COOK COUNTY, Ill. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- In the quest to find more election workers for the upcoming April 4 suburban races, the Cook County Clerk's Office is giving pay raises.
Election judges will make $250 while polling place technicians will earn $385. That's an increase of $50 dollars for judges and $20 dollars for technicians.
Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough announced the third increase since she took office five years ago, calling poll workers a "precious resource".
"I wish we could pay them by the hour," she added. "They are such valuable employees for us."
They're in short supply with just over a month to go before the consolidated elections. Yarbrough said 5,200 people have expressed interest in working, but her office needs 7,000 workers.
Early voting starts March 15 at 54 locations across the suburbs.
General Counsel James Nally said the clerk's office may eventually reallocate poll workers based on the growing popularity of early voting and mail-in ballots, but that's off in the future and will require a change to the law.
"The statutes currently require that the election day polling place be staffed by five judges, so we would need to have a legislative change."
Yarbrough said poll worker training begins March 9 at several locations, and it'll run through March 28.
Workers must complete the two-hour training session in order to work Election Day.
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