Bill to Allow Lake Co. Voters to Elect County Board Chair Moves Forward

LAKE COUNTY, IL - Lake County voters are one step closer to being able to elect their county board chairman directly thanks to a measure that passed the Senate Local Government Committee on Wednesday.

Senate Bill 669, sponsored by State Senator Terry Link (D-Vernon Hills), would require a referendum be held in 2018 to let the voters decide if they want to directly elect the county board chairman, according to a news release from Sen. Link. If the measure passes, the first election for chairman would be in 2020.

“This is about giving the voters the opportunity to hold their county government accountable,” Link said. “The voters should have the right to decide who runs the day-to-day operations of the county services they pay for.”

Currently, the elected board members elect the county board chairman among themselves with very little input from the public, according to the news release.

“Every county surrounding Lake County does this because it is good government,” Link said. “We are way overdue in letting the voters decide who runs their government.”

The measure now moves to the full Senate for further consideration.

More via the Illinois General Assembly's website

Photo caption: Sen. Terry Link is sponsoring the bill. Photo credit: Illinois General Assembly website