ROCKFORD, IL — Salaries for future Winnebago County Board Members starting in December 2028 will be a little more than double what they are now and cost taxpayers an additional $196,349 a year under a measure approved by the County Board.
It came as an amendment on the floor of the May 28 Winnebago County Board meeting by County Board Member Angela Fellars, D-19, after weeks of discussion about raises for countywide elected officials which were also approved.
“We are not voting for raises for ourselves,” Fellars said, adding that she feels the increase is fair and conservative. “We are voting on raises for compensation of a future board. God willing and with voters blessing, many of us would like to serve on that board, but there is no guarantee of that.”
Under the amendment, county board pay will increase from its current $10,439 annually to $21,000 a year effective in December 2028, an increase of 101%. Current Winnebago County Board pay has increased 9% since 2022 when it was $9,600.
Also, effective immediately, county board members will be allowed to buy Winnebago County provided health insurance.
Countywide elected officials will get a pay increase following the next election.
The next elected official to hold the following offices will see raises effective December 2026:
The next elected official to hold the following offices will see raises effective December 2028:
The raises were approved on a vote of 15 to four with Board Members John Sweeney, R-20, Christopher Scrol, D-15, Kevin McCarthy, R-11, and Brad Lindmark, R-4, voting no. Board Member John Penney, R-9, was absent.
Sweeney said he had supported raises for full-time countywide elected officials as their subordinates were soon going to be to make as much money or more than elected department heads. But Sweeney said he ultimately voted against the measure because of the enormous percentage increase for county board salaries.
And he said the change in county board salary was not part of a public debate or posted discussion before the board meeting.
“We had been talking about countywide elected official compensation for the better part of a month,” Sweeney said during a phone interview. “We knew it was coming. We had several meetings and debates about what that should look like … At the last minute, this notion of County Board compensation came in, and I was not OK with that.”
County Board Member John Butitta, R-8, said the salary increases were determined by utilizing a formula developed by Board Member Ray Thompson, R-3, that compared pay in Winnebago County to comparable counties in Illinois by population, budget and other factors.
Board Member Paul Arena, R-7, said the formula eliminated “the subjective nature of this process.” And he said the Winnebago County Board was one of the lowest paid among similarly sized counties. He said the same formula and considerations were applied to county board member pay as countywide elected officials.
“Even though it’s a substantial increase percentage-wise, that’s because we were the lowest paid,” Arena said at the meeting.
Rockford aldermen voted to give City Council a raise for the first time in 21 years in June 2024.
City Council pay is increasing 33% a year from $12,000 until it reaches $16,000 annually.
The mayor was given a 19% increase to $155,000 after the previous election. It was the first mayoral pay increase since 2016.
Jeff Kolkey writes about government, economic development and other issues for the Rockford Register Star. He can be reached via email at jkolkey@rrstar.com and on X @jeffkolkey.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Winnebago County Board votes for 101% raise for county board members
Reporting by Jeff Kolkey, Rockford Register Star / Rockford Register Star
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By Jeff Kolkey, Rockford Register Star | USA TODAY Network
