Another Kankakee County Board vacancy declared

There are now two vacancies on the 28-member Kankakee County Board.

It was announced at Tuesday’s County Board meeting that Joseph Swanson resigned from his District 14 seat, effective Aug. 1. Swanson, a Republican, sent an email July 10 to board Chairman Matthew Alexander-Hildebrand that said, “Due to circumstances beyond my control, I will be moving out of my current County Board District 14.”

The board unanimously voted to declare the vacancy.

District 14 includes most of west Kankakee, and Swanson had won reelection in the November 2024 general election. He initially was elected in November 2018, according to election results on the Kankakee County Clerk’s Office website.

The other vacancy was created July 8 when the board accepted the resignation of Chris Tholen, a Republican for District 10 in an area just south and southwest of the city.

Tholen failed to file a verified statement of economic interest by May 1 with the county clerk’s office, and he decided to resign.

The statement is required by the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act.

Swanson wrote in his email that his last day in his former residence would be Aug. 1, and to consider that his resignation date.

“It has been my pleasure working with you and all of the other board members in good times and bad,” he wrote. “We did a lot of good things over the years.”

Alexander-Hildebrand said after the meeting that he should have a replacement for Tholen’s vacant seat by the next board meeting. Three or four people have contacted him seeking the District 10 seat.

“We’ve done some interviews with them, and we’re figuring out who the best replacement will be,” he said. “They’ve all been fantastic candidates which makes it a tough decision.”

State’s attorney, public defender salaries set

The board also approved the annual salaries for Kankakee County State’s Attorney Jim Rowe and Public Defender Ed Pentuic.

The state’s attorney’s salary is set by the state of Illinois, and the state increased the salary, effective July 1, to $219,325. That increase includes a 6.1% cost-of-living increase of $12,609.

The state requires that the public defender’s salary shall represent not less than 90% of the state’s attorney’s salary. The new salary for the public defender, also effective July 1, is $197,396.

The state reimburses the county for two-thirds of each salary.