* The County Officials Compensation Task Force (COCTF) has released a compensation recomendation report as mandated by state law…

One of the issues emphasized by the COCTF members is that salary formulas should be set in statute like the State’s Attorneys’ salary formula. Since the salary formulas for the other officials are not set in statute, county boards are tasked with determining salaries. The lack of State funding formulas has resulted in significantly lower compensation levels for these local officials compared to State’s Attorneys.

Um, maybe that’s because lawyers don’t wanna run for state’s attorney at such a low pay when they can make lots more in the private sector? I’ve not heard of a shortage of county clerk candidates, but maybe that’s just me.

The average annual salary of state’s attorneys, according to the report, is $192,469. That’s about double the average salaries for auditors, county clerks and reporters. And it’s about two and a half times the average salaries for circuit clerks, supervisors of assessment, treasurers, and consolidated clerk/recorders. The state’s attorneys make almost four times as much money as coroners.

A gender pay disparity exists within several countywide offices: “it was calculated that male officials in Illinois are paid on average 11% more than female officials.”

* And so here’s the proposed solution…

The compensation formula recommended by the COCTF is to pay each local official 80% of their county’s State’s Attorney’s salary. Implementing this formula would increase these local officials’ total salary cost from $38.5 million annually to $83.7 million. The COCTF recommends requiring the State to reimburse local governments for two-thirds ($55.8 million) of the proposed salary costs. […]

Currently, the State pays $3.5 million in salary reimbursements and $3 million in stipends annually to these local officials ($43.6 million for all local officials). The proposed salary and funding formulas would increase the State’s cost by nearly $55.3 million annually. It is the opinion of the COCTF that the parity achieved and the ability to recruit and retain high quality office holders is well worth the expense.

They’re also recommending an immediate $3 million inflation-adjusted stipend, with cost of living increases going forward.

Thoughts?

…Adding… From Sen. Seth Lewis…

I wanted to provide a few clarifications and remarks relative to today’s Capitol Fax item on the County Officials Compensation Task Force. I offer the following:

1. With regard to salaries, it is important to note that state’s attorney salaries are determined by a tiered system based on the size of each county. As a result, citing a blanket average salary of $192,469 could be misleading due to population differences among counties. Additionally, the recommendation is to prorate the countywide elected official salaries based upon the state’s attorney salary in each specific county.
2. The need to address the wage gap between male and female countywide elected officials cannot be understated. This is a significant issue that requires a standardized salary solution that does not differentiate based on gender.
3. Another issue that must be addressed is the so-called “weaponization” of salaries in counties where there are partisan splits among elected positions. A position’s salary should be merit-based and tied to the responsibilities of the office, not driven by partisan politics.
4. It is vital that any ultimate legislative solution recognizes the committee’s firm belief that the work performed by all countywide elected officials, whether state’s attorney, county clerk, circuit clerk, coroner, treasurer, or others, is valuable and necessary, particularly as it relates to transparent government and election integrity.

I appreciate your interest in the issue and look forward to additional conversations on this important topic.