By Howard Packowitz
BLOOMINGTON – McLean County government will soon have a new administrator.
The county board Tuesday night voted to hire McLean County Health Department Director Camille Rodriguez to manage all of county government.
With one member abstaining, the board approved a five-year contract for Rodriguez with a $130,000 annual salary.
She replaces Bill Wasson, who retires June 1 with an annual salary of $145,720.
Rodriguez is only the fifth county administrator, and the first woman to hold the job, a fact not lost on her three daughters.
“They think it’s a pretty big deal that their mother is the first woman to hold this position,” said Rodriguez.
“I just think it’s an honor to be tapped for the position. McLean County has a history of hiring highly qualified candidates. That’s what I consider myself to be, a highly qualified candidate,” Rodriguez also said.
Rodriguez also worked for the Wisconsin’s Department of Health Services. She was an investigator for two state agencies in Illinois — the Department of Children and Family Services and the Executive Inspector General. Rodriguez has been McLean County’s health department director since January 2018.
Rodriguez believes the Blue Ribbon panel and the county board’s executive committee were impressed with her energy, her positive attitude, and desire to collaborate with others.
“Government can not exist without the participants of all, and so our ability to listen to what people in McLean County feel are the needs, our ability to use data to drive our decisions, and my ability to serve this county board is going to be all the right combination to continue on with the successes,” Rodriguez said.
Republican County Board member George Wendt, who represents District 3 covering south and west of Bloomington, declined comment why he abstained from voting for the new administrator.
Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]
