Voters were ignored

Response to the Aug. 20 letter "DuPage referendums far from 'pointless'":

During the Aug. 11 DuPage County Board meeting the board chose to add three questions of their own to the November ballot. Not surprisingly, they failed to retain two referendums of great interest to residents - one to decrease the size of the county board from 18 to 12 and the other to merge the recorder and clerk's office.

I'd like to thank members Ozog, DeSart, Healy and the others who strongly and correctly defended the right of voters to be heard and to not remove the two referendums from the ballot.

Retaining 18 seats provides a greater chance for the current members to retain positions, depending on just where the district lines are drawn as a result of the 2020 Census. The diversity of the county board after the 2022 election will depend on who runs in 2022 and who is elected.

The coronavirus has resulted in the U.S. being in a recession, with the economy not expected to recover rapidly. Some people are suffering financially more than others and making do with less resources. The county board members should not be assured of retaining their $52,102 side jobs with benefits (most of them have primary jobs, many of them as attorneys). Many people will have to work harder for their incomes; County Board members should be no exception. If they anticipate the positions will demand more work than they are willing to do, they are not obligated to seek re-election.

What's "pointless" is that once elected the board decides which questions to ask rather than what's in the voters' best interests. Ask us - we'll tell you.

Rose Kuntze

Winfield