Kane chairman jabs at Lauzen in final state of the county address

Thursday marked Kane County Board Chairman Karen McConnaughay's final state of the county address. And with political rival State Sen. Chris Lauzen in attendance, she decided to go out swinging.

McConnaughay will leave here county post at the end of the year to vie for a state senate position. Lauzen is the Republican candidate looking to replace her as chairman. The two traded barbs during the primary election season about pay-to-play tactics and the tax burden that Kane County government represents.

McConnaughay set the tone early in her 24-minute address to members of the Metro West Council of Government at a luncheon in Sandwich.

“Contrary to the armchair quarterbacking that goes on during election cycles, Kane County is in great financial shape,” McConnaughay said.

She proceeded with a series of charts indicating the county portion of local tax bills has decreased over the years. Indeed, the general fund budget for the county this year is $8 million less than when McConnaughay first became chairman eight years ago, she said. The cost to provide county-level services to local taxpayers is about $211 per resident in Kane County. That compares to $583 per resident in DuPage County, she added. McConnaughay then indirectly addressed Lauzen's pledge to freeze the county tax levy if elected to office.

“While it sounds good, there are some challenges to that,” McConnaughay said. “This current year is the first year that our actual levy is lower. The amount of taxes that are collected are a smaller amount than it was the year before.”

She explained the only way county officials pulled that off was by reducing the portion of the county's levy that specifically targets capital projects this year. And even that action was only possible because commercial and residential development is at a lull in the poor economy, McConnaughay said.

Then it was time for McConnaughay to address Lauzen's pay-to-play accusations. She said a new ranking by the Illinois Policy Institute names Kane County as the most transparent of the 28 largest northeastern counties in the state. She said the county was also recently nationally recognized for the ethical standards of its procurement process.

“It speaks to some of the unsavory things that went on during the election cycle,” McConnaughay said of why she wanted to spotlight the honors. “I and my administration, my board and my staff have been accused of pay-to-play and inappropriate behavior. Yeah, you remember that (said while pointing to Lauzen in the audience). Pretty hard to do that, to be engaged in that, when you're being nationally recognized for the purity of your procurement process.”

McConnaughay ended her address with a call for all local governments and neighboring county leaders to work with whomever becomes the next Kane County chairman.

“Collaboration is what has made us all successful,” McConnaughay said.

She received a standing ovation from the audience, Lauzen included.