Bill inspired by accusations against Winnebago County coroner halted in state House
By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — A bill that would have allowed counties to place an elected official on leave after certain criminal charges was shelved in the state House after it passed unanimously in the Senate earlier this year.
State Sen. Dave Syverson, R-Cherry Valley, who sponsored the bill, criticized House Democrats this week for killing the bill despite its bipartisan support.
“They wouldn’t even have a hearing for it in the House,” Syverson said in a phone interview with the Rock River Current. “It sends an awful bad message that they don’t want elected officials held to the same standard as every other government employee in the state.
“Now we’re having two sets of standards. One for politicians that aren’t going to be held to the same standard as everybody else, which puts the taxpayers at risk and puts families at risk.”
Related: Winnebago County isn’t required to have an elected coroner. Does it still make sense?
Senate Bill 3460 was re-referred to the House Rules Committee on late March, where it stayed when General Assembly’s legislative session ended early Saturday morning. Syverson said the bill was sent there to be shelved indefinitely, but the bill’s Democratic House sponsor, Dave Vella of Loves Park, said it could still go forward in a future session.
“It’s not dead. It’s still out there,” Vella said in a phone interview. “It’s just going to take some time to get done.”
Vella said the bill could be wrapped up into a larger piece of election ethics legislation. He said he communicated to Democratic House leadership about how important the bill was to this region.
“If people can’t trust their politicians you’re never going to get anything done,” Vella said. “So we we need to get rid of the bad ones and trumpet the good ones.”
Related: Vella’s bill aims to create more 24-hour day care services for first responders
The bill was pushed forward by Syverson with bipartisan support in response to criminal charges against Winnebago County Coroner Bill Hintz.
Hintz had ignored calls for nearly a year to step down after he was charged with two counts of theft, 12 counts of forgery and 23 counts of official misconduct by the Illinois Attorney General in October 2020. Then, about 11 months later, the state attorney general’s office handed down six additional counts of official misconduct and six more counts of theft.
Hintz finally agreed to paid administrative leave on Sept. 23 after mounting pressure and Winnebago County Board Chairman Joe Chiarelli‘s decision to lock the coroner out of his office and turn off his internet service.
“Was it legal? I don’t know,” Chiarelli said last month during his state of the county speech. “I can tell you this: Nobody else is doing anything, so we had to take a shot.”
Syverson’s bill would have prevented such extreme measures. It would give local governments a process to place elected officials charged with crimes on administrative leave until the courts can render a decision on their cases.
It was put together at the request of Chiarelli with support from Winnebago County State’s Attorney J. Hanley.
Related: Winnebago County state’s attorney looks to expand deferred prosecution program
Syverson said he was frustrated that the bill wasn’t called for a vote.
“Either they’re trying to protect somebody or it’s just their philosophy … that we don’t want to do anything that’s tough on crime or holding people accountable,” he said. “They seem to put the rights of criminals and politicians over the rights of taxpayers and victims.”
Hintz, meanwhile, is due back in court on Monday for a 402 conference, where plea negotiations can be held.
“Unfortunately, we have to go back home and just tell people Democrats killed it,” Syverson said. “We’re going to try again next year and hope between now and then another case doesn’t come to light.”
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas.
