Joe Chiarelli was born and raised in Winnebago County. He is the son of a small business owner and spent more than 20 years working with his father at Vince the Tailor, the family tailoring business, where Joe learned about service to others and the importance of treating people with respect and honesty.

Joe’s combined experience and skills led him to run for Rockford Alderman in 2013. As an Alderman, Joe was at the forefront of every major issue facing the city of Rockford since 2013. Being well respected among his colleagues for his ability to work through problems and create solutions led Joe to serve as Chairman of the Codes and Regulations Committee for his last seven years as Alderman.

Based on the encouragement of many elected officials and community leaders who believe his approach to government is a needed asset for county government, Joe decided to run for Winnebago County Board Chairman. Joe has pledged to work with the County Board, elected officials and all of the parties involved in issues facing our county since taking over the role of Chairman in November of 2020.

Joe lives in Rockford and has been married for 35 years to his wife, Connie. Together they have two adult children, Claudia and Vince, and daughter-in-law Shayna. Their grandson Joseph is the next generation for the Chiarelli family and is a major motivating factor in Joe’s commitment to Winnebago County.

Contact

To contact the Chairman requesting a meeting, public appearance or proclamation, please direct all inquiries to:

Karen Elyea
Executive Assistant to the Chairman
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(815) 319-4234

For all press inquiries/media requests:

Danielle Grindle
Communications Director
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(815) 319-4233

The Winnebago County Board Chairman is elected at-large, county-wide consistent with Winnebago County Code and State of Illinois Counties Code. The county board chairman serves as the head of county government, facilitating the operations of the county board, administration, and certain departments not under the authority of other elected county officials.