Des Plaines aldermen keep taxpayer-funded health care
This story has been updated to reflect that Alderman Don Smith is chairman of the city council's finance and administration committee.
Des Plaines aldermen voted Monday night to keep the taxpayer-funded health insurance benefits they and other city elected officials receive.
Only two aldermen, Denise Rodd and Don Smith, and Mayor Matt Bogusz spoke in favor of ending the benefits - all three of whom have chosen not to receive city health insurance themselves.
"This is not a job. It's public service," said Bogusz, who declined the city's coverage when he was elected an alderman in 2009. "If you're here to serve the public, you shouldn't be looking at your paycheck and what you've got 'coming to me.' And if you do, you're in the wrong business."
Six Des Plaines aldermen and the city clerk have chosen to take the coverage, which cost the city $92,692 last year. Officials must pay for 12 percent of premium costs; the city picks up the remainder.
Those who wanted to keep the benefits argued the costs are a small percentage of the total $150 million city budget and property tax levy.
Alderman Jim Brookman said the work aldermen have done - from securing a casino to pursuing an alternative water source - has actually saved the city money.
"The work of an alderman is very important and affects people's lives very directly," Brookman said.
Des Plaines is one of three towns in the Northwest suburbs to offer its elected officials health coverage. Palatine pays 88 percent of each person's premium cost. Schaumburg offers a village plan but the official must pay the full premium.
Naperville council members voted last November to end city benefits for themselves.
Des Plaines officials say they're not sure when the city started offering its officials health care coverage, and it isn't listed as a requirement in city code.
Rodd has called for ending the benefits for Des Plaines officials since she was elected in 2013, but Monday marked the first time the full council formally debated the issue. Smith, chairman of the council's finance and administration committee, agreed to put the item on the agenda at Rodd's request.
Her proposal called for ending the benefits starting with newly elected officials in 2017. After a 6-2 vote to keep the benefits, aldermen voted likewise against Rodd's proposal to call for a citywide referendum on the issue on the November ballot.