Cronin suggests water commission overhaul

State Sen. Dan Cronin believes the time has come to reform the DuPage Water Commission.

The Republican DuPage County Board Chairman hopeful said the 13-member board lacks accountability and should be folded under the arm of county government. He is co-sponsoring legislation that will allow changes to the commission's governance.

But in the meantime, he is reaching out to municipal and county leaders to collect ideas about the best course of action for the future of the commission.

"It's not a model of good governance," Cronin complained. "How do taxpayers seek redress? There should be a way to hold people accountable."

Cronin said he was spurred by the commission's lack of movement following revelations late last year that $19 million of the commission's reserves had accidentally been spent on operational costs. The commission ordered a forensic audit of the group's finances, but the results of that audit are only now coming to light. The report is expected to be discussed at Thursday's commission meeting.

"People are hiding behind the audit," he said. "I've been waiting patiently for their ideas for reform and I would be derelict in my duty if I waited any longer."

But is Democratic opponent Carole Cheney said she favors waiting to learn the audit's results before acting.

"I'm hopeful the auditors will have recommendations or at least identify where the problems arose," she said. "If people want to hold someone accountable, they can vote the (county board) chairman out of office."

Cheney contends the chairman should be held as accountable as the commissioners because the chairman appoints seven of the commission members. The other six are appointed by municipalities served by the water commission and she said mayors in those towns could be held accountable by the voters.

Lombard Village President Bill Mueller says there's no need to change the commission's governance. He said the forensic audit does suggest some internal changes the commission should make so the financial errors aren't made again.

"The bottom line of this proposal by Sen. Cronin is whether it's a question of taking over control of the water commission or taking control of the money of the water commission," Mueller said.

Water commission municipalities have been leery of county representatives since the county was granted permission by the state legislature nearly a decade ago to take $75 million of the commission's reserves to plug a county budget hole. Cronin voted in favor of that one-time cash grab.

Cronin contends his goal is better government, not gaining county access to the commission's funds.

"I want accountability, and nobody's talking about it," he said. "The silence is deafening."