Caleb Counterman remembered as being dedicated, loyal to Grundy County

New Grundy County Board Chairman Drew Muffler ended Tuesday’s meeting on the same agenda item that’s been there every meeting since Illinois' 53rd District Sen.-elect Chris Balkema, D-Channahon, was in the position, and since David Welter was in the position before that. It’s usually a time to shout out a county employee or share information about an event.

“What’s good for Grundy County” is usually a positive item on the agenda. On Tuesday, it was used to mourn a fallen board member.

Caleb Counterman died in a crash Sunday morning on East Pine Bluff Road after striking a patch of ice. He was 48.

Balkema returned to the board as a guest Tuesday to share his thoughts and feelings on what it was like to work with Counterman. The two first met in 2018, when Counterman ran for a County Board seat for the first time. Counterman ran for a second time in 2020, which is when he first won his seat.

“Right away, Caleb started asking all kinds of questions,” Balkema said. “I knew Caleb as a pastor. I didn’t know he had a business degree.”

Balkema said Counterman had all kinds of questions and ideas on how to make the county more efficient, and he was chairman of the Finance Committee by his second term on the board. Balkema said that’s unheard of.

Muffler said Counterman was among the most active members of the board, attending between six and 10 meetings every month, including his regular meetings, special committees and workshops.

Grundy County Sheriff Ken Briley said he’s known Counterman a bit longer than the rest of the board: Counterman was the officiant in Briley’s stepdaughter’s wedding.

“Caleb’s always been a very dedicated, very loyal person to his county,” Briley said. “He came in wanting to learn and, I think, you know, he did a really good job representing his constituency in his area.”

Briley was in the office Sunday morning when the call came in from a sergeant.

Counterman’s wife, Jess, was in the car with him at the time of the crash.

“We deal with slippery road conditions all the time, but Pine Bluff Road is, I guess, exceptionally dangerous because of the cooling lakes and curves and those kinds of things,” Briley said. “It sounds like there was a light coating of ice on the road.”

Briley said Counterman was always a supporter of the sheriff’s office and the police, and always worked with them to meet their needs. Even if he didn’t agree with them, it didn’t matter, he said. Counterman would agree to disagree politely, and work to find an option suitable for everyone.

Being a pastor, Counterman’s faith was important to him. Balkema said he’d talk personally about his journey toward accepting Christ, and it’s something Balkema found encouraging.

“I can assure you that Caleb is more alive now, tonight in heaven, than he ever was when he was on this earth because he had put his faith and trust in Jesus,” Balkema said.

Muffler shared an example during the board meeting while sharing his thoughts on the passing of his friend.

“Caleb would always find time to set aside to try and help and give good advice,” he said. “The last time we spoke about anything religious was the day after the Republican caucus leadership. I told him how excited I was and that I couldn’t wait to get started, and that I was worried that I was going to mess it up.”

Counterman shared with Muffler a verse from the Sermon on the Mount titled “Do not worry.”

“The last line of that passage really stuck with me, and I’ve been really thinking about it the last couple of weeks,” Muffler said. “It’s giving me peace of mind. That quote is: ‘Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself and each day has enough trouble.’”

Counterman was born July 25, 1976, in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, the son of Dr. Andrew and Jo Ellen Counterman. He was raised in upstate New York and served as the pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Morris from 2008 to 2023. He most recently was serving at SouthField Church in Channahon.

He is survived by his wife, Jessica; sons, Levi and Jared; parents, Andrew and Jo Ellen; brothers, Luke (Liesl) and Simeon (Bonnie); in-laws, Gerry and Rae Ann Smith; and brothers-in-law, Ed (Alyssa) Smith and Aaron Smith.

A memorial visitation will be from 2 to 3:30 p.m., with a memorial to follow at 4 p.m. Friday at SouthField Church, 24557 W. Eames St. in Channahon.