McHenry County coroner will send death information to county clerk to help clean voter rolls

McHenry County Coroner Michael Rein has spent his first month in his new role looking for ways to strengthen communication with other offices, which led to the decision to provide the county clerk's office with direct access to death information to aid in cleaning the county's voter rolls.

McHenry County Clerk Joe Tirio said Tuesday that having collaboration between the county's various governmental offices is "categorically" good for taxpayers.

"We should all be looking for ways that we can share the data that we have access to that will improve operations across the county," Tirio said. "That is phenomenal."

The systems for removing deceased people from the county's voter rolls are already strong, Tirio said. Deaths are reported to the state. and the state informs the clerk's office of the names that need to be expunged.

"It's just an issue of timing," Tirio said of the more direct communication with Rein's office. "He'll know before virtually anybody else would know, and so we'll get that much of a head start."

Rein said he is also working to communicate more efficiently with the Veterans Assistance Commission of McHenry County, reporting the deaths of veterans directly to the agency so it can offer services to surviving family members.

In his first three weeks in office, Rein also decided to consolidate two part-time deputy secretary positions into one full-time deputy coroner position, for which his office is now hiring.

This move, Rein said, will increase efficiency and improve the staff's ability to keep up with the demand for a deputy coroner or chief deputy coroner outside normal working hours.

Because the move does not change the office's budget or the fundamental structure of the affected positions, it does not need to go to the McHenry County Board for approval, he said.