CL City Clerk Will Be Appointed, Not Elected, Following Vote

CRYSTAL LAKE, IL — The Crystal Lake City Council voted in favor of changing how the city clerk is selected during a meeting Tuesday.

The approval means the public will no longer select the Crystal Lake City Clerk as part of the local election process. The city clerk will now be appointed by the mayor beginning on May 1, 2025.

Up until that date, the city's deputy city clerk will perform the city clerk's duties. The new clerk will be appointed, or reappointed, every four years by the mayor with the advice and consent of the city council, according to city documents.

• Crystal Lake City Clerk Charged With Grooming, Possessing Child Porn
  

The decision comes after the city's most recent clerk, Nick Kachiroubas, was arrested on charges of grooming and possessing child pornography this past summer. He is expected to appear for a preliminary hearing on Aug. 16.

The sheriff's office launched an investigation into Kachiroubas after the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children receiving information regarding the online enticement of children for sexual acts, according to authorities. He was arrested and charged in June.

The city of Crystal Lake is a home rule community with fewer than 100,000 residents, and the city has adopted a "manager form of government," which means "the city council may adopt an ordinance amending the city code to provide for the city clerk to be appointed by the mayor with the approval of the city council without the need for referendum approval," according to city documents.

The measure passed during Tuesday's meeting without any discussion among city council members.

The city clerk performs various administrative duties, including the execution of all documents, papers, receipts, orders and checks required by any law to be executed by the city clerk, according to the city council agenda packet. In addition, the clerk is responsible for maintaining a record of city ordinances, serve as the custodian of the city seal and maintain a record of all officers and employees absence.

"As the operations of the city become increasingly more complex, the duties of the clerk have likewise become more complicated and less effectively performed by a single elected individual," Nick Hammonds, deputy city manager for Crystal Lake, wrote in a memo to the city council regarding the ordinance amendment.

Numerous communities have an appointed clerk, including Woodstock, Huntley, Naperville, Park Ridge, and Highland Park.

The vote comes weeks before petition circulation begin for the 2025 consolidated election, which is slated to start on Aug. 20. Prior to that, the city needed to amend the ordinance regading the city's code and notify McHenry County that the city clerk position is no longer an elected position, according to city documents.