Fo

Pam Althoff

rmer Kane County Board Chairman Karen McConnaughy and State Senator Pam Althoff were among the lead sponsors of a bill to give County Board members more power to remove appointees from office who commit ethical offenses.

Here’s what Althoff says about the new law:

SB3552 referred to as the Counties Code of Conduct Bill was signed by the governor on July 21st county’s code of conduct with a 2/3 majority approval of the county board at a hearing.

This was an initiative of Lake County which felt that there was no authority given to the
county board chairman or county executive for removal of county appointees for disobeying
ethical and accountability standards. Each County must adopt a code of conduct regarding
accountability standards, fiscal responsibilities, procurement authority, transparency and ethical conduct not only of appointees but for the board members and county chairman/executive.

The legislation also requires the violator to be provided notice of the violation and
hearing before the county board takes action.

The legislation permitted the removal of county board appointees for violating the hearing before the county board takes action.

Here’s how the bill drafting agency describes the bill:

Senate Committee Amendment No. 1

Provides that a county board may by ordinance adopt a code of conduct regarding the fiscal responsibility and procurement authority, as required by State law, local ordinance, or county board policy, as well as the accountability, transparency, and ethical conduct of county appointees, in addition to those requirements mandated by law for and applicable to the appointees of any unit of local government.

Provides that appointees appointed by a county board chairman or county executive, with or without the consent of the county board, may be removed from office for violating the code of conduct by the county board chairman or county executive with concurrence by a 2/3 majority vote of the county board.

Requires that reasonable notice of the violation and a hearing before the county board or its designee shall be provided to the appointee prior to the vote.

Provides that appointees appointed by the county board may be removed by a 2/3 majority vote of the county board for violating the code of conduct after providing the appointee with reasonable notice of the violation and a hearing before the county board or its designee.

House Floor Amendment No. 1

Exempts the removal of county superintendent of highways and county engineer from the provisions of the amendatory Act.