L-R: Joe Sosnowski, State Represntative (69th District), John Acardo, DeKalb County Clerk & Recorder
Joe Sosnowski and John Acardo are two young politicians, with roots at NIU, who have bright starts as public servants. The two testified in front of the House Counties and Townships Committee in favor of House Bill 3482, which was introduced into the Illinois House of Representatives by Sosnowski (69th District), as a cost saving measure by cutting elected officials’ stipends.
“Currently, county officials receive a stipend from the state every year – like a year-end bonus,” said Sosnowski. “Illinois is broke. If we are serious about saving taxpayers’ dollars, then we need to start by cutting funds paid to our elected officials.”
Sosnowski grew up in Carol Stream and attended Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. After graduation, he was elected as 7th Ward Alderman. He was elected Rockford First Ward Alderman in the spring of 2005 and re-elected in 2009. In 2010, he successfully ran for State Representative in the 69th Legislative district.
HB 3482 has been assigned to the House Counties and Townships Committee. Sosnowski is planning on calling the bill for a committee vote sometime next week. Current law requires the State to pay the following stipends to county officials:
- Supervisor of Assessments – $500 per year
- County Treasurer – between $5,000 and $6,500 per year
- Coroners, County Treasurers, County Clerks, Recorders and Auditors – between $4,500 and $6,500 per year
- County Sheriffs and Recorder – $6,500 per year
- Clerk of the Circuit Court – between $3,500 and $6,500 per year
So at a potential personal cost of between $3,500 and $6,500 per year, DeKalb County Clerk and Recorder John Acardo testified in favor of the bill. Acardo says that in these hard economic times, everyone needs to give back a little.
“The State of Illinois is in crisis and I want to do my part,” said Acardo. “People are struggling every day just to get by and the State cannot afford to pay its bills. If all of us elected officials just gave back a little, it would go a long way to help fix the State’s fiscal problems and also show the public that we are all in this together.”
Acardo was not successful in his first foray into politics as a candidate. He lost a race for a DeKalb County Board seat held but stayed involved in politics working as an assistant to State Representative Robert Pritchard. In November 2010 he was elected as DeKalb County Clerk and Recorder.
Good start. Good job. Good luck. We need new leadership at all levels of government.
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