Will County, Illinois
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Will County is one of 102 counties in Illinois. This county is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. As of 2000, the population was 502,266. In the 2010 U.S. Census, the population was 677,560, making it one of the fastest growing counties in the United States. The county seat of Will County is Joliet, Illinois.
[edit] Website evaluation
Will County has launched a transparency portal on their local website, detailing the budgets, meeting minutes, contract bids, tax information and public filings for the county's departments.[1] The County also posts its checkbook register.[2] In 2011 Will County earned a Sunny Award for having a perfect website transparency score.
- Main Article: Evaluation of Illinois county websites
This site was most recently evaluated on 9 Jan 2011.
[edit] The good
- Budgets are published.[3]
- County board members and their contact information is posted.[4] The county also discloses their elected officials' salaries.[5]
- County officials are listed with contact information.[6]
- County Board meeting schedule, minutes and agendas are posted.[7]
- Form to make a public records request is available.[8]
- Financial audits are available.[9]
- The zoning ordinance is posted and permits are available.[10][11]
- Information on local taxes is available.[12]
- County contracts with vendors are posted online.[13][14]
- The county discloses lobbying contracts and how much they are worth.[15]
[edit] Elected Officials
The Will County Board consists of 27 members, 3 each from 9 districts. Will County operates under the County Executive form of government, whereby the County Executive is elected at large and is responsible for day to day administration and the County Board is the legislative body responsible for establishing policy. It represents unincorporated areas of Will County.[16]
As the policy-making body of county government, the Will County Board establishes budgets, fund county agencies providing roads, community health programs, courts, police protection, jails, workforce training, victim-witness programs and veterans assistance to name a few. They set the budgets for all county agencies and play a key role in transportation issues (including road building and airports), most notably the airport proposed for eastern Will County. The Board plans for commercial and residential development by planning for transportation, land use and zoning, while maintaining modern building codes for the protection of the public.[16]
| District | Name | City |
|---|---|---|
| District 1 | Robert Howard | Beecher |
| District 1 | Katrina Deutsche | Crete |
| District 1 | Cory Singer | Frankfort |
| District 2 | Jim Moustis Chairman | Frankfort |
| District 2 | Laurie Smith Majority Whip | New Lenox |
| District 2 | Tom Weigel | New Lenox |
| District 3 | Ann Dralle | Lemont |
| District 3 | Suzanne Hart | Naperville |
| District 3 | Laurie McPhillips | Plainfield |
| District 4 | Edward D. Kusta, Jr. | Bolingbrook |
| District 4 | Charles Maher | Naperville |
| District 4 | Jacqueline Traynere | Bolingbrook |
| District 5 | John Argoudelis | Plainfield |
| District 5 | Lee Ann Goodson | Plainfield |
| District 5 | Brian Smith | Plainfield |
| District 6 | Don Gould | Shorewood |
| District 6 | Sharon May | Channahon |
| District 6 | Deborah Rozak | Wilmington |
| District 7 | Jim Bilotta Majority Leader | Lockport |
| District 7 | Kathleen Konicki | Homer Glen |
| District 7 | Diane Seiler | Lockport |
| District 8 | Herbert Brooks, Jr. | Joliet |
| District 8 | Frank Stewart Minority Whip | Joliet |
| District 8 | Denise Winfrey | Joliet |
| District 9 | Walter Adamic Minority Leader | Joliet |
| District 9 | Joseph Babich | Joliet |
| District 9 | Steve Wilhelmi | Joliet |
Larry M. Walsh is the current County Executive.[17]
[edit] Budget
| 2009 Actual Amounts | 2010 YTD Actual Expenses | 2011 Approved Amounts |
|---|---|---|
| $159,862,024 | $144,135,566 | $171,046,834 |
[edit] Lobbying
- Main article: Lobbying in Will County, Illinois
Will County has spent at least $1,214,588.96 since 2005 on taxpayer-funded lobbying.
Taxpayer-funded lobbying is the use of public funds by governments to influence other levels of government. Counties, for example, will pay lobbyists to influence the state or the federal government. This type of lobbying is often not disclosed to constituents. Counties hire lobbyists on a contractual basis, have lobbyists on staff, or join groups which promote or oppose legislation on their behalf. Lobbyists also help counties seeking specific projects or appropriations.
Will County's lobbying consists of three contracts with lobbyists, including William F. Mahar. It belongs to six taxpayer-funded lobbying associations, including Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools.
For more on Will County lobbying, see the main article.
| $ lobbying total | $ Illinois | $ federal government | $ lobbying groups | # lobbying contracts | # lobbying groups |
| $1,214,588.96 | $500,857.96 | $500,000.00 | $213,731.00 | 3 | 12 |
[edit] Public employee salaries
- Main article: Will County employee salaries
Will County salaries are salaries paid to elected officials and county employees.The Will County website does not include compensation for elected officials or county employees. The website does not also list a total number of county employees.
[edit] Pensions
Main article: Illinois Public Pensions
Illinois is facing a crisis with its publicly funded pensions. In 2010 state government was responsible for over $130 billion in pension payments, however they only had $46 billion set aside, which leaves an unfunded liability of about $85 billion. [18] Finding a way to fund that $85 billion will be the focus of the 2011 general assembly. The Pew Center for the States reported that as of 2008, Illinois is one of the worst states at contributing to its pension systems. State lawmakers will consider selling $4 billion of bonds to pay the state's annual payment on the five pension programs it runs. [19] In April, the state legislature created a two-tier system for all municipal and state employees—including teachers and state lawmakers—hired after Jan 1, 2011. Police and fire were included in an earlier draft but removed shortly before the vote. For the others, retirement was raised to 67. [20]
The Will County website does not include employee pension information. While there are no reform issues listed on the county website, there are pension reforms taking place in the municipalities. In Lockport, officials are considering offering early retirement to some municipal employees to save money in the long run. The state has authorized two incentive programs for early retirement. One early retirement plan would allow employees who are 55 or older with 25 years employment to retire early without any penalties while the other plan would allow early retiring employees to receive an extra month of pension payments per year of service. [21]
[edit] Chambers of commerce
| Chamber of Commerce | Year | Amount |
| Bolingbrook Area Chamber of Commerece | 2010 | $110 |
| Bolingbrook Area Chamber of Commerece | 2009 | $935 |
| Bolingbrook Area Chamber of Commerece | 2008 | $300 |
| Bolingbrook Area Chamber of Commerece | 2007 | $415 |
| Bolingbrook Area Chamber of Commerece | 2006 | $460 |
| Bolingbrook Area Chamber of Commerece | 2005 | $100 |
| Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce | 2008 | $350 |
| Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce | 2006 | $100 |
| Romeoville Chamber of Commerce | 2009 | $550 |
| Romeoville Chamber of Commerce | 2007 | $80 |
| Romeoville Chamber of Commerce | 2006 | $80 |
| Romeoville Chamber of Commerce | 2005 | $120 |
[edit] External links
- Will County official website
- Will County Auditor's Website
- Will County Circuit Court Clerk's Website
- Will County Treasurer's Website
- Will County Recorder's Website
- Will County Health Department's Website
- Will County Quick Facts from the U.S. Census Bureau
[edit] References
- ↑ Open Government Transparency Portal
- ↑ Checkbook Register
- ↑ 2012 Budget
- ↑ Board Members
- ↑ Salaries
- ↑ Elected Officials
- ↑ Meetings
- ↑ FOIA Request Form
- ↑ Audits
- ↑ Zoning Ordinance
- ↑ Building Permits
- ↑ Taxes
- ↑ Government open bids
- ↑ Closed government bids
- ↑ Lobbying
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 About the County Board
- ↑ County Executive
- ↑ Illinois Issues, The Pension Chasm, November 15, 2010
- ↑ State House News, November 4, 2010
- ↑ 'Patch.com' Illinois Senate to Vote on Public Safety Pension Reforms Thursday Morning, Dec. 1, 2010
- ↑ Lockporrt Journal', City Taking Hard Look at Employee Buyouts, August 4, 2010
- ↑ Will County Board membership to lobbying organizations
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