Cronin in Springfield pitches disbanding DuPage's election commission

Insisting DuPage must do a better job of administering elections, county board Chairman Dan Cronin asked state lawmakers Wednesday to pave the way for the DuPage Election Commission to merge with the county clerk's office.

Cronin was in Springfield to testify before the House Elections and Campaign Finance Committee in support of House Bill 5123.

Filed by state Rep. Deb Conroy and co-sponsored by state Reps. Peter Breen, David Olsen and Kathleen Willis, the proposed legislation would amend the Election Code to allow DuPage to dissolve its election commission and transfer its functions to the county clerk.

"I believe we can achieve greater efficiency and real taxpayer savings by folding the duties of the DuPage Election Commission into the DuPage County clerk's office," Cronin told the committee, which voted unanimously to pass the measure to the House floor. It's unclear when the House will vote on the proposal.

If approved by the House and Senate and signed into law, the legislation would take effect Jan. 1, 2019.

Election oversight power was stripped from the DuPage clerk's office in the early 1970s to create the election commission. The state law that formed the commission required both major political parties be represented on a three-person election panel; Republicans currently hold two of the three seats.

But Cronin says there have been serious problems during the past three elections, including a blunder that delayed results for hours during last month's primary.

"I believe that folding the election commission into the clerk's office is a much more accountable approach," Cronin said this week. "It is more efficient."

Legislation was proposed last year that would have merged the county clerk's office with the commission to create a new panel to provide bipartisan oversight of DuPage elections. But that proposal died in the Illinois House after being unanimously approved by the Senate.

This time, the proposal is "pretty straightforward and simple" because it doesn't include the creation of a new panel. In addition, roughly 56 percent of the voters in last month's primary supported a nonbinding ballot question to dissolve the commission.

Cronin said he wanted to travel to Springfield to testify because "this is a priority for us."

A state law change is the easiest way to undo the election commission because it was formed by a state law. While it could be disbanded through a binding referendum, DuPage doesn't have the authority to do so because it doesn't have home rule power.

The clerk's office sends out property tax bills and handles other documents such as birth certificates, marriage licenses and death certificates. It's run by Paul Hinds, a Republican, and has 19 employees.

The election commission is run by Executive Director Joseph Sobecki and has 23 employees. It also pays the salaries of the three election commissioners who each receive $27,500 a year.

Cronin says a recent independent study found that consolidating the election commission and the clerk's office could save taxpayers at least $300,000 a year by combining staffs and finding efficiencies.

"It makes perfect sense," Cronin said. "There's no reason not to do it."