspaper. Likewise, it costs the county about $18,000 each year to publish the list of delinquent taxpayers. Officials said they'd rather publish such information on the Internet where the costs are basically nothing.

Finally, Assistant Kane County State's Attorney Christine Downs said her top priority is seeing that civil orders of protection have the same ability as criminal orders of protection to confiscate guns from individuals who have such an order served on them. Downs said she's also hoping for a law change that allows a reasonable use of force to obtain blood, DNA or urine from a person implicated or suspected of crime.