The Peoria County Board will consider a budget amendment aimed at addressing injustice in law enforcement and ensuring all who want to vote get a chance to do so safely. That comes as other county budget items are being scaled back amid COVID-19 related revenue challenges.
The appropriation totaling $853,500 would give additional dollars to the state’s attorney, sheriff, and election commission.
State’s Attorney Jodi Hoos is looking to hire two additional staff members — an attorney and a social worker — dedicated to identifying and correcting injustices in the court system. She said a large part of the job would be community outreach.
“You really need to have your thumb on the pulse of the community,” she said. “I think both of these positions would be a perfect fit for that. They can be sort of the bridge to areas of our community that maybe felt they haven’t had that bridge in the past.”
The plan would increase spending on the state’s attorney’s office by $104,000. Hoos said she recognizes this isn't the best time to ask for additional dollars, as the county board faces a projected loss of $32 million dollars in revenue over the next two fiscal years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But she said it’s an important next step in addressing inequity.
The proposed budget adjustment would also add back nearly $450,000 in funding to Sheriff Brian Asbell’s office. Asbell said the money will help sustain mental health and re-entry services at the jail, which he said are critical programs to help keep people from being incarcerated again. He said it will also allow them to maintain current patrol staffing levels.
“Even though I’m grateful, we still have to recognize we’re still taking a massive budget cut, which is still over $1 million,” Asbell said. “There’s still a lot of work to do, but this will help save the programs that are truly needed, especially in today’s times.”
Another $300,000 would go to the election commission to support vote-by-mail efforts in the 2020 General Election.
Governor J.B. Pritzker is expected to sign a major voting expansion bill into law, requiring local election officials to increase vote-by-mail opportunities.
Tom Bride, executive director of the Peoria County Election Commission, said that will create more work for his office.
“We estimate it will dramatically increase the vote-by-mail, maybe 500% from where we were just two years ago,” Bride said. “It creates unique challenges for us to administer … but also to make sure we have the tools in place to administer those fairly and securely.” He said that’s on top of providing safe and secure access to those who choose to go to the polls.
Board Chairman Andrew Rand is supporting the budget adjustment. He said the money will come out of a multi-million dollar surplus in the General Fund. He said the state will also issue a refund for some of the election commission dollars.
The county budget committee will hold a special meeting at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, June 16 to approve the adjustment. The full board will meet immediately after to vote on the resolution.
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