John Gerl, chairman of Will County's finance committee and a CPA, explained that despite being the third-largest county in Illinois and the fastest growing, Will County has not borrowed money to pay for operating expenses.
The county is carrying about $100 million in general obligation bond debt, mostly from a new jail.
Will County's pension budget is 99 percent funded, unlike Cook County, which will use some of the $3.75 billion in borrowed money to pay pension costs.
Gerl earns about $22,000 as a county board member. Cook County commissioners earn more than $80,000.
Contrast that earlier in the column where McQuery was having trouble getting in touch with the county finance director and the county comptroller. She called the folks at Will County and she was able to get more information from them.
Sure, Will County is smaller, but it has a jail, a nursing home, a court system and a health department. It doesn't have many of Cook County's problems, but it also doesn't have Cook County's 5 million residents paying property taxes and sky-high sales taxes to fund it.
Will County has not issued a tax anticipation warrant in 15 years, unlike Cook County, which approved a $150 million note this summer in anticipation of the sales tax revenue.
"Once you create that monster, which they've done in Cook County, it takes a collaborative effort by the board and the president to set their mind to reducing the size of government. They let it get away from them. That's something we have not done," Gerl said.
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