Updated 7/19/2021 6:27 PM
Kane County officials are estimating a $6.7 million annual income loss along with roughly $5 million in new annual expenses when Illinois courts switch to a cashless bail system in 2023.
As the justice system scrambles to find new ideas to pay for itself, Republican county board members may now make law enforcement the new priority for spending federal American Rescue Plan dollars.
Members of the county s justice system, including the chief judge and circuit court clerk, presented their estimated financial impact of the Illinois Pre-Trial Fairness Act at a county board committee meeting last week.
The act was passed in February as part of a larger justice reform package.
Aurora Democrats pushing own plan to redraw Kane County Board districts dailyherald.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailyherald.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Confusion about Dundee, Elgin township mental health boards may result in county proposal
Updated 4/22/2021 3:56 PM
Kane County Clerk Jack Cunningham s decision to not include new taxes for mental health services in Dundee and Elgin townships is fueling a renewed push to create a countywide approach to help residents access services for mental health, addiction and developmental disabilities.
On Thursday, Dundee Township residents urged members of the county board committee that oversees the clerk s office to at least explain Cunningham s decision, if not reverse it.
The clerk s office notified Dundee and Elgin townships last month that the wording of their successful March 2020 referendums to establish new mental health taxes was not specific enough, under the law, for voters to be aware that voting yes would result in a property tax increase.
Kane County lifts ban, ushers in marijuana businesses to unincorporated areas Corinne Pierog
Updated 4/13/2021 8:44 PM
Eight Kane County Board members signaled a change in their views about local recreational-use marijuana operations Tuesday in voting to legalize those businesses in unincorporated areas for the first time.
In all, 20 county board members voted to lift the 2019 ban on pot-related businesses as officials now hope to recruit them to the unincorporated area.
Tuesday s vote established new zoning rules and guidelines, such as preventing recreational-use establishments from opening near schools, religious institutions or government-owned open spaces. The guidelines also will require each business to get a favorable vote from the county board before it can open.
Kane County s Black, Latino residents underserved by vaccination effort Kenneth Shepro
Updated 2/18/2021 7:36 PM
Far fewer Black and Latino residents in Kane County have received COVID-19 vaccinations than their white neighbors.
Latino residents constitute more than 30% of Kane County s population, the largest concentration of any county in the state, according to Kane County Public Health Department officials. But only about 10% of the county s vaccines have gone to Latino residents so far, according to data from the Illinois Department of Public Health.
The county s Black residents are faring even worse, with only 2.7% of the shots going to them. White residents have received about 70% of the shots.