Government Center

719 S. Batavia Ave., Bldg. A

Geneva, IL 60134

Kane County

KC Judicial/Public Safety

Committee

Meeting Minutes

MOLINA, Lenert, Gumz, Linder, Roth, Tepe, Williams & ex-officio Pierog (County Chair)

Thursday, November 14, 2024

9:00 AM

County Board Room

Call To Order

Chairman Molina called the meeting to order at 9:00 AM.

Roll Call

Board Member Myrna Molina

Board Member Bill Lenert

Board Member Michelle Gumz

Board Member Michael Linder

Board Member Bill Roth

PRESENT

Board Member Vern Tepe

Board Member Rick Williams

REMOTE

ABSENT

Ex-Officio County Board Chair Corinne M. Pierog

Also present: Co. Bd. Members Juby*, Kenyon; KaneComm Dir. Guthrie; OEM Dir.

Buziecki; Chief Judge Villa; Court Admin. O'Brien & staff Mathis; State's Attorney

Mosser*; Public Defender Conant; Court Srvs. Exec. Dir. Aust; Circuit Clk. Barreiro; ITD

staff Peters; and members of the press and public.

Remote Attendance Requests

Chairman Molina announced the remote attendance requests for today's meeting. She

asked the Committee if there were any objections to Committee Member Williams

attending today's meeting remotely. There were no objections.

(Committee Member Williams arrived remotely at 9:01 a.m.)

Approval of Minutes: October 10, 2024

RESULT:

MOVER:

APPROVED BY UNANIMOUS CONSENT

Vern Tepe

Public Comment

None.

Monthly Financial Reports

Monthly Finance Reports

Chairman Molina stated the monthly financial reports were on file. No additional

report was made.

Merit Commission

None.

KaneComm (M. Guthrie)

Monthly Report

KaneComm Dir. Guthrie stated the monthly report was on file. She reported that

October was a busy month. Calls for services increased by 800 and phone calls

increased to 1,350. The majority of the calls for service was for fire agencies.

There was a number of field fires that contributed to these increases.

Emergency Management(S. Buziecki)

Monthly Report

OEM Dir. Buziecki stated the monthly report was on file. He reported that in

October 2024, volunteer hours have trended up. So far this year, there have

been 12,500 volunteer hours, which is approximately 1K over last year. If

averages continue, volunteer hours for November will hit 13K, which is an

all-time high for the department. In October 2024, the Office of Emergency

Management (OEM) had a graduation ceremony for 11 new volunteers. This

winter, OEM will begin a new member academy. Currently, there are eight

people signed up. Buziecki explained that OEM started their Threat and

Hazardous Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA). This assessment is

completed approximately every three years. The results from this assessment

will inform OEM's next Emergency Operations Plan, which staff has begun

working on. The plan is due March 2026. The plan will identify the top 10

hazards that OEM will need to plan for. Buziecki reported that OEM held a Crisis

Team Tabletop in October regarding an active shooter incident at the Kane

County Government Center, Building A. An after-action report will be

forthcoming at next month's Committee meeting. He stated that on November

15, 2024 at 9:00 a.m. at the Government Center, Building A, OEM will be

hosting the Kane County Natural Hazard Mitigation meeting. This meeting will be

the first follow-up that OEM is required to do annually after the Natural Hazard

Mitigation Plan was approved earlier this year. At the meeting, OEM will be

meeting with all municipalities to ensure their adoption of the plan and to provide

information on how the they can apply for hazard mitigation grants. Buziecki

addressed questions and comments from the Committee.

Authorizing FY2024 Budget Adjustment for the Office of Emergency

Management

OEM Dir. Buziecki provided additional information on this resolution. He

addressed questions and comments from the Committee.

KC Finance and Budget Committee

RESULT:

TO:

MOVED FORWARD BY ROLL CALL VOTE

KC Finance and Budget Committee

Bill Roth

MOVER:

Vern Tepe

SECONDER:

Myrna Molina, Bill Lenert, Michelle Gumz, Michael Linder, Bill

Roth, Vern Tepe, and Rick Williams

AYE:

Corinne M. Pierog

ABSENT:

10.

11.

12.

Sheriff/Adult Corrections (R. Hain)

Monthly Report

Chairman Molina stated the Sheriff's monthly report was on file. No additional

report was made.

Coroner (R. Russell)

Monthly Report

Chairman Molina stated the monthly report was on file. No additional report was

made.

Judiciary & Courts (Villa/O'Brien)

Chief Judge Villa stated that with the retirement of Judge Hull, which was effective in

August 2024, the judiciary has been down one circuit judge. With the election, Judge

Sandra Parga will become the new circuit judge. Villa explained that he had received

pleasant comments about the County Board passing a resolution that approved green

lights being placed outside of select government buildings commemorating Veterans'

Day. He urged the Board to continue this every year. Villa spoke on the specialty court

graduation that occurred on November 4, 2024. He invited everyone to attend these

graduations, which are motivational and inspiring.

13.

State's Attorney (J. Mosser)

Monthly Report

State's Attorney Mosser stated the monthly report was on file. She explained

that she participated in the Attorney General's Office's Statewide Conviction

Integrity Unit meeting. She stated that having a Conviction Integrity Unit is

crucial for prosecutor offices to ensure convictions are solid. These attorneys

would review each case for actual innocence. Mosser stated that this unit is a

proper thing for any State's Attorney's Office (SAO) to have to ensure the

integrity of convictions. She explained that the State's Attorney General's Office

has been working on this unit for years, and just recently was granted federal

funding. As a result, if Kane County has any cases that are requested to be

reviewed for actual innocence, the SAO will be able to send these to the

Attorney General's Office. Mosser stated she is grateful for this partnership.

Mosser addressed questions and comments from the Committee. Discussion

ensued.

14.

15.

Public Defender (R. Conant)

Monthly Report

Public Defender Conant stated the monthly report was on file. She announced

the her office has began the construction of five additional offices and a

conference room. The project is anticipated to last about six weeks. She will

provide an update and photographs of the new spaces at the January

Committee meeting.

Court Services Administration (L. Aust)

Monthly Report

Court Srvs. Exec. Dir. Aust stated the following two reports were on file. No

additional reports were made.

JJC Housing Report

Kane County Juvenile Detention Inspection Report

Court Srvs. Exec. Dir. Aust introduced the 2024 Kane County Juvenile Detention

Inspection Report. She explained that there was originally 16 juvenile detention

facilities in Illinois, but there are currently only 13 operational facilities. She

stated that Kane County continues to be a leader in the juvenile detention area

throughout the State. She explained that this report highlights Kane County

Juvenile Justice Center's (JJC) programs and staff and that they are continuing

to do an excellent job. Aust highlighted the JJC's education program and the

accomplishments it has had. She reported that Kane County was chosen to host

the Administration of Illinois Court's (AOIC) "Youth are Worth it" event. At this

event, multiple judges and former juvenile residents attended. Recent residents

were able to tell their story and how the JJC helped them to become successful

in life. Aust explained that juvenile brains are elastic and at this age it is the

perfect time to do intervention. She commended the JJC on their work and

continued good publicity.

Chief Judge Villa added that this was the first time the State of Illinois has ever

hosted a collaborative event. He was pleased to know that Kane County was

selected. At the event, there was substantial recognition for Kane County. He

anticipates that this will become an annual event.

Aust spoke on the County's economic status. She explained that over the next

few months, she intends to highlight each department that makes up Court

Services. This month, she highlighted the JJC. Currently, the State of Illinois

only has 13 juvenile detention centers left. The Kane County's JJC annual

budget is approximately $5M, with Court Services total budget being about

$13M. The JJC consumes the vast amount of Court Services' budget. Aust

explained that she has asked the State of Illinois to provide more staffing in

order to house more juveniles from around the state. She explained the financial

aspect of housing more juveniles. She shared a graph depicting the Illinois

juvenile detention center's average daily population by County as of October

2024. Aust stated that Court Services has continued to work hard on increasing

revenue and the per diem charged to other counties to maximize the number of

employees that are being paid by the State of Illinois. She noted that out of the

$5M budget, Kane County only pays $400K per year for the entire JJC

operation. However, if Aust needs to hire other counties to house juveniles at

$175 per day, that would be over $1M Kane County would need to pay. Aust

stated that she will go deeper into this subject starting next year. Aust addressed

questions and comments from the Committee. Discussion ensued.

Notification of Renewal of Sex Offender Treatment Services

Court Srvs. Exec. Dir. Aust introduced this resolution. She provided additional

information.

KC Executive Committee

RESULT:

TO:

MOVED FORWARD BY ROLL CALL VOTE

KC Executive Committee

Bill Roth

MOVER:

Bill Lenert

SECONDER:

Myrna Molina, Bill Lenert, Michelle Gumz, Michael Linder, Bill

Roth, Vern Tepe, and Rick Williams

AYE:

Corinne M. Pierog

ABSENT:

16.

Circuit Clerk (T. Barreiro)

Monthly Report

Circuit Clk. Barreiro stated the monthly report was on file. She reported that the

Circuit Clerk's Office has collected $65K in collections. In October, 701 cases

were sent to the County's collection agency, Harris and Harris. These cases

totaled approximately $409K. Barreiro noted that the County will not receive all

the collections at once and it will span over a year. She reported that case filings

have increased, and are on track from what was anticipated. She stated that the

office is down five Deputy Clerks. Applications have been scarce, but they have

continued interviewing. Barreiro spoke on the increase to the minimum salary for

Deputy Clerks, but this increase has already fallen behind other surrounding

circuit clerk offices.

Chief Judge Villa spoke on the data collection dashboard that was created by

former Chief Judge Hull. This dashboard was one of the first in the state and

has been adopted by a number of different counties. Villa explained that five of

these counties will be highlighted at this week's Chief Judges Conference. He

noted that all seven of the Supreme Court Justices will be in Chicago attending

this conference. He anticipates being told, due to aggressive litigation regarding

the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and other related issues, that the

Supreme Court will use Kane County's model of the data collection dashboard.

He noted that this data collection is mandated by the Illinois SAFE-T Act. To the

point, whether Kane County likes it or not, the Circuit Clerk's Office will need the

support in hiring adequate staff to collect the necessary data. At next month's

Committee meeting, Villa will report the Supreme Courts seriousness on this

data collection and the hiring of adequate staff. Villa and Barreiro addressed

questions and comments from the Committee. Discussion ensued.

17.

18.

19.

Old Business

None.

New Business

None.

Place Written Reports on File

RESULT:

MOVER:

APPROVED BY UNANIMOUS CONSENT

Vern Tepe

20.

Executive Session (If Needed)

None.

Adjournment

RESULT:

APPROVED BY VOICE VOTE

Bill Roth

MOVER:

Michael Linder

SECONDER:

This meeting was adjourned at 9:36 AM.

Savannah Valdez

Sr. Recording Secretary