Kane County committee punts on coroner task force

A Kane County Board committee decided Friday it doesn't even want to research having an appointed coroner or medical examiner until indicted Coroner Chuck West is out of office.

The full county board recently decided November would be too soon to ask voters to weigh in on change the coroner from its current status as an elected position to one appointed by the board.

Instead, they asked their Judicial and Public Safety Committee to form a task force that would explore the costs of a change and any other issues it would create.

But in a 4-2 vote, the committee decided to take a pass.

Committee Member John Fahy said preliminary information already showed a medical examiner would cost more and doesn't make sense for any area with less than 1 million people.

"Nobody has proven to me that this current system is broken," Fahy said. "We are not hearing outcries from the medical community that bodies are not being picked up or disposed of properly."

Fahy also pointed out that the coroner's office is among those that have stayed within its budget, which is perhaps the biggest reason not to mess with the current setup.

But Committee Member Mark Davoust said there's value in exploring related issues, such as whether a coroner should be required to be a doctor or have a background in emergency medicine. Such a background is not currently required.

Kendall County Coroner Ken Toftoy urged the committee to stick with the current setup.

"As elections go on, more and more people are looking into the experience of the people who are running," Toftoy said. "But the system itself has been working very well for hundreds of years. I think it's just a personality problem here."

All committee members agreed any decision to change the coroner's office must not be the result of any personal feelings about criminal charges facing the office's current occupant. West, who has two years remaining on his term, recently pleaded not guilty to official misconduct allegations.

One question moving forward would be what happens if the board creates new qualifications for the office of coroner, but can't find anyone who meets them. State statute says the duties of coroner fall to the county sheriff if the coroner position is unfilled.