Stephenson County committee approves agenda, minutes and claims; sheriff warns new protective-order law will affect operations

The Stephenson County committee approved its meeting agenda, minutes from Jan. 7, 2025, and payment claims, and received operational reports from the sheriff’s office, emergency management and the county coroner.

Sheriff’s Office representative said a recently signed law — referred to in the meeting as “Corina’s law” (also spoken as “Katrina’s law”) — will change how the county handles weapons in protective-order cases. “Katrina’s law is an order of protection that a judge will also sign a search warrant at the same time if the offender has weapons in the house,” the sheriff’s office representative said, adding that officers would have “96 hours to go and collect those weapons.” The representative said the new process will likely increase overtime and that the county’s current evidence storage could fill quickly in cases involving multiple firearms or collector’s collections.

The sheriff’s office update also said hiring is underway: five deputies are in the process of training at three locations, several applicants have started testing, and the agency expects to establish an eligibility list for deputes for the first time in “10 to 15 years,” according to the report.

Emergency management reported participation in regional planning and funding discussions, tours of other counties’ emergency operation centers, a cybersecurity infrastructure seminar, and local preparations for Skywarn spotter training scheduled for March 18. The office said it is pursuing ideas for a local emergency operations center modeled on Carroll, Lee and Whiteside counties and noted upgrades to county mobile communications equipment and MiFi units. The department also noted a January 29 fire that was investigated; no hazardous findings resulted from the inquiry cited in the meeting.

County Coroner reported that January was busy: 50 total deaths, 15 scene callouts, 37 natural deaths, 10 autopsies and three suicides; the coroner stated there were no homicides and no motor-vehicle-fatality deaths reported for the month.

On courthouse operations, the sheriff’s office reported the front public elevator is about halfway completed and will run for two weeks for testing before work begins on the rear elevator. HVAC contractors are finishing insulation of water pipes for the courthouse heating units, and jail transfer work is underway.

On administrative business, the committee approved claims that include a line item reported as “public property” totaling $4,045,819.44 and a separate line read aloud as “phone safety, 56262564” (amount as read in the meeting). The committee also agreed — at auditors’ request — to require committee members’ signatures on the main claims sheet rather than only the chair signing individual pages; staff described this as a best practice requested during audit fieldwork.

Votes at a glance

• Motion to approve the meeting agenda as presented — moved by Mister McKenna; seconded by Miss Hayes; outcome: approved (voice vote: “Aye”).

• Motion to approve meeting minutes for Jan. 7, 2025 — moved by Miss Hayes; seconded by Mister McKenna; outcome: approved (voice vote: “Aye”).

• Motion to approve claims (including public property $4,045,819.44 and the line read as “phone safety, 56262564”) — moved by Nathaniel; seconded by Mister McKenna; outcome: approved. The committee additionally voted to require committee member signatures on the main claims sheet per audit request.

The meeting included routine public-safety updates and administrative items; members and staff repeatedly urged caution about an approaching winter storm forecast to bring several inches of snow overnight. The committee also heard that June Deltman, the county’s 9-1-1 coordinator, will retire this Friday after more than 30 years between city and county service.

The committee did not take additional formal action on the protective-order law implementation during the meeting; staff said county offices (the sheriff’s office, circuit clerk, state’s attorney and judges) have 60 days to implement procedures discussed at the meeting.