Kane County considers pay raises for elected officials

Editor’s note: A previous version was incorrect about raises for county board members. They are considering increasing the pay.

The Kane County Board will vote Wednesday on increasing the pay of county officers who are elected in November.

Under the proposal, the county board chairman ‒ be it current chairman Corinne Pierog or her opponent, Lance Bell ‒ would be paid $130,000, 23% more than the current paycheck.

The salaries of the circuit court clerk, recorder of deeds, auditor and coroner would be $110,000. Currently, the auditor and coroner make $88,214; the recorder is paid $89,507; and the circuit court clerk is paid $90,655.

The pay for these offices has not been increased since 2013.

The pay raises would take effect for officers and county board members whose terms start Dec. 1.

The proposal calls for increasing their pay by 3% annually.

The Illinois Constitution prohibits elected officials from increasing or decreasing their salaries in the middle of their terms.

The raises were recommended by the Elected Official Compensation Review Community Advisory Committee. It reviewed salaries for elected officials in other nearby counties.

The committee noted that Lake, McHenry and DuPage counties, besides having board chairmen, also have county administrators, paid $239,563 to $253,935.

The board will meet at 1:30 p.m. at the Kane County Government Center, Building A, 719 S. Batavia Ave. (Route 31), Geneva.