At a LaSalle County Finance Committee meeting on Oct. 20, 2025, the county clerk told committee members she had omitted election-judge travel reimbursements from her draft budget and asked the body to increase the election-judge expense line by about $10,000.

"I forgot to put in something for my budget," the county clerk said, explaining that a statute requires the county to reimburse judges for round trips after they deliver election supplies on election night. The clerk asked the committee to raise the relevant general-fund line to ensure adequate coverage for the coming fiscal year.

The clerk said the account number listed next to the line is 453001 and that the figure originally submitted for 2026 was $465,090. After recalculation, the clerk said the new total would be $475,090; she also identified the line as appearing on page 51 of the budget packet. No formal motion or recorded committee vote to adopt the change was recorded on the public transcript.

Finance committee presider Doug Trager asked for clarification on the line and for any questions from members; none were recorded. Committee members then moved to enter an executive session later in the agenda to discuss personnel matters under the Open Meetings Act exemption cited by staff.

Votes at a glance

- Remote attendance approval: Committee approved remote attendance for a member identified as Miss Bush pursuant to a county resolution cited in the meeting. The transcript records the committee chair requesting approval and members responding "Aye," but the mover and seconder were not specified on the public record.

- Executive session: The committee approved a motion to go into executive session to discuss appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance or dismissal of specific employees under 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1). The motion was made by Member Emmett and seconded by Member Aubrey and passed on a roll-call recorded as all "Aye." The committee then recessed into executive session.

What happened next

The public transcript ends with members entering executive session; there is no public record in this transcript of a committee vote to formally adopt the clerk's requested budget increase. If the committee later acts on the request it would typically appear as a formal amendment in a subsequent public meeting or in the minutes for this meeting.