McHenry County clerk makes case for raise, citing safety risks for election officials as one reason

McHenry County is considering whether to increase elected officials’ salaries – although a periodic review comes as the county’s expenses are expected to outpace revenue next year.

McHenry County Clerk Joe Tirio went in front of a County Board committee July 2 to make the case for a raise in salary for his position and others.

He said he originally started looking into salaries for his own role but expanded the scope of his research to include other positions.

Among the offices being reviewed for salary increases are treasurer, sheriff and clerk, who also handles the responsibilities of the recorder. All three seats are up for election next year, and the incumbents – Tirio, Sheriff Robb Tadelman and Treasurer Donna Kurtz, all Republicans – are planning to run again.

Salary changes for elected officials go into effect after the next election and, historically, the county has approved them before the primary election for those offices, Tirio said. The 2026 primary is March 17.

The county clerk, treasurer, auditor, circuit court clerk and coroner have salaries of $114,000, county officials confirmed. Tirio proposed a new clerk’s salary of $154,000 for whoever wins the next election, or about a 35% raise.

Regardless, the elected positions will see raises of 3% or the consumer price index, whichever is less, County Administrator Peter Austin said. Officials said the last salary review was in 2021.

County Board member and committee Chair Joe Gottemoller said the system of automatic yearly raises, tied to inflation, was “an attempt to try to make adjustments along the way.” Before that, salaries were fixed and could only be adjusted every four years.

Regional Superintendent of Education Diana Hartmann also is up for reelection next year. Her salary, listed in public records as $133,000, is set by the state, county officials said.

Tirio said peer department heads in McHenry County government have seen their compensation grow by 26% since 2018, but the clerk’s pay has gone up 8.1%.

In another reason for a pay increase, Tirio cited the harassment and safety issues that clerks and election officials have faced in recent years. He mentioned a few clerks elsewhere in Illinois who have quit or decided not to run again.

In addition to the $154,000 salary, Tirio proposed annual increases that match county nonunion employees, starting in fiscal 2027. The county’s fiscal year begins Dec. 1, the same day that winners of the 2026 election begin their terms.

The salary discussion comes as the county is facing the prospect of making cuts. Expenses are expected to outpace revenue next year, even if the county increases its levy by the maximum allowed.

Board member Pam Althoff said she doesn’t have an issue with Tirio’s request and that it was realistic.

However, she added, “I have a real hard time from a perception perspective of looking at increasing elected salaries right now.”

She said elected officials are supposed to provide services and programs for constituents, and she struggles with the idea of increasing elected officials’ salaries while service cuts could be on the table.

Tirio said he understood where Althoff was coming from, but said if you want “competent people to bring their best game,” you have to pay them “appropriately.” He also said increasing the salary might encourage more people to run for his job in the next election.

Tirio’s office runs elections and voter registration in the county and is responsible for the duties of both the clerk and recorder, as the two offices merged in 2020. Tirio wrote in 2018, when he was sworn in as clerk, that he wouldn’t take the recorder’s salary. He was asked whether the offices didn’t merge if the salary would be doubled, to which Tirio said it would.

Sandra Salgado, the sheriff’s office business manager, told the County Board committee that the sheriff also would be asking for a salary adjustment. Salgado said the office hoped to tie the sheriff’s salary to the state’s attorney’s. Tadelman announced recently that he will run in next year’s election for a second term.

The sheriff’s salary has to be at least 80% of the state’s attorney’s, county officials said. The sheriff and state’s attorney both got raises July 1, officials said. The state’s attorney’s compensation is about $219,325 as of July 1, according to county documents.

The County Board also is set to vote on a pay raise for the public defender July 15. The public defender’s salary has to be at 90% of the state’s attorney’s salary, according to county records.

The county is facing a tight budget cycle next year, and Austin confirmed that none of the salary increase requests had been worked into next year’s budget.