When Will County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant took office in December 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing and the first vaccine was nearly ready to roll out.
Within the first weeks of her administration, Bertino-Tarrant said she partnered with the Will County Health Department and other agencies, such as the Joliet Fire Department and Silver Cross Hospital, to begin mass vaccination clinics. The positive partnerships she formed in the early days in office have continued to this day, she said.
“That shaped my administration,” Bertino-Tarrant said. “If there is any silver lining, we built really good, trusting relationships with local entities as well as departments within the county offices.”
Charles “Chuck” Maher said during his 16-year tenure on the Will County Board, he worked in a bipartisan fashion to establish a vision for the county. From 2002 to 2018, he worked on several capital improvement projects, including building a new Will County sheriff’s facility and courthouse and the initial plans for the renewable natural gas plant.
Maher, a Naperville Republican, is challenging Bertino-Tarrant, a Shorewood Democrat seeking her second four-year term as executive.
The executive is responsible for the administrative functions of the county that are not under another elected official’s purview. The executive prepares and submits a budget to the County Board and breaks ties on the County Board. The executive also appoints members of most boards and commissions subject to County Board approval.
Bertino-Tarrant, 55, said while her administration has accomplished a great deal in the last four years, she is seeking a second term because she continues to have a vision.
“I believe government is a service to support people, to support communities, and everyday when I go to work, I think what can we do to improve something or help someone,” said Bertino-Tarrant, a former state senator and regional superintendent of schools. “That’s really my motivation to continue as county executive.”
Maher, 67, said some of his motivations for reentering county politics is an inflating county budget and the executive’s office not listening to the will of the County Board.
“I’m not one to complain without getting involved,” Maher said.
County budget
Maher said when he was on the board, members worked hard to not raise taxes. He said the budget was about $600 million and the most recent budget is more than $800 million. He said he has received phone calls from residents worried about property taxes and a growing county budget.
“We are the fourth largest county with the second largest budget,” Maher said. “People can make all kinds of excuses that we will use it for this, that and the other, but the problem is that it’s the taxpayers’ dollars.”
He said he wants to end the “use it or lose it” mentality and reduce government spending.
Bertino-Tarrant said Maher is using scare tactics to make residents concerned about the budget. She said it’s not just a county executive’s budget, but contains funds for the countywide elected offices, the County Board, Sunny Hill Nursing Home, the 911 center, health, public safety and transportation divisions and more. She said there is no uniform budget presentation among different counties.
Since Maher left office, the budget contains more funds, including cannabis funds, opioid settlement funds, additional federal grants and a consolidated 911 center with 32 communities, she said.
Bertino-Tarrant said she is careful what the county levies and is fiscally responsible as evident by the Moody’s Ratings, which gave the county an Aa1 Stable credit rating earlier this month. The credit rating is the highest tier of an AA credit rating, and cites strong budgetary management with multiyear planning as well as growing sales taxes and stable property taxes.
“We have a healthy reserve, way above what we need to have. We are spending what we need,” Bertino-Tarrant said. “Our priority is services. I want to make sure our departments have the tools they need.”
County Board relations
Maher said another concern he has is that the executive’s office is not working with the County Board.
He cited an ongoing fight among Homer Glen residents and elected officials over plans to widen 143rd Street, which many residents oppose.
Maher said the County Board earlier this year sided with residents after months of protests that the road should not be widened to five lanes. Bertino-Tarrant accidentally signed the resolution that stopped the proposed project, then later vetoed it, sparking a lawsuit by County Board Republicans that is still ongoing.
Bertino-Tarrant responded the county invested more than $6 million in the road widening, which would improve safety. She said Maher voted in favor of the project while he was on the board.
Maher said the County Board needs to revisit prior plans and look at recent traffic counts on 143rd Street, especially after the Illinois Department of Transportation widened 159th Street and consider months of residents’ testimony.
“When things change, especially if it impacts people’s lives, we as elected officials have to be able to change,” Maher said. “Our job is to help people.”
Bertino-Tarrant said she wants good policies, and said political differences on the County Board have been difficult in the past two years.
“What we do at county government is not supposed to be partisan,” she said.
Accomplishments
Bertino-Tarrant said her administration, through a joint effort with the County Board, was able to allocate $134 million in federal pandemic relief funds.
The county expanded its Access Will County dial-a-ride services for seniors and residents with disabilities to include six new townships, Bertino-Tarrant said. The county also embarked on various transportation studies, one that will look at the use of electric vehicles and their infrastructure and another to study areas where residents don’t feel safe driving, biking or walking.
Bertino-Tarrant said the county was able to fund the state’s attorney’s office to fill 10 former vacancies. Recently completed capital improvement projects, including the renewable natural gas plant, coroner’s office and morgue, and the Children’s Advocacy Center, were on time and on budget, Bertino-Tarrant said.
The county’s Animal Protection Services Department launched a program this year allowing pet adoptions, Bertino-Tarrant said. She also helped create the county’s first eviction diversion program to help combat homelessness, she said.
Maher said he served on several committees. He chaired the Energy and Utility Impact, Economic Development and Capital Improvement committees and had a stint as Republican Party chair and majority leader. As vice chair of the Finance Committee, he said he helped get several large building projects complete without an increase in tax rates. He said he also worked with ComEd to create a new position of vice president of new construction in response to growth in the Plainfield area.
“I’m pretty ingrained and understand the workings of the county,” Maher said. “I also think I’m much more of a collaborator.”
Goals
Maher said there’s too much partisan politics at the county, causing divisiveness between the County Board and executive’s office.
“I’m not going to bring Springfield to Will County,” Maher said.
Maher said he wants to offer property taxes in four payments instead of two payments, which could make it easier for seniors or people to budget. He also wants to work on a property tax freeze for seniors so they would not have to pay property taxes on the increased value of their home. The freeze would be lifted once they sold their house, he said.
“We need to be fiscally conservative while being socially responsible,” Maher said.
Maher said the county has a lot of warehouse development, but he wants to attract more corporate headquarters, especially in industries that deal with artificial intelligence, to the county.
Bertino-Tarrant said Will County has been the best in the state when it comes to job creation and will continue efforts to be business-friendly and improve the economy.
She said she wants to prioritize public safety. About 63% of the budget is for public safety and judicial operations. She said she would like to hire 10 more court security officers so sheriff’s deputies, who serve as court security officers, can resume patrols throughout Will County.
Bertino-Tarrant also said she wants to work with the Veterans Assistance Commission to remodel a former medical professional building in Joliet to a veterans center, which could be the first-of-its-kind in the state.
She also said after a facility needs assessment is complete, the executive’s office and County Board should talk about a future county office building. A joint office space with the county and city of Joliet could save money in rent, security and maintenance costs, Bertino-Tarrant said.
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter.
