Kendall County Board adopts new county seal in 9-1 vote

Kendall County residents might have thought that their county government already had an official seal.

A logo featuring Illinois with a cross highlighting Kendall County has been featured on county government websites for years - but during a Wednesday night meeting in Yorkville, the county board approved an actual official county seal in an 9-1 vote.

Board members Amy Cesich and Matt Prochaska working alongside County Administrator Scott Koeppel designed the new seal with the help of a locally-based animator. The officials had first discussed the possibility of creating a seal back in January.

"It did take a lot of work," Koeppel said. "It's one of those things where everybody has their own vision of our county."

The new seal features the iconic old courthouse superimposed over a map of local townships. Officials had considered adding local aesthetics such as corn or the Fox River, but ultimately decided on the courthouse.

"I really think it's a good compromise," board member Amy Cesich said. "I hope that for years to come when new board members come here and new people in the county - this will be something they'll be proud of."

To the noticeable surprise of some county officials, board member Audra Hendrix cast the lone no vote on the motion to adopt the seal.

In a text message after the meeting, Hendrix wrote that the new seal is "lacking many attributes to what makes Kendall County great."

"No river, no farm or fields or livestock," Hendrix wrote. "We should have hired someone to make a professional seal since it's meant to last a considerable time."

While board members noted the difficulties in designing a seal that everybody will approve of, they seemed pleased, overall, with the final result.

"It takes quite a bit to realize the vision of ten board members as to what our shield should look like," Chairman Scott Gryder remarked. "Ultimately we went with something that's probably more simple."