McLean County Board members on Thursday denied themselves a pay raise, voting down what would have been the first increase in 10 years and keeping pay at the current level of $4,900 a year through the end of 2030.
During a sometimes contentious discussion, some board members lamented the optics of giving themselves a raise just as property tax bills are going out, while others worried it might deter younger, less wealthy people from running for a seat on the board.
“Bad week to get real estate taxes and then ask for a pay raise for public elected officials,” said board member William Friedrich, one of the "no" votes.
The proposal would have increased a member’s salary to $6,400 in 2029 and 2030. The chairman’s pay would have increased from $19,522 to $25,574 in those same years.
Administrator Cassie Taylor said in Central Illinois, county board member salaries range from $2,400 in Tazewell County to $11,006 in Peoria County. Champaign County, meanwhile, pays $60 a meeting, and Kankakee County members make $85 per meeting.
County board chair pay ranges from $12,180 in Champaign County to $79,641 in Lasalle County.
Taylor’s memo about the proposed pay hike called the increase a “modest adjustment.” But nine members voted against the measure, saying it wasn’t modest enough. Eight members supported the proposal. Two members were absent.
“I think it is extremely tone deaf,” said board member Geoff Tompkins. He said in the past, he approached people about increasing board member salaries, but not now.
“Times are different today. The economic situation is different today,” he said.
Board member Beverly Bell, however, said her income consists of Social Security and her husband’s military retirement. “I don’t have any extra income,” she said, becoming impassioned as she talked about being willing to do anything to serve the county.
Board member Eric Hansen noted a pay increase might make getting involved more feasible for some people.
“I think one of the things about this pay is that it allows diverse individuals to do this role," he said. "Younger individuals who may not have much of an income yet, older individuals who are working off of limited income. If we want a representative body, having an additional surplus income really, really helps us to be able to do this.”
Board member Natalie Roseman-Mendoza agreed, saying the pay allowed her, as a single mother and teacher, to participate. “So this pay increase is an incentive for members not in the predominant demographic of what politicians have been — I think we’re losing opportunity,” she said.
Board member Adam Reeves disagreed.
“Well, when I chose my career, no one held a gun to my head. And there’s been many years I haven’t made a dime,” he said.
Discussion became heated at times, with Tompkins saying, “And I’ll just say it flat out: I don’t think $25,000 of value is being added to the county by this chairman.”
“The hours that go into this, when you look at my pay stub, I am well below par of minimum wage,” replied Johnson.
And board member Corey Bierne called out 205 outstanding invoices from the auditor’s office and a half million dollars of over budget funds “by other members of this county,” an apparent jab at County Clerk Kathy Michael, who is in a dispute with the board over more than $400,000 in budget overages in her office.
“So if we’re truly interested in looking for ways to save money and preserve taxpayer money, there’s lots of other avenues to it," he said. "And I hope we see the same amount of vociferous outrage in meetings when we’re discussing that.”
Clerk and treasurer salaries
Also Thursday, the board approved salary increases for the county clerk and treasurer for coming years. The clerk's salary will go from $121,587 in 2027 to $132,239 in 2030 — a 3% increase per year.
The pay for treasurer, meanwhile, will go from $126,056 in 2027 to $137,143 in 2030. That’s a 7% increase the first year, with 3% thereafter.
Johnston said the greater increase for the treasurer’s comes from the office taking on accounts payable — essentially an additional department — and to bring the office on par with other treasurers in the region.
Other business
In other business, the board:
- Approved a contract between the county and corrections officers, sergeants and control operators, retroactive to Jan 1, 2026 and extending through Dec. 31, 2029. The contract provides across-the-board 4% wage increases effective Jan. 1, and also creates a pair of higher pay grades. It increases a retention bonus for someone working through the duration of the contract to $2,000, from $1,500, and allows up to a $2,000 recruiting bonus.
- Entered into a preliminary engineering services agreement with Hutchison Engineering Inc. of Peoria for an extension of the Route 66 bike trail from north of Towanda to the Livingston County line. The project will be paid for by local project funding from the Illinois Department of Transportation, and will take two to three years to complete.
- Approved an escrow agreement with Delaware-based Archtop Solar LLC for just under $4 million for decomissioning the Saybrook-area facility. The escrow was required as part of the special use permit approved in May 2024 that allowed the solar energy generating facility. The agreement provides for deconstruction of the facility.
