Metro East Sun

The Metro East Sanitary District covers both St. Clair and Madison Counties in Illinois and was formed under the Metro East Sanitary District Act of 1974, 70 ILCS 2905.

Both St. Clair County and Madison County Board Chairmen appoint 2 Commissioners each, and an additional Commissioner is appointed by the Chairman of the county with the greatest equalized assessment value annually – See Sec 3-1.

Salary of each Commissioner shall be the lesser of either St. Clair or Madison County Board member salary – See Sec 3-4.

(70 ILCS 2905/3-4) (from Ch. 42, par. 503-4)

Sec. 3-4. Commissioners shall be paid the same salaries as the county board members from either St. Clair or Madison County whichever is lower.

If anyone cannot read and understand Section 3-4, please drop us a note on what you do not understand.

The Commissioners of this district are paid the same as Madison County Board members, since it is the lesser of the two counties, however, these commissioners are also being paid Health Insurance coverage for themselves and their families, which is not part of a Madison County Board member’s pay.

Commissioners Charles Brinza, Victor Darwin, Charlotte Dixon, Marious Jackson, and Scott Oney are participating in this health insurance which is not authorized by state law. See the January 2023 Insurance Invoice (here).

We do understand a couple of months ago the Commissioners stopped including family members in their insurance but continued the insurance for themselves.

This additional compensation of insurance, above and beyond what Madison County Board members are paid, is unauthorized compensation and should be repaid to the District.

We understand this has been going on for decades, but we also understand it needs to stop immediately.

There are two other Sanitary District Acts which permit providing for health and other insurance to the “Board of Trustees.” Neither Act applies to the Metro East Sanitary District “Board of Commissioners” as they were formed under a different Act and are “Commissioners” not “Trustees.”


This story was originally published by Edgar County Watchdogs. Read the original HERE.