Lake County sheriff candidate eyes eliminating undersheriff job

Lake County sheriff candidate Douglas Roberts said he will consider eliminating the job of undersheriff to save taxpayer money, if he is elected in November.

Roberts, a Waukegan attorney, said he would use deputy chiefs to run the office when the sheriff is not on duty.

"It's the oddest title I have ever heard in my life: the undersheriff," Roberts said during a Daily Herald candidate endorsement interview. "I don't think the public is being well served paying $300,000 (for both a sheriff and undersheriff) for a job that can be filled at $150,000."

Incumbent Sheriff Mark Curran is paid $149,110 annually and Undersheriff Charles Fagan is paid $140,965, according to the Lake County Human Resources Department.

Roberts of Beach Park is running against former sheriff's deputy John Krempotic of North Chicago in the Feb. 2 Democratic primary. The winner will face Curran, who is unopposed in the Republican primary, in the November general election.

Curran said the undersheriff is a title often used to describe the second person in charge of a law enforcement department, though some counties use other terms to describe the same position.

For example, McHenry and Kane counties also employ an undersheriff, but DuPage County uses chiefs who report directly to the sheriff.

Currently, the highest ranking chief under Fagan at the Lake County sheriff's office makes $126,464 annually, while the highest ranking deputy chief is paid $120,432.

Roberts said he has asked why the office needs an undersheriff and has yet to receive a satisfactory response.

"They say you have to have someone in case the sheriff isn't there," he said. "And, number two, somebody is needed who can have contact with the officers, which strikes me as ludicrous."

He added the sheriff's role is to communicate with the deputies, not the undersheriff. By removing the undersheriff position, chief deputies would run the office when the sheriff isn't available, Roberts said.

Curran said the management structure of the sheriff's office wouldn't change with the removal of the undersheriff because someone would still need to be promoted to be second in command.

"Even under a different name, the role is still the same," he said. "It's a proven formula that has worked and remains successful for us."

Krempotic said he has also looked into doing away with the undersheriff title, and thinks the office has too many chiefs and deputy chiefs.

"We could eliminate a few positions and combine some duties to make the department more streamlined," he said.