Chief Presiding Judge Jackie Acker and Contract Public Defender (Bob; last name in transcript) briefed the finance committee on Aug. 12 about court staffing, public defender funding and a new state law that would create an Office of the State Public Defender and change how local public defenders are appointed and funded.
Acker said judges are state employees but that the county must supply office space, equipment and some local operating expenses. She said the circuit currently distributes public-defender grant funds (from the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts) across the circuit's counties to support contract attorneys, law clerks and other public-defense costs. Acker said Lee County's allocation this year was about $98,000 before redistribution and that some counties in the circuit have little need for their full allocation; the chief judge said she plans to reallocate excess funds among the circuit counties.
Contract public defender Bob, who said he plans to retire in April 2026, described the county's long history of a part-time public-defender office and the statutory option to make the office full time. He said converting the office to full time would raise the budgeted salary (to 90%–95% of the state's attorney's salary by statute), but that the state reimburses two-thirds of that salary; Bob and judges noted that a full-time budgeted position can create net savings for the county because it would allow the chief judge to eliminate a contract attorney in the court's budget.
Both Acker and Bob said a new state law under consideration (and passed by the legislature) would create a statewide public-defender office and change the appointment process: the law would place selection under a state-level structure and would begin implementation in 2026 with the statewide office active in 2027. Bob said he opposed the statewide law and described it as reducing local control over hiring. Acker said the law creates a local nominating committee role for chief judges but that final authority will shift to a state board composed of governor, legislative and judicial appointees.
Committee members asked whether the county should move now to budget for a full-time public defender. Finance staff said the committee could pass a formal resolution to convert the budgeted position to full time and that doing so could speed state reimbursement. Acker recommended the board consider a resolution before the budget vote; Bob and Acker said they would support a transition to full time and noted that Bob plans to remain through an initial handover period after his April 2026 retirement.
The committee did not take a formal vote on Aug. 12 but asked staff to prepare a resolution draft for the next meeting to allow the county to include the full-time public defender option in the final budget process and to record the county's position for the state reimbursement process.