Democrats running for Kane County Board chair talk taxes, perks at forum

Perks for elected officials and potential tax increases were on the minds of voters attending the first forum for the two Democratic candidates for Kane County Board chairman Wednesday night.

Greg Elsbree of Aurora and Corinne Pierog of St. Charles fielded a series of questions from the audience during the forum hosted by the League of Women Voters at the Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin.

One questioner asked the candidates if they'd preserve the health insurance benefits county board members receive despite being only part-time employees. No other part-time county employees get such insurance benefits. Board members also receive a $25,000 salary.

Elsbree said taking away any benefits board members receive runs the risk of shrinking an already small pool of people both interested and capable of serving on the board. There are multiple board committee meetings throughout the month, and almost all are during regular nine-to-five work hours.

"I don't believe that allows for diversity on the board," Elsbree said. "If you look at the board now, they are all my age and older, or they are in total control of their schedules. If we mess with some of those enticements, we're going to end up with just old white guys on the board."

Pierog, who has served as an unpaid, elected school board member in St. Charles, said she knows that elected officials need a lot of time to understand all the issues. That includes interacting with constituents so the officials can represent their views.

"The salary compensation for the amount of work that is necessary for a board member is challenging at best," Pierog said. "I would protect that, and I would fight for that. I fully support health care for all of our members in Kane County."

Audience members then asked if the candidates would be open to raising the county's property tax levy, if necessary, to fund raises or unfulfilled union employee positions in the county.

Pierog said not allowing the county's tax levy to rise by at least the rate of inflation, except in recent years, has resulted in low wages and high turnover throughout the county.

"It's a burn-and-churn situation," Pierog said.

She favors raising taxes as needed to keep up with inflation.

Elsbree said elected officials must "be creative" if the county needs more money. That means not just considering tax increases but any other alternatives that would put more cash into the county's coffers. He said any commitment to either raising or freezing taxes without tying it to a specific need is premature. He agreed, however, that turnover is a big problem in the county.

"We are understaffed," Elsbree said. "Are we losing something by being understaffed? Are we less safe? I believe we are. But we have to find out if our community is willing to accept a tax increase."

The primary election is March 17.