There he goes again

If you want more evidence of why so many people distrust some newspapers and other media, read Jim Fuller's Feb. 28 report ostensibly describing a Kane County Board discussion regarding the use of financial reserves.

In that story, Fuller states that I "dug in my heels" against the use of reserves to revive the court's electronic monitoring program, which the chief judge eliminated when we ordered across-the-board spending cuts last fall to balance our budget.

In fact, the discussion Fuller reported on Feb. 28 related only to the general question of when reserves should be tapped. The specific issue of the electronic monitoring program was never mentioned.

I have stated publicly and Fuller has reported that I support the electronic monitoring program. His Feb. 28 report did not include a point he has reported before and heard me make again on Feb. 15 when I asked Chief Judge Susan Clancy Boles at a Judiciary and Public Safety Committee meeting (verbatim from the transcript), "Does any Board member or even the Board as a whole, have the authority to eliminate … or add any program in the Judiciary?"

Her exact (verbatim from the transcript) response was "The decisions, with regard to particular programs that fall under the Judicial Branch and the Chief Judge's Office, specifically as it relates to EM/GPS, clearly the programming decisions are the authority of the Chief Judge".

In other words, neither I nor the county board have the authority to eliminate or add the electronic monitoring program. That is the authority of Judge Boles. Not only do I support electronic monitoring, I'm encouraging the process of the task force being formed by the Chief Judge and Sheriff to restore a well-run, sustainable program.

These points should have been included in Fuller's story on Feb. 28.

Chris Lauzen

Kane County Board Chairman