Cronin rankles mayors with water commission referendum talk

DuPage County mayors complain that the ink wasn't even dry on the compromise bill to keep the DuPage Water Commission intact before opposition ringleader state Sen. Dan Cronin began talking about dismantling the agency again.

"What I'm confused about is he came together with us on a compromise that we think is a decent compromise and suddenly he's saying he's not satisfied with the compromise," said Addison mayor and water commission member Larry Hartwig. "The very definition of a compromise is that neither side is completely satisfied."

Cronin, the Republican nominee to be the next county board chairman, suggested he wanted to put the question of dismantling the commission to voters in the form of a November ballot question. The remark came shortly after the state Senate overwhelmingly approved a version of a bill introduced by Cronin that repeals a quarter-percent sales tax by 2016 and mandates all current commission members resign by January in lieu of the commission being taken over by the county.

"I think it's a good opportunity to gauge the opinion of the taxpayers and voters," Cronin said Thursday.

Cronin said he approached county board member Jeff Redick about the possibility of the county board adding the question to the ballot, but Redick told him the board likely wouldn't support such a plan after checking with several colleagues. Redick and Cronin are partners in the same Oak Brook-based law firm.

"The consensus from the board is the compromise that came out is one that has a lot of potential and we want to see what comes of that," Redick said.

The mayors complain Cronin is using the issue to further his campaign for county board chairman. Woodridge Mayor and commission member Bill Murphy said residents in his town should blame Cronin when water bills go up after the sales tax that generates roughly $30 million a year is repealed.

"Most people, myself included, are going to call this the 'Cronin Water Rate Increase,'" Murphy said. "The sales tax elimination was something he wanted to accomplish, but that may not be as great an accomplishment as he wanted."

Cronin said he wants more accountability and oversight of the commission.

"It should be run like a utility," he said. "Once the sales tax goes away, governance will be much more straightforward and less complex."

The commission oversees operations that provide Lake Michigan water to more than two dozen municipalities and agencies. Late last year, staff discovered financial reporting irregularities that led the commission to spend all of its $69 million reserves. A costly forensic audit was conducted and made several recommendations to avoid future financial missteps. Dismantling the commission was not a recommendation of the audit.

"I don't think handing over greater controls to the county is the solution," said Carole Cheney, Cronin's Democratic opponent in November. "He's assuming the county would be a better steward, but the county needed a $75 million bailout from the water commission a few years back and my opponent was the one who sponsored that bailout."

Cronin could also petition to have the question on the ballot. That would require more than 15,000 signatures from registered voters by Aug. 16.

"I'm not afraid of that number," Cronin said, "I'm not trying to undo the compromise. I want to get the opinion of the voters."