Coroner Should Not Be Elected: McHenry Co. Board Chair

WOODSTOCK, IL — McHenry County Board Chairman Jack Franks will speak at a League of Women Voters forum on Thursday evening in support of the November referendum to eliminate the elected coroner position. The McHenry County Board voted last month to put a referendum to voters in the Nov. 3 presidential election to abolish an elected coroner in favor of a hired and qualified full-time professional medical examiner, according to a news release from Franks’ office.

“The Coroner’s Office is plagued by problems caused by many years of mismanagement. However, the only requirements under Illinois law to be elected coroner is that you have to be at least 18 years old and a registered McHenry County voter,” Franks, D-Marengo, said. “It’s past time to professionalize the office and and remove the politics from the vital job of investigating deaths and consoling next of kin.”

The League of Women Voters forum starts at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Luecht Conference Center in Building B of McHenry County College, 8900 Route 14, Crystal Lake.

The first 30 minutes of the forum will be set aside for discussion of the referendum.