DuPage mayors accuse state Sen. Cronin of vote-trading

A DuPage County mayors group is accusing State Sen. Dan Cronin of promising to favor Gov. Pat Quinn's pension borrowing bill in exchange for Quinn's support of turning over operational control of the DuPage Water Commission to the county.

DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference president and Bloomingdale Village President Robert Iden sent a letter to Quinn earlier this week urging him "to clearly and unequivocally reject this kind of horse-trading."

Cronin, who is the GOP's county board chairman nominee, said he has had no discussions with Quinn or anyone from the governor's office regarding the county taking over the water commission since the bill he sponsored was debated by the legislature. A compromise kept the commission's split county and municipal governance structure intact, but called for an end to a quarter-cent sales tax and resignations of all current board members by the end of the year. That deal was approved by both chambers last month and has been awaiting Quinn's signature.

"These are two entirely separate matters," Cronin said. "It's no secret I'm interested in reforming the water commission, but separately we have the pension borrowing issue."

Quinn's office refused to comment Friday, saying the water commission legislation was still under review by the governor.

Quinn is proposing a borrowing plan to cover a $3.7 billion pension payment due this year. That's in lieu of raising taxes or making spending cuts. Cronin said he will not be voting for Quinn's plan because it doesn't call for "enough spending reductions at this time."

Mark Baloga, executive director of the mayors and managers conference, said the letter was sent in response to a report in a Springfield blog that Cronin was bargaining with Quinn.

"Once we heard the possibility was there, we thought it was important to let the governor know why we thought it was a bad idea," Baloga said.

Cronin has his own suspicions about the mayors continued fight against his consolidation plans for the commission.

"I am astounded by these mayors who continue to feel threatened by the idea of consolidation that makes them go crazy," he said. "They're so protective of their turf over there, it leads me to believe they're hiding something."

Tensions between Cronin and mayors whose towns are serviced by the water commission have increased steadily since financial irregularities were discovered late last year that indicated the agency's $69 million reserve fund had been accidentally spent. A forensic audit blamed poor accounting procedures and lax oversight by the commission's top administrators and the appointed commissioners for the financial missteps.

The commission provides Lake Michigan water to more than two dozen municipalities and agencies in the county. Each municipality sets rates for the residential and commercial customers they serve. However, Cronin wants to consolidate all water operations and run the commission as a singular utility and charge all customers the same rate.