Did you know that Kane County’s representative on the 15-member Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning Board is Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner? His term expires in June 2017.

Did you know that Kane County has a Drinking and Driving Task Force? Or that it has 15 members who each serve one-year terms? Do you want to know the names of the folks on that task force?

Did you know that Kane County has an ethics advisor? It’s Judge Grant S. Wagner, who was appointed on Sept. 11, 2012, with the adoption of Resolution 12-283.

Did you know that there are 11 paid members of the Metra Board and that they each receive $25,000 annually plus health and pension benefits? Manuel Barbosa is Kane County’s representative.

This is all published, right now and prominently, on the Kane County website home page. Look for Kane County Connected Appointed Boards and Commissions under the “Featured Links” column in the upper right of the page.

What’s cool is that this document hasn’t been published in this form before. Kane County, under the leadership of Development and Community Services Department Director Mark VanKerkoff, has organized the list of 500-plus appointees so that everyone can see the list and know how much each is paid (or in most cases, not paid.) On a practical level, the list is valuable because reappointments have been organized, and department directors have taken on responsibility for keeping track and making sure the commission appointments are up to date.

In other words, reappointments don’t fall between the cracks.

“To my knowledge, there has never been a comprehensive list with descriptions of all the various appointed positions, board and commissions,” VanKerkoff said. “There were lists of members but no link to what the purpose is or qualifications for serving. This made it difficult for past and present chairmen, County Board members and the public to understand.”

“This document (for the first time) adds the descriptions of the appointed positions, boards and commissions with the names and term expirations,” he said. “It will greatly improve transparency and help the County Board members and the public know what opportunities there are for citizens to serve, and when those opportunities may come available.”

Screenshots of the website are posted below so that you can find the links easily. But in case you’re ever looking to find out who is appointed to what in Kane County, here’s the link to the PDF.