DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - Voters in Sangamon County decided Tuesday to eliminate the Sangamon County Recorder's Office.
With 100 percent of precincts reporting the vote was 67 percent in favor of eliminating the office.
With the approval, the county office will close Dec. 1, 2026. Operations will be moved to the Sangamon County Clerk's Office.
Sangamon County Recorder Frank Lesko floated the idea of merging the office while running to be the county recorder in 2024. At the time, he was the Springfield City Clerk.
Lesko told WAND News in Oct. 2024, merging the two offices would immediately save $250,000 for taxpayers and could save $400,000 annually. Some of the savings would come from staff retirements and open positions that would not be filled.
"To achieve these savings, no current county employees will lose their jobs," Lesko said last year.
In Illinois, the position of County Recorder is elective in counties with a population of 60,000 or more. According to the Secretary of State, County Clerks have served as ex officio County Recorders, since 1963, in counties with populations below 60,000 or more.
Some Illinois counties have consolidated the duties of the County Recorder within the County Clerk, including Champaign County in 2022.
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