DuPage board OKs new water boss

A Chicago water official with more than 25 years experience will become the next general manager of the reconstituted DuPage Water Commission.

DuPage County Board members on Tuesday morning unanimously supported the water panel’s decision to hire John F. Spatz Jr. to replace Bob Martin, the former general manager who resigned under fire last March following a report that uncovered fiscal mismanagement at the commission.

Spatz, 50, of Chicago, serves as first deputy commissioner of Chicago’s Water Management Department. He said he applied for the general manager position in DuPage because he thought it would be “a good challenge.”

Commission Chairman Jim Zay called Spatz “a great addition” to the agency because of his experience and understanding of DuPage’s distribution system. Water panel members wanted somebody from the outside to come in and take a look at the organization and help it move forward.

“This is a major step of getting this agency back to where it should be,” said Zay, who also is a county board member.

The DuPage Water Commission, which delivers Lake Michigan drinking water to more than two dozen communities, was overhauled after the agency accidentally spent its $69 million reserve fund through poor accounting practices and lackadaisical financial oversight. Those changes included replacing eight of the commission’s 13 members.

DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin, who called for the commission to be revamped while he was still a state lawmaker, said Spatz is the right person to oversee the daily operations of the water commission.

“He understands the magnitude of the issues and the problems,” Cronin said. “We’ve got talented board members in place. We’ve got a solid, no-nonsense general manager in place. I think we’re moving in the right direction.”

Now that Spatz’s hiring is approved, the water commission’s next steps include finding a treasurer. The agency also needs to do a search to find a permanent replacement for the financial administrator who was fired when the accounting errors were discovered.