Cantore focused on the future of DuPage forest preserve

A dozen years as a DuPage County Forest Preserve commissioner readied Joseph Cantore for this moment.

The new president of the forest preserve commission doesn't need to be brought up to speed on decisions the board has made since 2002 because he helped make those decisions.

He was there when the district made deals to acquire various parcels of land. The district also increased services, expanded programs and improved preserves during Cantore's time as a commissioner.

So when D. “Dewey” Pierotti announced he was retiring after two decades as president, Cantore knew he was the right person to replace Pierotti.

“I want to make sure everything the previous boards have accomplished over the years continues to be carried on,” Cantore said during a recent interview with the Daily Herald.

At the same time, the 42-year-old Oak Brook Republican is showing he's going to do some things differently than his predecessor.

On his first day as forest preserve president, Cantore replaced the district's general counsel. He also ended the district's practice of placing the president's name on signs. In addition, Cantore championed salary reductions for the commission that included cutting the president's annual salary to $75,000 from $112,258.

Cantore says his immediate goals include implementing a reorganization of the district and finding an executive director.

“I am looking forward to doing the business of the forest preserve,” Cantore said. “There's a lot of issues we've got to get accomplished.”

Cantore had hoped to start his presidency with an executive director position already in place. In August, the district named John Lapinski to replace former executive director Arnie Biondo.

But Lapinski, who is the trial court administrator for DuPage's chief judge, decided not to take the forest preserve job because of a longer-than-expected recovery from a medical issue.

“I'm very sorry that he (Lapinski) won't be able to join us,” Cantore said “I think he was the perfect person for that job.”

While commissioners need to develop a plan to search for an executive director, Cantore said he wants the process to be simple.

“What I would like to do — and I think what most of the commissioners would like to do — is advertise, take in resumes, and pick somebody,” Cantore said.

He said the district doesn't need to hire a firm to do a nationwide search like it did to find Biondo.

“We did that once,” Cantore said. “It's not going to happen again.”

He said the commission will be more involved in screening candidates for the job. That should help the board find someone everyone is comfortable with.

“I want it to be somebody who's going to work with the entire board,” he said, “who's going to be able to facilitate a lot of different decision-making processes.”

Meanwhile, the district is implementing a restructuring plan that eliminates six director positions and two deputy director posts.

“We're working though that,” Cantore said.

The reorganization plan calls for some employees to be demoted and given new job titles. But most of the changes are possible because dozens of longtime employees are expected to retire as part of an early retirement incentive program.

Cantore estimates the district has added roughly 1,500 acres of land to its holdings since he was first elected as a commissioner 2002. Now there isn't as much land for district to buy in the DuPage anymore.

As a result, Cantore said, the district needs to start focusing on programming and adding amenities to its 25,000 acres of prairies, woodlands and wetlands.

“I want to make our preserves, hopefully, better than they are,” he said.

For example, Cantore said the commission needs to revisit the idea of making recreational improvements to two closed landfills.

Nearly 20 years ago, plans were made to add toboggan runs, cross-country ski trails, mountain bike challenge courses and other similar amenities at the Greene Valley landfill near Naperville and the Mallard Lake landfill near Bloomingdale and Hanover Park.

But forest preserve commissioners haven't talked about those ideas in recent years.

Cantore said the issue has to be addressed for the sake of the neighbors of Greene Valley and Mallard Lake.

“Those people were promised certain things, and we've got to deliver on our promises to do exactly what we said we were going to do,” Cantore said. “The landfills can be perfect places for certain types of amenities that the people around there want.”

In the coming years, commissioners will need to decide what should happen to millions of dollars in property tax revenue after the district pays off part of its debt.

When some bonds are paid off in 2017, new Commissioner Al Murphy has said he wants to see a property tax reduction.

Others have argued the district will need to continue to collect the estimated $5 million a year in tax revenue because the money would pay for infrastructure improvements and ongoing maintenance costs.

Cantore said he's concerned with maintaining the fiscal sustainability of the district.

“What we don't want to happen is to … make the wrong financial decisions now to save a few bucks. And then in the future, we're going to be behind the eight ball financially.”

To save taxpayers' money, Cantore said the district is pursuing shared services agreements with the county.

“That's something that I think is going to be a win-win for everybody,” he said.