The Lake County Board finalized committee assignments and approved an updated set of rules for the next two years on Friday in a meeting that included some last-minute maneuvering by members attempting to get rule changes through.
Most notably, the board opted to grant the Lake County Board chair the final say on whether an item can be added to a committee’s agenda in case of dispute between the chair and county administrator.
District 13 member Sandy Hart, D-Lake Bluff, downplayed the frequency of disputes with Lake County Administrator Gary Gibson, who said earlier in the week that he and Hart rarely clash on such matters, and if they do he defers to the chair anyway in accordance with county precedent.
District 7 member Carissa Casbon, D-Gurnee, pushed for a rule change that would guarantee members a time slot to ask questions at Committee of the Whole meetings about items appearing on the County Board’s regular meeting the following Tuesday, an idea that drew some pushback from Hart and other members of Casbon’s party.
Others seemed to favor a compromise that would build in a 15- or 30-minute discussion period where members could ask questions, and District 16 member Esiah Campos, D-Round Lake, asked how much the discussion period would burden county staff.
Hart emphasized that she did not feel it was appropriate for members to significantly increase the demands from staff. She said members should call up their colleagues or directly ask staff questions, rather than have them address the board at Committee of the Whole meetings.
“Our County Board is committee driven,” Hart said. “We do the work in committee. That is the expectation. Everybody here gets a salary, and you show up at committee if you want to be informed on what you’re going to vote on at the County Board meeting. I highly suggest you either go to committee or you watch the committee on video (online).”
Eventually, the board voted 10-8 against creating the question period.
The board unanimously amended part of its rules to disallow any lobbying by board members for or against any bill before the state or federal government while representing the Lake County Board, unless they get consent from the board majority or from the Legislative Committee.
A new rule also clearly states that anonymous complaints can be reviewed by the Independent Ethics Commission, which was created in 2021 after the County Board dissolved its Ethics & Oversight Committee.
After some discussion, members decided not to declare in its rules an exact voting mechanism for electing the Lake County Board chair. It has traditionally left the method out of the rules and up to County Board members, who decide on an election method before the vote.
Board members also finalized their committee assignments for the next two years, while making some changes to standing committees.
The former Public Works, Planning and Transportation Committee is now the Public Works & Transportation Committee, and the old Energy & Environment Committee has been folded into a loaded Planning, Building, Zoning & Environment Committee chaired by District 10 member Jessica Vealitzek, D-Hawthorn Woods, and vice chaired by District 1 member Linda Pedersen, R-Antioch.
District 11 member Paul Frank, D-Highland Park, maintains his role as chair of the Financial & Administrative Committee, with Vealitzek as vice chair. Frank also chairs the Special Committee on the America Rescue Plan Act and the Rules Committee, which will meet twice next year.
District 15 member Jennifer Clark, D-Libertyville, will chair the Public Works & Transportation Committee, with District 3 member Ann Maine, R-Lincolnshire, as vice chair.
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District 9 member Mary Ross Cunningham, D-Waukegan, will chair the Law & Judicial Committee and District 4 member Gina Roberts, D-Beach Park, is the vice chair. Cunningham will also chair the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee with Campos as vice chair.
District 6 member John Wasik, D-Grayslake, will once again chair the Legislative Committee, with Roberts as vice chair, and Parekh will chair the Health & Community Services Committee, while District 19 member Marah Altenberg, D-Buffalo Grove, will be the vice chair.