Schillerstrom vetoes DuPage Airport budget over tech park funding

When the DuPage Airport Authority recently submitted its annual budget proposal, it gave outgoing county board Chairman Bob Schillerstrom a chance to use his veto power for the first time in his 12-year reign.

The proposed budget indicated the airport board's plan to take over management of the DuPage National Technology Park and reduce its funding significantly, which raised Schillerstrom's ire.

"It appears the (airport) board does not recognize the technology park board's independence or the long-term importance of their mission to the long-term economic health of our region," he wrote in a veto notice to the airport board sent Friday.

But airport board Vice Chairman Gerald Gorski called the notion the board was withdrawing its support of the tech park "erroneous." He added that funding was cut because the tech park is carrying close to $400,000 in its reserves.

"They're sitting on money right now, and there's no development going on there," Gorski said. "The tech park property is the airport's property and the money is the airport's money, so we're in charge of seeing to its proper utilization."

The airport authority is holding a special meeting at 3 p.m. today to discuss the budgeting process and Schillerstrom's veto. It would take three-fifths of the county board to override Schillerstrom's veto, if the airport board decides it wants to play hardball.

Neither Schillerstrom nor tech park Director Jack Tenison knew of the airport board's budget plans. Tenison was requesting about $500,000 from the airport board, which is near the standard annual amount since the tech park's inception nearly a decade ago.

Tenison said the tech park reserves are in place to fund a variety of programs and also repay loans to the airport authority, which currently tally close to $650,000. The reserves were built through interest earnings, he said.

Schillerstrom said the airport authority agreed to fund the tech park's operations and maintain an autonomous oversight board as part of the original pact that created the tech park.

"I think the airport authority should redouble their efforts and focus on making the tech park a success," Schillerstrom said Tuesday.

Almost $40 million has been spent on the infrastructure of the property just south of the airport in West Chicago. Most of that funding came from grants. So far, very little has been built on the site. Most blame the lagging economy and glut of existing open commercial properties.

The squabble has cast a light on the airport authority's own finances. The airport's annual property tax revenue, which now totals more than $6 million, has long been a source of contention among area politicians who don't believe residents should be footing the bill for operations of a "corporate airport."

Additionally, according to last airport's current budget, the authority's cash reserves are almost equal to its annual expenditures. Most taxing bodies keep about 20 percent to 25 percent of its operational costs in reserve. Gorski said much of that money was tied up in capital improvement plans, including replacement of the airport's major runway within the next few years. He said the excess cash would make the runway project "more attractive" to federal officials who supplied partial grant funding for such projects.