'I'm not going away': Rockford board member pushes to restore chair's power

With a November election looming, Winnebago County Board Member Jean Crosby is vowing to continue her fight to restore operational powers to the county chairman's office.

A Rockford Republican, Crosby says an official elected by a countywide vote ought to be the top dog at Winnebago County administrative headquarters, not a hired administrator.

"I'm not going away," Crosby said. "It's not about the chairman, it's about the office."

In late 2017, the County Board took a series of steps to strip the office of its authority to hire, fire and supervise county administration amid a conflict with former Chairman Frank Haney. Those responsibilities were never restored.

But Crosby, who is not seeking a fourth term, argues that either the chairman should lead the county, or the position should be eliminated. She said voters approved a referendum in the early 1990s that created a countywide vote for board chairman. The alternative is to have a chairman selected by the board from among the County Board members.

Crosby said the county should not be run by a "shadow government."

County Board Member Paul Arena said that suggestion is untrue and designed to give the public a false sense that there is something "nefarious" and wrong with the county's government.

It comes at a time when Arena, the Republican caucus chairman, views the county as making progress on a variety of priorities. He said government is running smoothly under the direction of Winnebago County Administrator Patrick Thompson, County Board Chairman Joe Chiarelli and a Republican majority County Board.

"I myself am very much against giving a politician operational control, and I've got the feeling that the majority of my caucus feels the same," Arena said.

Arena said the county is working how it was intended under the law, requiring a majority of board members to agree to steer decision making. And he argues that no matter what, under the current system of government, the County Board has always wielded the true power.

Arena says while the county administrator runs day-to-day operations, it is the chairman's job to serve as the board's full-time liaison with the public and its point person on economic development matters. Chiarelli was paid $95,658 in 2022.

In contrast, the chairman of the Boone County Board who is selected from among elected board members every two years is paid $1,000 a month.

A referendum campaign led by Crosby and County Board Member John Butitta to shift the county to an executive form of government that would have given a county chairman explicit powers under Illinois law was defeated, Arena said.

"If you want to change it then you have to change the form of government we have," Arena told Crosby. "That has already been submitted to the voters and they rejected it. This feels like you want another bite at the apple."

County Board Member Jaime Salgado, a Rockford Democrat, said he feels largely indifferent on whether powers should be restored to the chairman's office. But he said that Crosby is going about the debate the right way ahead of the election.

Salgado said his fellow Democrats want to see proposed language on what powers and responsibilities would be restored before deciding whether to support any measure. Salgado noted that the County Board recently gave the chairman supervisory authority over a public information officer and public safety grant writing position, so changes are feasible.

"Every county board member has the right to bring up any ordinance changes and I am certainly willing to entertain her ideas and thoughts," Salgado said. "It's fair game. Anybody can bring up those kind of changes and it sounds like she want to give more power, authority and discretion to the chairman."

Jeff Kolkey writes about government, economic development and other issues for the Rockford Register Star. He can be reached at  (815) 987-1374, via email at jkolkey@rrstar.com and on Twitter @jeffkolkey.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford-area board member won't stop until chair's powers are restored