Peoria Standard

State Rep. Norine Hammond (R-Macomb) sponsored legislation that allows county governments for small counties to have the power to dissolve their municipal election commissions. 

House Bill 2451 would amend the election code to allow counties with a population of less than 100,000 to transfer the election duties to the city clerk and disband their municipal election commissions through a resolution or ordinance. Hammond spoke about the bill at a House Ethics and Elections Committee hearing last month. 

"This bill came to me from the Knox County Board and Knox County clerk and treasurer, two of whom are with us today," Hammond said. "It's in response to the concerns of Knox County paying 100% of the cost for the municipal election commission in Galesburg, and while they pay 100% of the cost, they have no oversight, and they don’t feel there is any transparency in the way the system was set up."

Knox County Treasurer Robin Davis supported the bill. 

"I believe the taxpayers deserve transparency and accountability of all financial transactions of their tax dollars," Davis told the committee. 

Davis said that Galesburg has had trouble with elections commission transparency historically. Illinois law requires municipal election commission's salaries and expenditures should be audited by the chief circuit judge, but the Galesburg election commission could not provide its most recent audit when asked. 

"The City of Galesburg did turn over all the funds that they had in the election commission to the election commissioners, who open their own checking account at a separate bank, so those funds are not being audited by either the city or the county," Davis said. 

Opposition to the bill included the Association of Election Commission Officials of Illinois, whose counselor at the hearing said the bill is "in search of a problem where no problem exists."

"One thing I would note that is drastically missing from the county clerk's office is the Open Meetings Act," the counselor Adam Lasker said. "When a county clerk runs elections, all of the major decisions happen behind closed doors by the sole individual, the county clerk."

House Bill 2451 has been in committee since late April. 

The bill is also co-sponsored by Rep. Tim Butler.