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?

  1. If elected County Executive, I will work with the County Board to pass a Resolution to put a referendum on the next election ballot to leave the County Executive form of government, much as the County Board did in 2024 for the Auditor’s office. 

  2. 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.

  3. 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…)