Forreston Journal / oglecountynews.com • Friday, January 24, 2020
| FORRESTON BEAT
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FORRESTON
OGLE COUNTY BOARD
oglecountynews.com
More districts, fewer representatives
Journal
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County board discusses downsizing BY JEFF HELFRICH jhelfrich@oglecountynews.com Ogle County Board Member Bruce McKinney (Rochelle) made a presentation at Tuesday night’s meeting to reduce the number of members on the board. The 24-member county board reorganizes every 10 years. There are currently eight districts with three board members per district. McKinney’s proposal would have 16 districts with one board member per district, thereby reducing the number of board members to 16. “I feel that my district is kind of top heavy with three members,” McKinney said of district four. “This would help eliminate the possibility of two county board members being from the same area. District two is a long district. This would make sure we had one member from the north side and south side of it. I think it’d be a better representation of Ogle County.” McKinney said other counties in the region including Jo Daviess, Carroll, DeKalb, Winnebago and Stephenson have no more than two representatives per district. Only one (DeKalb) as has many board members as Ogle County. Carroll County only has nine members. Among the concerns raised were how board members’ time to serve on committees would be reallocated if the change took place. The Ogle County Board is a committee-driven form of county government. “I think we need to form a committee to take a look at it all,” Board Member Thomas K. Smith, district two (Rochelle) said. “Not only at downsizing the board,
Jeff Helfrich/Shaw Media
Chairman John Finfrock (left) talks with Ogle County Clerk Laura Cook during a Jan. 21 meeting. but downsizing committees too. What’s the number you need to have qualified committees? Our county board is run by committees.” McKinney responded that some board members would have to take on the responsibility of serving on an extra committee or that some committees could be combined. “Currently, I’m on one committee, the judicial committee,” McKinney said. “We meet for about 10-15 minutes and we’re done. We could pick up another responsibility. I don’t think that would really be a problem.” Dan Janes of district five and Stillman Valley raised concerns about population and geography. Redistricting, according to state statute, is done on population. Janes said the potential plan would require the populations to be plus or minus three percent in each district. “You’d have to be careful with breaking up the geographical because it might not interface with the population,”
Janes said. “And there is where you’d get in trouble with the state of Illinois.” Janes also added that the proposal would create new voting districts and create ‘a lot more’ work for the county clerk. He and Smith both suggested waiting for the census to come back, which will be taking place soon. Byron’s dense population center as well as the east side of Rochelle were concerns. “I’m about 18 miles away from our other district board members,” Janes said. “Some of us are broken up already.” In the past, some board members have lived in the same block or even in the same house. McKinney said another course of action would be keep the same districts and reduce the number of representatives. “That’s another way, just stay with the eight districts and go two per district,” McKinney said. “But my feeling is you have better representation in the districts if you spread your board members out over the districts.”
SPECIAL EVENT
Day trip to Art Institute offered by Encore! Ready for spring? How about putting the Encore! Mt.Morris-sponsored bus trip to Chicago, March 31, on your calendar? Participants will ride to Chicago in a comfy charter bus that leaves at 8 a.m. and spend the morning taking a walking tour of the quaint Lincoln Park neighborhood, visiting the Lincoln Park Nature Center or Zoo, or shopping in the area. In the afternoon an informative tour and exploration time at the Art Institute will be offered and the day with conclude with a delicious dinner and exploration of creative Italian food at Eataly. Partic-
ipants will arrive back home at 8:30 p.m. Participants will enjoy the humor and knowledgeable commentary about Chicago history and other Chicago highlights from Howie Herman, trip host and former resident of Chicago. The trip fee is $55 for children 14 and under. Seniors and students 15 and older pay $70. All other adults, $75. Fees cover all transportation, the entry into the Art Institute, and bus snacks. Meals in the city and other incidentals are not covered. More details at encoremtmorris.com. To sign up, click the Chicago Visit
button at EncoreMtMorris.com or sign up at the Mt. Morris Village Hall, 105 W Lincoln St., Mt. Morris IL 61054 All reservations must be received by March 9 to confirm the bus reservation and group rate at the Art Institute. Email mollyb@encoremtmorris.com for more information.
Encore! Mt. Morris is composed of volunteers committed to developing Mt. Morris into a unique, thriving rural and cultural arts destination in northwest Illinois. Learn more at EncoreMtMorris. com.