The Will County Board discussed Tuesday raising pay for its members and for countywide elected officials, but took no action and has until June 5 to set salaries for board members and countywide elected officials on the November ballot.
If approved, the salary increases would only affect six of the 22 county board members because board members run on staggered election cycles. The salaries would also affect five of the six countywide offices on the ballot. The Will County Board does not set the salary of the state’s attorney, an elected position on the November ballot.
County Board members last received a salary increase in 2009, while salaries for countywide elected officials, which are full-time jobs, have remained the same since 2007.
Each of the 22 board members makes $23,000 a year.
From 2002 to 2005 the salaries increased by $500 a year from $19,500 to $21,000 a year.
The last time the board approved a salary increase was Nov. 17, 2005, when the board voted to gradually raise salaries by $500 a year starting after the November 2006 election.
The rate for board members increased to $21,500 a year on Dec. 1, 2006 and then increased an additional $500 per year until Dec. 1, 2009, when it reached its current level of $23,000. Board leadership including the board chair, or speaker, and Democratic and Republican leaders were given an additional $1,000 per year during this time.
Since 2009, any votes to increase board member salaries have either failed or did not make it out of committee for a full board vote.
The last vote was Nov. 4, 2021, and the board voted to keep salaries at $23,000. The three members of the board’s leadership team also reverted to receiving $23,000.
Several board members said they would not be in favor of any salary increases for themselves.
“As of right now, I don’t see a need for an increase in our salaries,” said board member Vince Logan, a Republican from Joliet. “We are only required to come to one meeting, the third Thursday a month. … If you work it out, it’s a decent compensation for the work we do.”
Board members compared their salaries to those of other counties.
Kane County Board members earn $25,000. Board members in Lake County, which is the closest in size population-wise to Will County, make $43,018 a year, and DuPage County Board members make $52,102 a year. Those counties, however, offer a different style of government.
In Champaign County, which sets up its government structure in a similar fashion to Will County, board members make $12,000 a year. Champaign County’s budget, however, is about $600 million less than Will County and it has about 490,000 fewer residents.
Board member Jackie Traynere, the Democratic Leader from Bolingbrook, said the population difference and cost of living in Champaign County in Central Illinois is very different than that of Will County, so while they have a similar style of governance, it is hard to compare the two.
In the Chicago-area collar counties, board member salaries have remained the same since at least 2018.
Will County Board members serve on anywhere from one to eight committees that meet throughout the month. The average board member serves on about 3.5 committees. The board members are also commissioners for the Forest Preserve District of Will County and receive $36 per meeting.
Board member Mica Freeman, a Democrat from Plainfield, said while the board is only considered a part-time job, members put in a lot of time.
“It’s more than just a couple meetings a month,” she said. “It’s more than coming to all the meetings a month. It’s the hours you spend reading. It’s the hours you spend on the phone. … If we don’t address the deficit that we are experiencing of all these years of not doing anything, it’s going to end up that we are making way less than minimum wage.”
Board member Frankie Pretzel, a Republican from New Lenox, said he understands the buying power is different from 2009 to today, but asked “where does the money come from.”
Board member Jim Richmond, a Republican from Mokena, said board members are public servants and are not doing the job for the money.
Board member Sherry Williams, a Democrat from Crest Hill, said she is a senior citizen on a fixed income and understands people don’t want their taxes to rise. But she said board members have a great responsibility in the decisions they make and should be compensated properly.
Any changes to the salaries wouldn’t take effect until after the November election in which six board members in three districts are on the ballot. Four incumbents will be vying to retain their seats in November, so those four board members would be voting on their own potential salary increases.
Board members were more receptive on Tuesday to giving countywide elected officials raises.
If approved, the offices that would be affected in November would be the chief executive officer, the circuit court clerk, recorder of deeds, county auditor and coroner.
The last time the Will County Board adjusted salaries for countywide elected offices was June 2004. The board set the salary at $86,520 and gradually increased it to $93,116 on Dec. 1, 2007 where it stands today.
Recorder Karen Stukel said the recorder of Whiteside County, with a population of 55,691, makes $85,680 while Will County’s population has nearly 700,000 residents. The recorder for Rock Island County, with a population of 144,672 people, makes $92,500 a year, similar to Will County’s countywide office holders. The recorder for Cass County, with only 13,042 residents, makes $122,330, Stukel said.
Countywide officials have asked for a raise in prior years, but were told no, Stukel said.
“I stay because I love what I do,” she said.
Pretzel said the countywide officials’ salaries may need to have small raises each year instead of pushing those raises further down the road.
County Treasurer Tim Brophy said in a letter that higher wages reduce the average incumbency advantage and higher wages make previously non-elected candidates more likely to run.
“Inflation data support the reality that a dollar in 2005 is worth less than 42 cents today,” Brophy wrote. “Skyrocketing inflation counters the argument that ‘you knew the pay rate when you ran.’”
Logan said if the salaries for the five countywide offices increased by $6,000 a year, the board could likely find $30,000 in its $815 million budget to pay for them.
Richmond said the board can look at various aspects of the budget to see if there is money.
The budget has been a contentious issue between board Republicans and Democrats.
Board member Raquel Mitchell, a Republican from Bolingbrook who is also running for recorder of deeds, said while she is not necessarily for raises, the county departments could help by giving up some of their wish lists in the budget.
“Help us find the nickels and dimes so that we can give you and your employees what they deserve,” she said.
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter.