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WNIJ's summary of news items around our state.

DeKalb Co. Also Isn't Getting State Share Of Officials' Salaries

Flickr user Pictures of Money / "Money" (CC BY 2.0)

Reimbursements for some Illinois county positions haven’t been paid since July – even though they’re required by law.

That’s because of the state budget gridlock.

Those positions include each county’s state’s attorney, public defender and assessment supervisor.

State law requires Illinois to reimburse about two-thirds of each county’s state’s attorney and public defender’s salaries. It also has to reimburse half of the assessments supervisor’s salary, provided that the total assessed value in the County is between 31 and one third percent and 35 and one third percent of the total fair cash value of property in the county.

“Even though it's [the situation is] extreme, they’re continuing to get paid and they will continue to get paid,” Christine Johnson, the DeKalb County treasurer, said.

Johnson says the DeKalb County State’s Attorney’s salary for this fiscal year is $166,508. That means the state is required to reimburse the county about $112,000.

For DeKalb County’s lead public defender, the state would have to reimburse about $100,000. The state would also have to reimburse about $40,000 for the DeKalb County chief county assessment officer.

Johnson says the county is also supposed to receive a reimbursement for the assistant state’s attorney. She says that’s because the county is the home of a public university – in this case, Northern Illinois University.

Some counties – like St. Clair and Williamson counties – sued the state of Illinois for not sending those reimbursements.

Johnson says county officials aren’t taking legal action … yet.

“I believe that they’re contemplating it at this point, but they haven’t taken any action to approve a lawsuit yet,” Johnson said.

Johnson says the county’s general fund will remain well-equipped to pay its employees that would otherwise receive a state reimbursement.

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