Mailer spurs accusations in Schaumburg mayoral race
Schaumburg mayoral candidate Nafees Rahman Monday said a mailer put out by rival Tom Dailly's campaign misrepresents his position on budget cuts and roads in particular.
Along with Matthew Steward, Rahman and Dailly are running in the April 2 election to succeed longtime Mayor Al Larson.
The mailer, referencing the Daily Herald as a source, claims Rahman plans to make a $5.35 million cut to funding for road repairs.
Though no time period is referenced on the mailer, Dailly said it refers to the village's five-year budget for roadway improvements, and it cites the Daily Herald only as to Rahman's proposal to cut 5 percent from all areas of the budget except fire and police services.
Daily Herald Editor John Lampinen said the newspaper's role in the cited figure was not made clear.
"We never reported that (Rahman) was taking a $5.35 million cut to roads," Lampinen said. "We reported his 5 percent across-the-board cuts but never specified what that meant to road repairs."
Dailly stood by the figure, saying it represents the entirety of Schaumburg's current plans for road repairs, which extend five years.
"Informed people will understand," he said.
Dailly said he took the five-year capital improvement plan's total cost of $165 million, applied the 64.9 percent allotted for roadway improvements, and then cut 5 percent to reach the $5.35 million figure.
Rahman said he's excluded police and fire from his planned cuts because those departments are focused on safety. He said he also believes the police department is understaffed.
Village administrators said the department has been operating with 115 sworn officers after a recommendation from law enforcement consulting firm Hillard Heintze in 2013. At the request of Schaumburg Township Elementary District 54, an additional school resource officer was installed.
The village currently has three officer jobs open, with a recommendation to fill them pending action by the fire and police commission, officials said.
Steward criticized the mailer for making Dailly's figures seem like a direct quote by Rahman.
"Informed citizens aren't going to do the math on this," Steward said. "It isn't very transparent."
He also criticized Rahman's approach to budget cuts.
"I agree that cuts need to be made, but I don't think they should be levied across the board," Steward said.
Rahman is deputy director of accounting for the Illinois secretary of state's office. Steward is a client account specialist at the law firm of Hinshaw & Culbertson and an adjunct professor teaching business law and career development at Dominican University. Dailly is an IT director who has been a Schaumburg village trustee for a combined 25 years.