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Kane County

KC Human Services Committee

Meeting Minutes

SURGES, Linder, Allan, Garcia, Gripe, Lewis, Tarver, ex-officios Roth (County Vice Chair) &

Pierog (County Chair)

Wednesday, April 15, 2026

9:00 AM

County Board Room

Call To Order

Chairman Surges called the meeting to order at 9:07 AM.

Roll Call

An in-person quorum was not established at of 9:08 a.m.

(Committee Member Allan arrived at 9:09 a.m.)

With the arrival of Committee Member Allan, an in-person quorum was established at

9:09 a.m.

Board Member Clifford Surges

PRESENT

Board Member Michael Linder

Board Member Deborah Allan

Ex-Officio County Board Vice Chair Bill Roth

Board Member Sonia Garcia

Board Member Bill Tarver

Board Member Jon Gripe

REMOTE

ABSENT

Board Member Anita Lewis

Ex-Officio County Board Chair Corinne M. Pierog

Also present: Co. Bd. Members Bates*, Juby, Kious*, Molina*, Penesis*, D. Young*, K.

Young; HRM Exec. Dir. Lobrillo & staff Larson; KC Historian Shepro; ITD/BLD Exec.

Dir. Fahnestock & staff Lasky*, Peters; KCHD Exec. Dir. Isaacson*; KCAC Admin.

Youngsteadt*; SAO Chief of Civil Frank; and members of the press and public.

Remote Attendance Requests

Chairman Surges announced the remote attendance requests for today's meeting. He

asked the Committee if there were any objections to Committee Members Garcia and

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

Approval of Minutes: March 11, 2026

RESULT:

MOVER:

APPROVED BY UNANIMOUS CONSENT

Michael Linder

Public Comment

KC Historian Shepro provided the semiquincentennial minute. He explained that on

April 15, 1776, George Washington wrote to John Hancock to inform him that he

arrived to New York from Cambridge. He stated that when Washington last left the

colonials, the British had evacuated Boston on March 31, 1776, which were the last

British soldiers in America at that time. Shepro explained that Washington thought that

it would not be long before the British would return to New York City. Therefore,

Washington attempted to bring the Continental Army to New York City to defend it

from a British invasion. However, Washington's report to Hancock stated that the

Continental Army marching across the land faced storms and bad roads, which

delayed their arrival, and those traveling by ship, arrived with sea sick soldiers. Shepro

stated that Washington's letter addressed the lack of soldiers in New York City and that

he would send the army when possible. Additionally, he stated that on April 15, 1912,

the Titanic sunk.

Kane County Board Member and resident, David Young, addressed the Ethics

Commission. He reminded the Committee that on July 13, 2010, Ordinance 10-206

was adopted to form an Ethics Administration, which was added to the Kane County

Code, Chapter 2, Article 3, Division 3. On June 13, 2023, Resolution 23-254 was

approved implementing an independent individual Ethics Commission, which is

comprised of five members appointed by the chairman of the Kane County Board with

the advice and consent of the Kane County Board. Young stated that this Ethics

Commission is to receive ethic complaints, conduct investigations and hearings, and

issue findings of recommendations for disciplinary actions to the State's Attorney's

Office, when appropriate. He explained that this Ethics Commission needs to be

formed by the chairman on the County Board, but has not been done. He stated that it

has been three years since the passing of this resolution and that it is a mandatory duty

of the County Board chairman. He believes that it is more important to form this Ethics

Commission, rather than appointing an Ethics Advisor. He requested that a formal

request be made by the Human Services Committee asking the appointed chairman to

appoint these five Commission members no later than June 1, 2026.

Chairman Surges requested that the Committee move to agenda item 10A: Resolution:

Authorizing Elimination of Housing and COC Program Manager Position and Creation

of an Assistant Director of Planning & Information Management for the Kane County

Health Department. There were no objections.

Monthly Financial Reports

Monthly Finance Reports

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

report was made.

Department of Human Resource Management

Health Insurance

HRM Exec. Dir. Lobrillo stated the monthly Health Insurance Reports were on

file. She reported that the monthly Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) invoice is

within tolerance. She added that there was not an Insured Partners Report

included in the agenda packet due to the company ending their term with the

County in March 2026. She explained that the County's new insurance broker is

set to meet with BCBS to begin the County's annual renewal. She stated that

now that the new broker has been established by the County Board, they can

receive the monthly reports from BCBS to prepare the monthly report for the

Human Services Committee meetings.

Chairman Surges stated that, in the past, BCBS has been less than cooperative

in releasing data. He requested if a road block is met by the broker with BCBS

that the Committee is informed in a timely manner to address the situation,

rather than waiting for the next Committee meeting. Lobrillo explained that the

broker will have access to the same information. She stated that some of the

information that the County has struggled to receive from BCBS is directly

related to the capitation model on the HMO. She does not expect this to change

as it is BCBS policy.

Risk Management

HRM Risk Manager Larson stated the monthly Risk Management Report was on

file. He reviewed the recent significant property claims that have occurred since

December 2025 from the Kane County Sheriff's Office (KCSO), Adult Justice

Center (AJC), KCSO indoor shooting range, and the Multi-Use Building. He

explained that the most significant claim was the one that occurred at the KCSO

and the AJC, which has a current estimate of damages of $550K. He added that

the County has had positive feedback from their property insurance carrier that

all damages are covered. Larson addressed questions and comments from the

Committee. Discussion ensued.

Larson stated that initial assessments need to be completed for the KCSO

indoor shooting range and Multi-Use Building incidents. He reviewed the

County's process for property claims, including, but limited to, documentation by

on-site personnel, collection of additional documentation, insurance company

sending an on-site adjuster(s) assessment, root cause analysis, repair and

restoration of damaged property, collaboration on prevention and mitigation

among Risk Manager and affected County offices/departments, and subrogation

and collection, if applicable. HRM Exec. Dir. Lobrillo and Larson addressed

additional questions and comments from the Committee. Much discussion

ensued on settlements and the Risk Manager job description.

Larson reviewed the Risk Management Activities, such as coming up with

Emergency Response Guide (ERG) Staff-Level Working Group, on-going

Workers' Comp. and liability incident reporting and investigation, investigation

and response to damage and injury claims against the County, and on-going

safety surveillance.

Staffing

HRM Exec. Dir. Lobrillo stated the monthly Staffing Report was on file. She

explained that the new hire sheets have been included in the monthly Staffing

Report, and will continue to be moving forward. She shared an example on a

New Hire Authorization Form. She spoke on the approval process of new hires.

Compliance

Monthly Training Report

HRM Exec. Dir. Lobrillo stated the monthly Compliance Report was on file. No

additional report was made.

Old Business

None.

10.

New Business

Chairman Surges stated that the Village of Carpentersville contacted him about a

estate property located in unincorporated Kane County off of Route 31 and Miller

Road. Carpentersville explained that this property has been bought by someone who

would like to utilize it as a mental health and/or rehabilitation center. Surges stated that

he is sensitive to the County's history on unincorporated areas that have been turned

into business type establishments. Therefore, he would like this to be looked into

further, so errors are not repeated.

Authorizing Elimination of Housing and COC Program Manager Position and

Creation of an Assistant Director of Planning & Information Management for the

Kane County Health Department

KCHD Exec. Dir Isaacson introduced this resolution. He noted that a version of

this resolution was passed by the County Board last month, but was done

incorrectly. He explained that last summer 2025, the Office of Community

Reinvestment was dissolved and the programs were distributed to the

Development Department and the Health Department. With the distribution, the

Health Department received three grants and five employees. One of the

employees was a key staff member that knew the federal systems and how the

programs worked terminated their employment with the County. This employee

was paid at a higher compensation then what is allowed for the position rate.

Due to the Health Department's analysis over the last year to be successful, a

higher level person would need to be hired. Therefore, rather than changing the

job description, a position would be eliminated to create a new position, which

allows continuity in the Human Resource records. Isaacson stated that this

position will be fully funded with federal grant dollars.

HRM Exec. Dir. Lobrillo explained that this new position was graded by the

Human Resource Management Department (HRM). She added that the

resolution includes the salary range and everything associated with the position.

KC Public Health Committee

RESULT:

MOVED FORWARD BY ROLL CALL VOTE

KC Public Health Committee

Clifford Surges

TO:

MOVER:

SECONDER:

Bill Roth

Clifford Surges, Michael Linder, Deborah Allan, Sonia Garcia, Bill

Tarver, and Bill Roth

AYE:

Jon Gripe, Anita Lewis, and Corinne M. Pierog

ABSENT:

The Committee moved to agenda item 6: Monthly Financial Reports.

Ethics Advisor

Chairman Surges stated that HRM Exec. Dir. Lobrillo brought to his attention

that the previous Ethics Advisor retired. Due to this, the County currently does

not have someone to address ethic situations. Surges stated that this

Committee needs to request that the County Board Chairman address this

matter. He requested Lobrillo to explain the intent of the Ethics Advisor versus

the Ethics Commission.

HRM Exec. Dir. Lobrillo introduced the discussion of an Ethics Advisor. She

provided a brief history of the Ethics Ordinance and the creation of the Ethics

Commission. She explained that the Ethics Advisor offers advice to address

ethic questions before a possible violation occurs. She explained that an Ethics

Advisor has to have a set of credentials that have been outlined within the

ordinance, such as being an attorney or a retired judge. Additionally, an Ethics

Advisor would receive requests for information on ethic situations that already

occurred to deem if a violation had happened versus not. Lobrillo stated that the

role of the Ethics Advisor would be to refer reports of situations that could be a

violation of the ethics ordinance to the State's Attorney's Office (SAO) in order to

investigate and to make a decision regarding charges. She explained that the

Ethics Commissions was created to address and investigate any complaints for

formal concerns regarding situations that already violated the ethics ordinance.

Lobrillo stated that the Commission would make a determination to the SAO for

charges, rather than leaving the entire investigation and decision on the SAO.

She noted that the Ethics Commission is independent of the Ethics Advisor.

Lobrillo addressed questions and comments from the Committee. Much

discussion ensued.

Lobrillo stated that the appointment of Commission members is the

responsibility of the County Board Chairman. She explained that the County

Board Office has issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) on April 9, 2026,

along with a media release for the search of an Ethic Advisor. She added that

the Human Services Committee could issue an RFQ for interested qualified

parties. Further discussion ensued. (Committee Member Tarver left at 10:00

a.m.)

Committee Goals

Committee Member Surges stated that there were a set of Committee Goals

that were submitted that he felt were vague. He noted that he spoke with HRM

Exec. Dir. Lobrillo on this matter and would like the goals to be quantifiable and

measurable. He requested that Committee members come up with goals that

would help evaluate the Committee, the Human Resource Management

Department, and the department head. Discussion ensued.

HRM Exec. Dir. Lobrillo explained that the Committee goals would entail

overarching measures and the goals for the director will be a sub-set of those

goals. She stated that the Committee may have a goal that is within the authority

of the Committee, and the director would assist to meet that goal. Further

discussion ensued on the purpose and content of the Committee goals.

The Committee decided to develop measurable Committee goals that address

the purpose of the Human Services Committee.

11.

Reports Placed On File

RESULT:

MOVER:

APPROVED BY UNANIMOUS CONSENT

Michael Linder

12.

13.

Executive Session (if needed)

None.

Adjournment

RESULT:

APPROVED BY VOICE VOTE

Michael Linder

Bill Roth

MOVER:

SECONDER:

This meeting was adjourned at 10:16 AM.

Savannah Zgobica

Sr. Recording Secretary