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Christine J. Johnson, long-term Treasurer of DeKalb County has announced her upcoming retirement. Johnson was appointed to the office in 1994 and been elected seven times serving as the Treasurer for nearly 25 years, longer than any other Treasurer has served since the founding of DeKalb County in 1837. “I have been privileged to serve the taxpayers and citizens of DeKalb County, both as their Treasurer, and as their Senator. I am so grateful for the confidence they have placed in me.” During her tenure as County Treasurer, she has seen many changes and made many improvements in the office, both in technology and procedural security. When Johnson took office, all the computer processing of tax levies, tax bill calculations, and printing were done in Kane County. Tax bills were picked up in Geneva, and brought back to the Treasurer’s Office in Sycamore where they were hand-stuffed for mailing. Under her leadership, DeKalb County was a design-development partner with Devnet, a Sycamore-based company, for an in-house property tax billing and collection system now in use by more than 60 Illinois counties, and in several other states and countries as well. Johnson has always had the service to taxpayers as a hallmark of her time in office. During her tenure, she worked with other county departments to develop the first online property tax search. That program was eventually replaced by Devnet Wedge, now used by taxpayers, title companies, attorneys, banks, mortgage companies and others who are able to easily search for property tax data online 24/7. Taxpayers can also make their tax payments using this new, robust program. For the convenience of taxpayers, she implemented the first real estate tax payment options for accepting credit cards, debit cards, and electronic payments on-line. Recently, she implemented a Treasurer’s Helpline, where callers can be directly connected with the tax office who can best answer their questions. She instituted DeKalb County’s first written investment policy. She has earned $25 million in interest on the county’s investments for the benefit of the taxpayers. In addition she has earned $ 4 million in interest that was distributed back to the other taxing districts in the county. “I am pleased that we were able to provide those interest funds so that our citizens were able to benefit from additional services without additional taxes.”, said Johnson. She has served as the Treasurer for the ETSB 911 Board during her time as Treasurer. “This service has been particularly gratifying as I have learned about devotion that our police, fire and first responders have to our citizens. The work that they do each day is nothing short of amazing.” Johnson has been active in professional organizations as well. She served in all of the chairs of the Illinois County Treasurers’ Association, including a term as their President. She was recognized as the Illinois County Treasurer of the Year in 2003. In addition, Johnson has co-chaired the ICTA Legislative Committee for many years. She has been on the board of the National Association of County Treasurers and Finance Officers, and is a member of the Government Finance Officers Association. She holds the Certified County Official designation from the Illinois Association of County Officials. She is proud to have served as a Republican Precinct Committeeman for more than 36 years. She also served two terms as Vice-Chairman of the DeKalb County Republican Central Committee, and as their secretary. In 2011, Johnson was appointed to the Illinois Senate. There she served on the Education, Public Health, and Licensed Activities committees, and was the minority spokesperson on the Higher Education Committee. In the Senate, she was also appointed to the P-20 Council on Education, the Legislative Medicaid Advisory Committee, and the Tuition and Fee Waiver Task Force. In 2011, she was named a Lift Leader by the URF Action Committee, having the highest score in the Illinois Senate. She has the distinction of being the only graduate of Northern Illinois University to have represented the main campus of NIU in the Senate. She was the 2011 Legislator of the Year for the Illinois Public Transportation Association, and was selected as a Friend of Education by the Area 2 Superintendents of the Regional Offices of Education. In 2013, she returned to DeKalb County and was once again appointed County Treasurer. She says, “I have been blessed to work with an incredible group of elected officials, department heads, and employees. Their dedication to service, and to doing what is right for the citizens, is truly what makes DeKalb County great.” So what is next for Treasurer Johnson? She is the current Treasurer and incoming Vice-chair of the DeKalb County Community Foundation, and also serves on the Church Council of Calvary Lutheran Church in Lee, Illinois. She is a member of the DeKalb Rotary Club, and a Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary. Johnson says “I intend to continue my service and give back to the citizens in other ways that benefit our community.” Johnson’s last day in office will be December 11, 2020.