Winnebago Co. Chairman’s restored power to boost efficiency of government

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — Winnebago County Board Chairman Joe Chiarelli had his administrative power restored after 5 years.

Chiarelli said that for years, his position has been unable to lead properly.

There were several authorities removed from the previous chairman and Winnebago County,” said the sitting chairman. “It was due to some chaos and some dysfunction that was occurring, and some accusations that were occurring.”

Between 2017 and 2019, the county board voted to strip powers from then-chairman Frank Haney that impacted staff management and administration. Those powers were never restored when Chiarelli was elected in 2020.

“When I receive a citizen complaint to my office on the fifth floor, they’re expecting myself to be able to respond to that issue and to try to solve that issue,” Chiarelli explained. “But [then] I had to take that issue, that problem, and give it to someone else to manage that problem, because I had no authority to manage that problem. It’s fragmented.”

After years of ongoing calls for the restoration of power, Chiarelli was voted in favor of possessing administrative authority.

Loves Park Mayor Greg Jury was a vocal supporter throughout the process and said the move will benefit residents across the county.

“It makes the county more efficient for the cities to deal with. It continues to make our process quicker,” Jury said. “So we’re not delaying things that need to be done for either businesses or residents in our community.”

For Chiarelli, his goal is to give county residents a better functioning government.

“What they can expect is better government. They can expect speed of government, they can expect our employees and our directors to be empowered,” Chiarelli said. “I think we are about creating value for this county. We’re not claiming value. We are creating value.