Stephens family nepotism thrives in Rosemont

The rules governing government in the suburbs, and especially in small towns, aren't always evident. At least, there inevitably are gray areas where the proper course may be subject to honest debate. It's not always clear where the lines are.

For instance, a small town frequently will look to its local business and professional community for leadership, and that's not only natural, it also makes a lot of sense. Frequently, those are areas that groom both leadership skills and community involvement.

But then, of course, there arise almost unavoidable conflicts of interest. Issues arise, even of a subtle nature, that could benefit or harm those business and professional interests. It's a sticky wicket and not always easy to sort out.

Thankfully, as the suburbs have matured, our governments have become more professional and in the process, have developed codes of ethical conduct that help guide decision-making and operations in a way that helps protect the public interest.

Perfect? No. But generally mindful of ethics? In most cases.

Then you have Rosemont.

In many respects, partly because of its location at the entrance to the world's busiest airport but also because of its vision, Rosemont is an economic success story that most suburbs would love to emulate. It glistens with tourism and entertainment and night life.

It got that way, we suppose, in some respects because the legendary late Don Stephens was able to run it as his personal fiefdom. It's probably true that there are efficiencies when messy disagreements don't have to be battled, when the only vote that matters is the vote of one man.

By the same token, it was a fiefdom then, and it is a fiefdom now. It's not so much Don Stephens' town now, as it is the Stephens family's town, complete with his son Bradley having replaced him as mayor.

Never has that been clearer than in last week's Suburban Tax Watchdog report by Jake Griffin in which Griffin revealed that 10 members of the Stephens family received almost $1 million from the village payroll last year.

The payroll also includes five other elected officials and 13 of their family members.

All told, the nepotism pay in Rosemont amounts to almost $2 million, a 10th of the municipality's budget.

It could be argued that there are gray areas, that sometimes a family member may be the best person qualified for the job. In a town of 4,000, it could be argued, it's not always clear where the line is.

But to paraphrase a legendary line from an old “Lou Grant” television episode: We don't know where the line is, but when you're paying $2 million a year in nepotism, you've crossed it.