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$$ Down the drain

It's good that taxpayers here enjoy dumping billions of dollars into redundant or unneeded local governments: Illinois has 7,000 of them, far more than any other state. Many are creations of state government, which means lawmakers could snuff them out and remove some of the tax burden that falls on Illinoisans. This page has written often about the need to sunset or consolidate smaller units of government to save money, yes, but also to increase transparency.

State legislators can give this overdue mission a kick-start by converting the DuPage Water Commission, which purchases and pipes Lake Michigan to two dozen county communities, into a county department. Consider:

In 2007, the DuPage Water Commission rebated $40 million to the municipalities it serves and embarked on an ambitious — and costly — capital improvement plan.

That level of spending was high, but it seemed that the commission could afford the outlays. It had an enviable $109 million in reserve funds.

There was just one problem. Former financial administrator Max Richter had overstated the size of the reserve fund by, gulp, $40 million. Why didn't anyone catch the accounting error? Richter operated with almost no oversight.
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No simple fixes for water commission

Negligence and incompetence put the DuPage Water Commission books out of balance by tens of millions of dollars. The finance director has been fired. The treasurer stepped down. The general manager resigned, yet is collecting $90,000 in severance.

Meanwhile, DuPage County water rates will increase significantly to cover their mistakes. And the water commission still has not released a copy of its scathing audit by Jenner & Block.

Outrage is warranted. Action is needed.

Formed in 1985 to bring Lake Michigan water to DuPage County, the commission has unfortunately operated without enough oversight. It is made up of members appointed by municipal leaders and the DuPage County Board chairman. These appointees set policy and review finances. Some are elected officials. Some are not.

According to a confidential audit obtained by the Daily Herald and detailed in an exclusive report by staff writer Jake Griffin, the errors seem to have started with a finance director, hired in 2005. They festered because the general manager failed to provide the proper leadership, even after problems were flagged by two commissioners. Audits either did not happen or failed to catch major mistakes that inflated the books.
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Dear Friend:

A successful campaign is often the direct result of the many people who volunteer their time and energy to the overall effort. Despite all the new technologies available to candidates, it’s the old-fashioned grassroots work that still makes a difference in modern-day campaigns.

I’m deeply grateful for your help in this campaign and owe our victory on February 2 to friends like you. I realize there are many campaigns to support this election year and I am truly appreciative that you chose to participate in our effort. Whether you hosted a coffee or a meet and greet, volunteered in the campaign office, distributed literature, sent friend to friend cards or placed a yard sign or a 4x4 sign in the frozen ground,  please know from the bottom of my heart how much I value your help.

The general election is more than eight months away and we still have work to do.  We ran a positive campaign which focused on the issues that matter to DuPage County families. We will continue to talk about bringing jobs to our county, keeping our neighborhoods safe and ensuring that county government is fiscally responsible to taxpayers.  

Again, thank you so much for your friendship and dedication to our campaign. I realize how busy people are between work and family commitments; taking time from your schedule to help my campaign is truly humbling to me. I pledge to work hard on your behalf both as a candidate and as your next DuPage County Board Chairman.


Sincerely,
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Senator Dan Cronin
Republican Candidate for DuPage County Board Chairman
 
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