Looming DuPage Co. budget cuts putting programs, museum at risk

Second of a three-part series examining the impact of DuPage County's doomsday budget for next year.

The diary of Luther Hiatt has traveled a long and adventurous path, and its journey may not be over.

Written in rare leisure moments by a young soldier thrown into the crucible of the Civil War, it now safely rests behind a glass case at the DuPage County Historical Museum in Wheaton.

"Our camp is full of rumors of the Rebs asking again for peace and of a great battle at or near Richmond," Hiatt notes on March 31, 1865. "Grant's and Lee's armies … both badly used up."

But if funding for the museum falls through as part of program cuts by the DuPage County board, the diary and 45,000 other artifacts will be gone with the wind.

Without its county subsidy, the museum will close. The institution is just one of several organizations threatened by the county's budget crisis.

Chairman Robert Schillerstrom's so-called doomsday budget has a $9.5 million gap in the corporate fund, which pays for most salaries.

To balance the books, about 200 layoffs, program cuts and reductions in grants are required. Elected officials are expected to vote on the issue Tuesday.

The museum received $140,000 in the county's 2007 budget. Nothing has been allocated for 2008.

"It would be a lot cheaper to keep us open," DuPage County Historical Museum Association President Veronica Porter said.

As a public trust, museum artifacts can't simply be returned to donors. A qualified expert must assess the items, determine ownership and find a new home. The lengthy and expensive process is overseen by the Illinois attorney general's office.

"We have to dispose of them in a responsible manner," museum educator Tami Arntzen said.

Porter estimated the cost of dispensing with the collection at more than $2 million.

News of the pending closure catches many visitors by surprise. But while the public may be unaware, those in the small world of museums and historical societies have taken note.

Many organizations have already claimed items on loan. A sought-after Civil War flag carried by local soldiers that was intended to go on display in DuPage now will go to a Chicago museum.

"Isn't it a shame?" Porter asked. "It's a piece of DuPage history."

And a museum staple, the model railroad display that even features a tiny historical museum replica, has sent its last train car shooting through the miniature tunnels.

The DuPage Society of Model Engineers plans to move the beloved exhibit to a more stable home, Arntzen said.

The end of the museum also means the loss of 124 volunteers and comes at a time when its board had developed a plan to increase revenues by renting out the graceful third-floor hall for social events. People had started booking space, but the phone has stopped ringing.

"We'd like to be able to put our business plan into place," Porter said. "We can make this a win-win situation."

Wasted effort?

Every weekend, a steady stream of cars drives up to the Regional Household Waste Facility in Naperville.

People with trunks filled with pesticides' containers, old fertilizer bags and stale gasoline drop off their hazardous cargo and go on their way, having done their bit to save the planet.

It's one small step for the homeowner and one giant step for the environment, supporters say.

"It's an extremely effective service," Naperville Department of Public Works Director Dave Van Vooren said.

But the popular service will take a hit if the county pulls a $100,000 subsidy as called for in the proposed budget. Expenses to operate the facility were projected to be $173,000 in 2007-08.

Support for the facility comes from Naperville, Aurora, DuPage County, Kane County, Will County and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, which collects the waste,.

While Naperville is exploring a contingency plan, losing the $100,000 is "a significant blow to operations," Van Vooren said.

The facility collected more than 17,000 gallons of liquids in 2006 that otherwise would have gathered dust in homes, ended up in conventional landfills posing an environmental threat, or, worst-case scenario, get poured down the drain, Van Vooren said.

Since it opened in 1992, 157,669 people have used the facility, disposing of 7.5 million pounds of dry waste and 800,925 gallons of liquids.

While the bulk of users come from DuPage, some people travel from Chicago or as far away as Springfield to dispose of hazardous garbage.

"They don't know what to do with these types of things but they don't want to throw them in the household waste steam. They want to see them processed in a safe manner," Van Vooren said.

Deja vu

The University of Illinois Extension DuPage already has been through the budget wringer in 2006, but experience hasn't softened the blow.

Like the museum, the loss of funding -- in this case $65,000 -- would kill the program in DuPage.

"If we get less than that, we could stay open but we would have reduced services," Director Barbara Linek said. No money, and "it's university policy that we close."

There are U of I extension services in counties across Illinois, each tailored to a particular region's needs.

In DuPage, priorities are centered on environmental issues, nutrition education, youth services and teacher training.

Every dollar the extension receives from the county or through donations and grants is matched by the state, Linek said.

The environmental component centers around a master gardener program that gives qualified volunteers 72 hours of training. There are 122 master gardeners who teach classes, speak to community groups and field questions from the public.

"We'll give them information on how to deal with problems without using chemicals," Linek said.

Lately, the organization has been at the forefront of the emerald ash borer battle, assisting residents and landscaping companies with concerns about the pest.

They also work closely with 4-H organizations in DuPage and conduct numerous workshops for schoolchildren ranging from rainforest ecology to worms.

Other programs include assisting needy residents who receive food stamps by teaching them about nutritional meals.

"It would be a tragedy if DuPage County lost access to the University of Illinois' research," Linek said.