Why We Should Get Rid of the County Executive Office
Champaign is one of only two Counties in Illinois with an elected County Executive.
In the other 100, the County hires a professional manager (usually called the “County Administrator”) to oversee the day-to-day operations of the County. That person is selected after a job application, rounds of interviews, and thoughtful consideration by people who would work with the applicant.
When the County held a referendum in 2016 to create this elected office, I opposed it because I thought then (and still do) that the County would be better served with a hired professional, instead of one elected through a political process.
There are several problems with electing the County Executive, compared to hiring an Administrator:
Many people who would be great administrators don’t want to run for office. By electing it, we reduce the pool of candidates to people who have the desire, time, and money to go through an election process.
If the elected Executive doesn’t do a good job, we have to wait four years to vote them out. An Administrator could be fired, if needed.
Political party shouldn’t matter for County operations. Politics can get in the way of working collaboratively with all of the people the Executive needs to work with.
I support a referendum to eliminate the County Executive and return to a County Administrator position.
How would this work? The following comes from Illinois Compiled Statutes (ILCS) section 55 ILCS 5/2-5013. Direct link: https://www.ilga.gov/documents/legislation/ilcs/documents/005500050K2-5013.htm
If elected County Executive, I will encourage local community groups to gather petition signatures to discontinue the form of government.
The petition must be submitted “not less than 78 days before a general election” and must be signed by more than 5% of “the number who voted in the last regular election held in the county at which county officers were elected.”
If submitted today for 2026 (which I’m not proposing, because rushed change does not work for government), the 2024 turnout would set the petition count = 4,552.
Since 2024 was a presidential year, going back to 2022’s turnout would require 3,434.
Let’s just say it’s in the range of 4,000 - 5,000 signatures.
The referendum would then appear on the next election ballot to discontinue the County Executive form of government. Instead, we would hire a County Administrator. The County Administrator position still exists - although the budget for the position (as of 2025) has been re-allocated to other staff roles.
Assuming its ratification by the voters, I would prepare for an orderly transition to end this elected office – much as Mike Ingram did when he was elected County Recorder and successfully transitioned the functions of the office to the County Clerk.
I do not need to serve out the whole four-year term in office. It should take long enough to budget for the position, go through a hiring process, and then conduct an orderly transition. (I can return to my consulting business at any time…)