Boone County — Budget presenters at the Committee of the Whole on Oct. 2 described mostly maintenance budgets for the coming year while flagging a few targeted requests and new initiatives.

Courts: new staff attorney proposed
Tom Jaquay, court administrator for the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, told the committee he manages five budgets and proposed a “new initiative” to add a staff attorney at an annual cost of about $75,000. Jaquay said the position is intended to handle court-appointed-defense work and guardian ad litem duties that the county currently pays outside counsel to provide.

“This new initiative is fiscally responsible…by creation of another position, again, to take on that legal work,” Jaquay said. He explained the Supreme Court raised the billing rates for appointed attorneys in January 2024 (from $50–$75 per hour to $150 per hour for certain work), producing significant county expense. Jaquay said restructuring an existing contract this year produced modest savings and the new position would reduce a legal-rotation line item by roughly $90,000 while adding the $75,000 position, keeping the budget close to maintenance levels.

Public Defender and State’s Attorney
Public Defender Dawn Cross reported the office seeks a maintenance budget; the office received increased state funding this year (about $27,000 additional) and will use part of that to buy equipment related to an upcoming courthouse move. Cross said Westlaw subscription costs (legal research) are rising about $2,500 and are shared among local justice offices.

State’s Attorney Smith said her budget is heavily salary-driven and noted the Boone County share of the state-set state's attorney salary is roughly $21,800 per year; she also said the office received a $2,000 grant increase to fully fund the victim-witness coordinator position via state reimbursement. Smith called attention to the Westlaw increase affecting several budgets.

Probation and court services
Probation director reported a decrease in the services fund and modest changes to county-funded operations; the department noted approval from the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts for an annual plan that includes a starting-salary increase to stay competitive and a 5% salary adjustment for existing staff, with a county cost estimate of $9,640.59 for the 5% adjustment.

Other departments
The coroner asked for a 3.5% increase for deputies and a $20 increase to livery service call and transport rates; building and planning staff presented maintenance budgets, with building staff noting a need to lease an additional vehicle and replace an aging inspector car. Planning staff reminded the board of a public hearing next Tuesday on the comprehensive plan update.

Why this matters: The court’s proposed staff-attorney initiative is intended to curb escalating appointed-attorney costs that risk driving the court budgets higher; other offices largely proposed maintenance budgets but raised small, targeted requests tied to state grants, equipment needs and personnel costs.

Next steps: Presentations at the committee are informational; the board’s finance/administration schedule will include a formal budget review and any proposed changes before final approval in November.