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Coroner defends job changesBy Tamara SharmanEarly 1994 will bring a major change to the Will County Coroner’s office that Coroner Patrick O’Neil says will save taxpayers’ money while supplying the same levelof professional service the department currently provides.Recently the freshman coroner announced he will make good on a campaign pledge and cut costs in his department by eliminating three full-time deputy coroners and replacing them with seven part-time employees who will operate on a contractual basis.He estimated the move will save $52,000 yearly.“It is my constitutional right to see that my office runs smoothly, efficiently and at the least expense to taxpayers,” O’Neil stated.It is my constitutional rightto see that my office runs smoothly, efficiently and at the least expense to taxpayers.Coroner Patrick O'NeilThe part-time personnel will work one day per week for which they will receive $75, plus an additional $50 if they must travel to a death scene, according toO’Neil.The part-time staff will be required totake classes on death scene investigations, toxicology and other topics, he said, and will have use of a county vehicle equipped with a cellular telephone and radio communications.To fill the part-time positions O’NeiJ will look for individuals with prior funeral home experience, paramedics or possibly retired police officers, he said.O’Neil’s cost-saving plan has come under fire by some county firefighters who believe it will hamper professionalism and increase response time in an office they say currently runs well.The Democratic coroner was particularly irked by some criticism that suggested his proposal will return the coroner’s office to the way it was administered under three-term former Coroner Robert Tezak.■ See CORONER, Page A-4
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New Lenox Star
New Lenox, Illinois, US
Thu, Nov 18, 1993
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AZ, USA 29 Jan 2020
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