Community Unit District 300 hopefuls debate ethics

Since the last school board election in Community Unit District 300, no board member has become embroiled in a scandal and no vendor has been accused of trading campaign cash for contracts.

Still, ethics has emerged as one of central issues in this year's campaign for the District 300 school board.

Discussion among the six candidates seeking three, 4-year seats on the board has focused on two proposed policies: one that would bar the district from doing business with firms that had contributed to district campaigns and another that would require background checks for board members.

While most candidates have said they support background checks, only one - Rob Lee - said he unequivocally supports the vendor conflict-of-interest policy.

During a recent Daily Herald editorial board meeting with the candidates Lee said the policy, which would prevent firms that had contributed more than $5,000 to school board candidates or referendum campaigns from doing business with the district, should not be discarded just because it might be difficult to formulate or enforce.

"Just because it's going to be a hard policy to figure out doesn't mean it's a bad policy," Lee said.

Board Vice President Karen Roeckner, who is seeking re-election, said the policy is not needed because the board is generally required to accept the lowest bidder.

"If anybody wants to contribute to a referendum, they still have to go through the process of being a low bidder," Roeckner said.

Board candidate Tracey Perez agreed, going so far as to call Lee "unethical" for making the conflict-of-interest policy a campaign issue when, in her view, pay-to-play politics have not been a problem in District 300.

Candidate Dorota Jordan said it is difficult to show there is a direct correlation between campaign contributions and the awarding of contracts.

"I've never seen a Blagojevich-type situation in the district," Jordan said.

Candidate Dave Alessio, a former board member, said the policy would have to be tightened to be truly effective - potentially deterring qualified vendors.

"That could be such a burden on a company that they wouldn't even bid, so you have to strike a balance," Alessio said.

Board Secretary Anne Miller did not say she supported or opposed the conflict-of-interest policy but said the proposal needed more discussion and study. "Does that policy create harms to the district?" Miller asked. "Does it tie our hands?"