LaSalle County committee approves resolution to align prosecutor, sheriff and public defender pay with 6.5% legislative raise

Kendra Pottinger, chair of the LaSalle County Law and Justice Committee, presided over a July 10 meeting at which the panel voted to approve a resolution amending salaries for the county state's attorney, sheriff and public defender to reflect a 6.5% raise enacted by the state legislature.

Committee members said the raise responds to increased workload tied to changes in criminal procedure. Joe Aspinski, a committee member and one of 10 members of the State's Attorneys Association board of governors, told the committee that the onset of the SAFETY Act and a broader use of detention hearings has “put a tremendous burden” on prosecutors and on the state police crime lab, which now faces tighter timeframes to process evidence ahead of 90-day speedy-trial deadlines.

The raise approved by the legislature was 6.5%, committee members said; committee members noted that prior increases had not exceeded 4%. Aspinski explained that detained defendants are now generally entitled to trial within 90 days unless the defendant or the defendant’s attorney asks for an extension, and that meeting those deadlines requires faster evidence processing and more prosecutor time.

After brief discussion, the committee took a roll-call vote to pass the salary-resolution. The chair announced the motion carried following recorded ayes; the committee did not record any opposition during the meeting. There were no public comments on the item, and no other agenda items were discussed before the committee adjourned.

The action is on the committee record as a resolution to amend local salaries; the transcript does not specify the effective date for the amended pay, departmental implementation steps, or any changes to the county budget ordinance to cover the increase. The committee did not direct staff to return with additional implementation details during the meeting.