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Logan County Board
November Special Regular Board Meeting
[November 25, 2025]
On Monday, November 24th, the
Logan County Board held a special regular meeting in the
second-floor courtroom of the Logan County Courthouse at 6:00 p.m.
Ten of the twelve board members were in attendance; Chairman JR
Glenn, Vice Chairman Dale Nelson, Lance Conahan, Michael DeRoss, Gil
Turner, Bob Sanders, Kevin Knauer, Keenan Leesman, Kathy Schmidt,
and Hannah Fitzpatrick. Absent members included Joseph Kuhlman and
Jim Wessbecher.
At the start of the meeting, Glenn asked Turner if anyone from the
community was present to give the invocation. Turner stated that
there was not and conducted a prayer himself. The Pledge of
Allegiance was next, followed by roll call, then introduction of
guests. There were no public comments.
The Finance Committee had the only action items for this meeting.
There were five items on the agenda, all relating to the fiscal year
2026 budget that the board needed to pass.
Schmidt brought up the first item on the agenda, that being a Logan
County levy ordinance. No discussion was had on this motion, and so
a roll call vote was taken. This motion was passed unanimously.
The second item on the agenda was a motion to pass the budget for
2026. Nelson proposed a motion to increase the salary of Circuit
Clerk Kelly Elias from $80,000 per year to $90,000. This motion
ended up being a contentious one, with much discussion being had
over the matter.
Glenn asked Nelson to explain why he had brought forth this motion,
and he stated that the salary of the Circuit Clerk does not fall
under the state statute like the salaries of other elected positions
are. This means that county boards can give raises like they do with
other county employees. Glenn then added that, in the board member’s
packets, there was a letter from an Attorney General stating that
this is indeed the case.
Conahan then mentioned that the
previous county board set the salary for the Clerk. He also
mentioned that giving this raise is not fair to the County Clerk and
Recorder and the Treasurer. Furthermore, he stated that the United
Counties Council of Illinois (UCCI) analysis shows that they are
paying at the high end of the spectrum when it comes to what other
counties pay their County Clerks. Conahan continued, arguing that
Elias got an increase in her health benefits as did the rest of the
county employees, and that this already constituted a raise.
Schmidt then mentioned that, when she was going to the department
heads and asking about what they need for their departments, this
raise was never mentioned. Elias stated that her department did not
need anything, according to Schmidt.
Glenn then chimed in, adding a bit more context as to why Elias was
seeking the raise. He stated that the Clean Slate Act was just
passed. Seeing as how this is the case, Elias and her office are
going to have to go back and expunge a very large amount of criminal
records from individuals who have served their sentences. Sanders
suggested that maybe there should be more deputy clerks to address
this increasing workload.
Nelson spoke next, stating first that he understands both sides of
the argument. He suggested maybe only giving a cost of living (COLA)
increase that the rest of the county employees received. He also
stated that he understands the difficulty of talking about this
topic, as it is sensitive and he does not want to give any
department heads the impression that they are valued less than the
County Clerk.
This led Conahan to bring up that the Logan County Assessor Jennifer
Bryant asked for a raise, and she was denied. Giving Elias a two
percent COLA increase would give her about $1,600 extra per year, he
said.
Leesman spoke on the matter next, stating that, to do this, they
would have to make a case for additional work, and be able to prove
that it is worth the amount Elias was asking for. This is difficult,
he stated, for while the law was passed, there was no increased
workload as of yet. He also asked why this was being brought off the
floor and not worked on during the budget process.
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Glenn then asked
Elias to speak, as she was in attendance at the meeting, and
argue her case for the increase. She answered all the questions
that were posed by the board. Elias started by telling Schmidt
why it was not brought up when Schmidt came to her.
Historically, Elias stated, the department heads have never been
allowed to discuss their salary when discussing the budget. In
addition to that, Elias said that they were discussing her
department’s operating fund, not her personal salary.
To Leesman, Elias said that they did
not think the Clean Slate Act was going to pass when the budget was
being worked on. It has been worked on for a while and was something
they were hoping was not going to pass at the time. She continued,
saying that her department is going to have to go back to anything
from 1970 and later. This includes things on microfiche as well as
things in the state archive. On top of all that, the state did not
fund the act when they passed it, leaving it up to the counties to
figure out how to pay for all the extra work.
To Sanders, Elias stated that the work is going to fall on her
deputy clerks, but that she is going to have to make sure the work
is done correctly. Since her name is on the door, she is the one who
will get sued if it is not done correctly.
Schmidt then asked what the time frame looks like for the work, and
when her office will be starting. Elias informed her that it is
going to be starting now and must be completed by 2029. Sanders then
asked if Elias gets a stipend from the state for state work, to
which she confirmed she did in the amount of $6,500.
Leesman then brought up his initial concern again. He stated that
giving the pay increase now would be “frontloading” an increased
workload that they were not sure the quantity of. He stated that it
may be more understanding to look into an increase of compensation
at a later date. Glenn ended the discussion by thanking Elias for
her hard work and dedication, regardless of how the vote fell. The
vote on Nelson’s amendment was then taken, with it failing 3-7. The
seven no votes included Conahan, DeRoss, Fitzpatrick, Leesman,
Sanders, Schmidt, and Turner.
The rest of the meeting moved quickly. A clarification on one of the
budget amendments in the board member’s packets was made, stating
that the contract the county has with Cresco to contribute to the
Community Benefit Fund (CBF) was going to go from over $300,000 a
year to $25,000. Nelson also stated that the county’s tax levy is
being lowered by .02%. A vote was taken on the budget, with it
passing unanimously.
The last three motions were all passed unanimously. These motions
were for an appropriation ordinance, and two abatements for bonds
and interest levies.
Once all the action items were through, Nelson wanted to recognize
Schmidt and County Treasurer Penny Thomas for their work on the
budget and bringing Bellwether in to assist the county. According to
Nelson, partnering with Bellwether had saved the county “hundreds of
thousands of dollars.” He also stated that Schmidt did a great job
learning and executing her role as Finance Chair. Nelson also took a
moment to recognize Madelyn Hinton, Kate Wright, and Theresa Moore,
stating that they and everyone in their office do a great job.
Glenn then gave a brief speech on the fact that he feels everyone on
the Board has done a good job working together. He stated that they
cannot be against each other “in our own house,” and that whatever
happens with decisions they make, it is always attributed back to
them as a board. Glenn said he is looking forward to continuing to
work together as a team into December and beyond.
[Matt Boutcher]
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