Kane County chairman accuses state's attorney of intimidation, buying loyalty

Kane County Board Chairman Chris Lauzen accused State's Attorney Joe McMahon of using tax dollars to buy loyalty and popularity as new information about employee bonus payments came forward Wednesday.

Lauzen has been the most vocal opponent of giving public employees any form of bonus payments. He presented documents to board members and local media showing McMahon authorized about $200,000 worth of bonus payments to employees in the state's attorney's office to close out this fiscal year.

"Elected officials have the power to issue whatever payments they see fit," Lauzen said. "But just because something is legal does not make it right."

Lauzen also accused McMahon of using his legal authority to intimidate county board members out of asking tougher questions about the bonus payments. He cited a conversation with an unnamed board member who allegedly told Lauzen he or she isn't asking more questions because, "I do not want a team of lawyers going through my past to find something that will run the rest of my life."

"It's wrong," Lauzen said. "It's sad. (The bonuses) buy a lot of loyalty, buy a lot of popularity. These actions require the taxpayers to pay $1.6 million, and you will not get a refund for that."

The $1.6 million is the total value of bonus payments made by the state's attorney's office, public defender, court services and judiciary departments since 2012. The practice of making bonus or "lump sum" payments in the state's attorney's office precedes McMahon's tenure.

Both in a Daily Herald interview and a letter sent to Lauzen and the county board mid-Wednesday, McMahon defended the bonus payments as necessary, at least for the short term.

"The way I compensate is designed to address really historical underpayment of assistant state's attorneys," McMahon said. "This board, and prior board have worked with me to try and address that, to get pay back up with surrounding counties."

A salary comparison issued by McMahon's office shows Kane County has fewer attorneys and overall employees than Cook, DuPage and Lake counties. Senior level state's attorneys in Kane also earn close to $20,000 less than their peers in those neighboring counties.

But Lauzen's office also issued numbers that show some staff members in McMahon's office received salary increases averaging about 5 percent, more than twice what most county employees received in this year. Some of McMahon's staff saw boosts of more than 10 percent. Those raises don't include the one-time bonus or lump sum payments. McMahon also handed out $1,000 bonus payments to 95 employees. He issued another eight employees $500 bonuses. With Social Security and pension costs added, the total price tag of McMahon's bonus payments for 2016 is $212,887, Lauzen's numbers show.

McMahon said he is aware that his method of paying employees does not follow the process used in most other county departments.

"I would like to end the lump sum payments," McMahon said. "And I'll do that as soon as we get pay up to a competitive rate with my counterparts in neighboring counties."

He denied compensating any employee to gain favor or popularity or doing anything to try and intimidate any other elected official.

"It's not the way I've ever operated," McMahon said. "I think I have a great relationship with the 24 board members. I respect them all, and I think they respect the responsibility I have as the state's attorney."

Lauzen, as chairman, is not considered one of the 24 board members.