The Will County Board’s Finance Committee confronted major budget challenges during its Tuesday meeting, led by a stark presentation from the Will County Health Department. Health officials are requesting an additional $1 million for the 2026 budget to prevent laying off 11 public health workers as federal and state grant funding expires. The committee also grappled with a request from the Sheriff’s Office for $618,743 in contingency funds to cover an inmate medical services budget shortfall, a deficit ironically caused by improved vendor performance. The committee postponed that request, asking the sheriff to first seek savings internally. For more on these issues, see our full coverage.

In other business, committee members called for a more transparent and public process for allocating the county’s cannabis tax revenue to local organizations, a system some members described as currently happening behind closed doors. You can read more in our standalone article on the cannabis fund debate.

Stipends for Elected Officials Approved
The committee approved the appropriation of state-funded stipends for several countywide elected officials. The routine measure, which allocates $6,500 payments from the State of Illinois, required an amendment to add the Will County Clerk to the resolution. Officials clarified that the funds are provided by the state and passed through the county treasury, not paid from local county taxes. A state task force is currently reviewing these stipend amounts.

Recorder of Deeds Adjusts Fee Schedule
Following a state-mandated cost study, the Will County Recorder of Deeds will implement an updated fee schedule effective October 1. The Finance Committee approved the new schedule, which was revised to add a classification for state and federal documents and reallocate other fees based on the study’s findings. Recorder of Deeds Karen A. Stukel explained that the state requires counties to conduct such studies to justify their fee structures for transparency.

Delinquent Tax Program Authorized
The committee gave its approval for the County Executive to execute the necessary documents for the county’s delinquent tax program. The measure allows the county to process deeds and certificates of purchase for properties with unpaid taxes, which are then sold to new owners, returning the properties to the tax rolls.