Chairman authority bill denied by Rauner
By Gregory Harutunian For Chronicle Media — January 24, 2018
A legislative bill that would allow county board chairs to make committee appointments with their board’s approval and create their standing committees was vetoed by Gov. Bruce Rauner.
A legislative bill that would allow county board chairs, with county populations of 300,000-900,000 people, to make committee appointments with their board’s approval and create their standing committees was vetoed by Gov. Bruce Rauner, after being sent to his office in December by the House of Representatives.
The Jan. 12 denial equates to McHenry County Board Chairman Jack Franks not being able to exercise that authority, although the bill was apparently tailored for his benefit by Rauner, identifying the county in his statement.
House Bill 171 was approved Nov. 7 by the State Senate, and passed through both houses, one day later. Its synopsis read, in part: “Amends the Counties Code; Provides that with the advice and consent of a majority of the county board, a county board chairman elected by the voters of the county shall create standing committees; and appoint members and chairpersons to standing committees; Limits applicability to counties having a population between 300,000 and 900,000.”
The bill’s title, “Local Government-Tech: Amends the Public Officer Simultaneous Tenure Act; Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the purpose of the Act,” was sponsored in the State Senate by Sen. Thomas Cullerton (D-23rd), Julie A. Morrison (D-29th) and former Kane County Board Chairperson, Karen McConnaughay (R-33rd). The lone sponsor in the House was changed to state Rep. Anna Moeller (D-43rd) the day of filing.
In a press release from Rauner’s office he was attributed as saying, “We should not be codifying in state law carve-outs and special solutions that only apply to certain counties to account for local concerns. Passing state law on such specific question of local authority undermines local control and the ability to create rules, as elected boards may deem appropriate.
“While the county governance model, introduced by this legislation, may represent good practice and a healthy balance of power between the local officials for McHenry County, it is not appropriately addressed by state legislation.”
Franks, a Democrat, did not respond to requests for comment.
A timeline for procedures was augmented by the McHenry County Board in 2014, which amended its standard practices and allowed the creation of standing committees to the longest tenured members serving on the board, from all the separate districts. A nonbinding referendum question on the Nov. 7 election ballot two years earlier, seeking direction for the establishment of a county executive form of government nearly akin to HB 171, was defeated by county voters.
Twenty members of the county board reacted to the bill Nov. 14, one day after both houses sent the bill to Rauner, with a written request for it to be vetoed. Board members Michelle Aavang, Paula Yensen, Robert Nowak, and Mike Skala did not sign the document. The 24-member board is comprised of 23 Republicans, and one Democrat. One of the signers was former County Board Chairman Joe Gottemoller, R-Crystal Lake, with concerns over the power given to the chairman in deciding committee membership.
“The reason I signed is that it (the bill) went beyond what we used to do,” said Gottemoller. “The county chair would be on the committees and have some input, some, as to whom should chair that particular committee. With the bill, the chairman is allowed to name the committee chair.”
One misconception of the legislation was whether the chairman could create new committees that would expand government, an aspect that Franks has railed against in championing efforts to consolidate government agencies and replicated services. He also served on Rauner’s panel, created by a February 2015 executive order, “The Local Government and Consolidation and Unfunded Mandates Task Force.”
“The chairman (Franks) has spent a significant amount of time on the consolidation issue. It’s not creating new committees … they are already part of the board,” Gottemoller said. “It’s not a brand new item on your tax bill, yet completely different than ‘go out and get advice’ from others.”
—Chairman Authority Bill denied by Rauner–
