Rosemont mayoral challenger questions village contracts

Joseph Watrach believes his lack of political experience is perhaps his biggest asset in his race for Rosemont village president on April 7.

Watrach, 34, who owns a valet parking business in town, is up against Bradley Stephens' nearly 20 years of government experience, first as a Rosemont village board trustee and later as acting mayor after his father, Donald E. Stephens, died of cancer in 2007.

Leading the town of about 4,000 residents with an operational budget of nearly $150 million comes with a roughly $125,000 salary.

Watrach's $10,000 budget for the mayoral campaign is no match for Stephens' $235,000 war chest, though Stephens says he'll spend only $30,000 on this race.

Watrach said his main objective is to loosen Stephens' grip on Rosemont.

The Stephens family is involved in every aspect of the 2.5-square-mile town from public works to police protection, and is one of the most politically connected families in the Chicago suburbs.

That much power can lead to corruption, Watrach said, although he did not call Stephens corrupt.

"I'll be in there to balance the government, making sure that it's not ruled by one person and one family," he said.

Watrach criticized Stephens for handing out no-bid village contracts to family members and cronies. He said contractors are overcharging the village for construction, parking and cleaning services.

For instance, Bomark Inc. run by Stephens' brother, Mark Stephens, has village contracts to clean Rosemont's Allstate Arena, Rosemont Theatre, Donald E. Stephens Convention Center and Willow Creek health club. The company also manages parking at the arena and theater.

Stephens didn't deny the village hands out no-bid contracts, but said Watrach himself was a beneficiary of such a contract when he performed services for the village during the elder Stephens' rule.

"The contracts that he's talking about have been in place for over 20 years," Stephens said.

Donald E. Stephens, was the region's longest-serving mayor. He was Rosemont's only mayor, starting when the town began in 1956, and helped transform it from a patch of garbage dumps and mob hangouts into an entertainment and convention capital. He served as the village's only elected mayor until his death.

Watrach said there's not much openness in village government. He said he would make village board meetings accessible to residents by changing the time from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and either airing meeting videos on local access cable or posting them on the Internet.

Stephens, 46, touted his "open-door policy" and said he is not opposed to airing village meetings on cable, but added, "I'm not going to be the one to start that."

He said village board meetings have been conducted at the same time for 20 years and nobody has complained, though he acknowledged not many residents attend the meetings.

"I am extremely accessible," Stephens said. "If people have a problem, they get addressed right away."