State Sen. Dan Cronin of Elmhurst; Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso; DuPage County Board member Debra Olson of Wheaton; and state Sen. Carole Pankau of Itasca.

Those are our picks for the upcoming primary.

Olson gets my vote as she is refusing campaign contributions from vendors working for the County. First board member ever to meddle with this darn from the top down, Illinois political BS thinly veiled "pay for play" system.

What say?

Plus, Deb Olson is [sexist] "babe-a-licious"! [/sexist]

Hi,
I have only met her once, but I liked Deb Olson right away. As far as integrity, she is the County Board member who complained about all the summer jobs going to politician's kids, and I think as a result, this practice was curtailed.

On a personal note, I know someone who ran out of gas in front of her home. They had no idea who Deb Olson was. Apparently, Ms. Olson came out in her heels and pink suit - with a gas can and promptly poured it into her tank. Pretty nice, huh!

For various reasons, she will have the votes in our home.

I might have to look harder at this Grasso fella. I like the cut of his jib!

4 Republicans seek nomination for DuPage County Board chairman

quote:

"My experience is really at two levels, since not only am I a local mayor who knows the fiscal problems that are coming and the need for consolidated government both horizontally and vertically, but I also have the county perspective through being on the board of health," Grasso said. "Plus, I understand pension problems and am a big advocate for pension reform. My experience and my philosophy are perfect for the times that are ahead of us."

Grasso expressed concern about tighter county budgets, but insisted DuPage should be taking advantage of low bond interest rates and its pristine bond rating to pursue infrastructure projects. As chairman, he said he would spearhead consolidating services, noting that he unsuccessfully pushed to combine Burr Ridge's and Willowbrook's police departments.

"The economic driver for that wasn't there at the time. It's there now," he said.

Consolidating bloated government operations? Big advocate for pension reform?

Yes, I think I will do a bit more digging into Mr. Grasso's resume.

Consolidating gov services I'm all for- borrowing more money I am not. DuPage County went from a "pay as you go" County to a maxed out credit card to the tune of $300 million in about 20 years. And still increasing $9-10 million a year. Even refinancing to borrow back what had been paid off.
No thank you.

2008 County Debt Service

If you look at it the overwhelming amount of borrowing has gone to pay for capital projects. Something like eighty percent. This is different than the state that is borrowing money just to pay it's day to day operations.

For of moniker of "taxpayer" that's an odd thing to say. If you continually need to borrow $9-10 million a year to the point you're $300 million in the hole wouldn't you say we're living a little beyond our means? After all it's property tax and sales tax that must pay this off and there seems to be no end in the borrowing in sight given potential candidates want to borrow more. Plus the county population peaked years ago so there are no new taxpayers to shoulder the burden as there was in the 80's and 90's.

No Thanks.

quote:

Originally posted by Biostitute:
Plus the county population peaked years ago so there are no new taxpayers to shoulder the burden as there was in the 80's and 90's.

population graph

What source are you using that shows a decrease?

Sorry, the graph I saw was of greater scale. Really doesn't matter though - the point is the same, there is little to no large scale tracts of land left to develop as residential in the County as the county pop has only increased by less than 8000 people in the five years ending 2008- according to your graph, and that was before the melt down. So if the County borrowed $50,000,000 in those five years your tax burden in adding those 8000 new people decreased by what? pennies?

If I could ask one question of Mr. Grasso, it would be in relation to this comment:

quote:

...who knows the fiscal problems that are coming...

His "problems that ARE COMING" statement gets my attention. Or, if you think its bad now? Just wait.

I'd ask him just what it is that he "sees coming". I have a hunch it is the same things that I [and many others] see coming.

I have a list of five questions into each of the four candidates - Olson, Grasso, Cronin and Pankau.

1) Property taxes and assessments - shrinking EAVs and rising taxes? What gives?
2) DuPage Water Commission - What the **** is going on there?
3) County headcount above six-figures/pension obligations
4) Consolidation of duplication - townships/county/towns/unincorporated/incorporated and on and on and on.
5) DuPage Airport - Why is it still on the tax rolls?

Anything else?

One thing that seems a bit worrisome to me about Debra Olson's campaign chatter is that she is boasting about the County of DuPage "lowering property taxes". She is correct. They are indeed lowering their extension for 2009-pay-2010. Not by much, $100,000 or so I think but still, it is lower.

Not that the county share of our bills matters all that much - the average taxpayer will pay them a few bucks less here in 2010. Whatever less a property owner pays in property taxes, they likely will "make up" in the quarter of a penny sales tax increase that was passed into law in 2008 [Blago's free rides for seniors anyone?].

Now, I clearly recall that there was a referendum item on the 2008 ballot calling for a Yay/Nay vote on just such a sales tax increase - a quarter penny, in all of DuPage [DuPage, unlike Glen Ellyn, doesn't have Home Rule and must take issues like this to the voters] County.

I also recall that for five years, Bob Schillerstrom wrested away $15 million per year from the DuPage Water Circus, I mean, Commission, to the tune of $75 million total. So, in one way or another, DuPage County has been tapping some serious sales tax revenue - THAT THEY NEVER HAD BEFORE - in the past 6-7 years. For five years, they raided WaterWorld's massive bank acoount and since 2008, they have had their very own 1/4 penny R.O.T. tax windfall!

What I would rather hear Deb Olson talk about is not the piddling property tax cuts made by the County of DuPage this year.

No, I'd much rather hear about the much-larger-than-$15 million [after all, if Schillerstrom got his hands on $15 meg per year of the Water Honeypot, you can be SURE that the countywide Blago-free-ride-RTA quarter penny tax is a LOT more [double?] than $15 million per year] sales tax windfall handed to DuPage County by disgraced ex-Governor Rod Blagojevich.

From Cal Skinner's blog:

quote:

The bill that eventually passed, after an amendment (allowing collar county board’s to use the quarter of a percent sales tax offer of free road money for collar county boards to be diverted to public safety purposes) was added.

That allowed Schillerstrom to forego an already-on-the ballot countywide referendum to raise sales taxes one-quarter of one percentage point for law enforcement to fill his budget hole. (Winnebago County passed such a referendum in 2002.)

Schillerstrom’s intervention was so egregious that he was taken to the wood shed by Illinois Republican Party Chairman Andy McKenna at the Decatur state convention last June.

So Debra:

1) How many buckets of ducats are rolling into DuPage County from this new Blago Tax that you so willingly accepted?
2) Why was DuPage County's 2009 property tax extension only reduced by $100,000?

quote:

DuPage County has been tapping some serious sales tax revenue - THAT THEY NEVER HAD BEFORE

Didn't they also split off the Forest Preserve from the County in 2001 or so? Did the County take in less taxes to make up for that?

I am looking at my 1984 DuPage property tax bill and there is a line-item - Forest Preserve.

So as long ago as 1984, the DuPage Forest Preserve was one of the hordes of Illinois "units of government" empowered to levy property taxes.

They also appear as a discrete entity on my 2008 property tax bill, at around $100, including, of course, the pension levy.

My concern about DuPage County is that they will spend every dime they get in this new Blago RTA Tax soon enough and they'll go right back to crying poor and will again try to jack up property taxes. Remember when they dragged out all of the sheriff's deputies, health care workers and probation officers for the TV cameras? Late 2007, I think?

"Woe is us," I believe is what Joe Birkett and Company cried as they wept, gnashed their teeth and held hands. [Note: Not one single six-figure member of the patronage Chair Force was made to go out and stand on the front lawn.]

This miniscule cut in property taxes looks like......window dressing? To me anyway.

It is worse than window dressing. With the debt they (oops-we) owe plus the inflation rate and the tax cap means the 8 ball gets bigger and bigger when they reduce taxes. Keeping the modest real estate tax the same or slightly increasing it for the last 10-15 years would have greatly relieved the need to borrow. Not only did they have to get a cash infusion from the water folks to stay afloat, plus a sales tax increase that was shoved down our collective throats without a vote, but they float bonds year after year.

Do we really need to imitate the State and the Feds. CRIPES.

Hey, that was sort of poetic no?

Glad to see you're so concerned about deficit spending their Bio.

Federal government just had it highest debt ever. Oh yeah the State is now in debt to the tune of 13B.

Grasso has not replied to my questions. Olson has but there was some serious deflection in her answers.

Here's my conundrum: DuPage County establishment [Olson, Schillerstrom] likes to boast about the fact that they have "lowered county property tax levies" in 7 out of the last 10 years [or, for 10 years straight, depending on who you believe].

While I don't dispute this, everyone knows that the county's share of the annual Gwen Henry, CPA love-letter is tiny - 3% or so?

Dan Cronin plays a key role in my conundrum. You see, he voted for that Blago-RTA-free-rides-for-seniors quarter of a percent sales tax increase back in early 2008. Yet, he is asking Olson, Grasso and the old babe to all sign "No New Tax" pledges. What the?

I saw and heard him ask this with my own eyes! During the Chicago Tribune op-ed board love-in from a month or so ago.

That new found "pot of money" is worth between $25-$30 million in brand, spanking new revenue to DuPage County [per Debra Olson]. So, despite ripping Cronin for voting for the new tax, I don't see current DuPagers [Olson] turning down the money.

Why then brag about "cutting property taxes"? And cutting them a whopping $100,000 across the entire county?

Heck, if i suddenly had $25-$30 million in newfound "Todd Stroger, Cook County icky-icky-bad-bad RTA Dan Cronin taxes [per Deb Olson, in re: "serious deflection"], I might lower the property taxes a bit more than $100K, no?

Token gesture? Just so the current gang can claim - "We lowered your property taxes!!!"

Yeah, but the money is coming out of the other pocket now every time you buy something at retail within the boundaries of DuPage County.

Yeah, I'm seeing the same thing some others have noticed RE: Olson and the budget. You can't have your cake and eat it too. I recently received a direct mail piece where she's bragging about balancing the budget, having a $40 million budget surplus, and then abating a measly $100K in property taxes. Then on the EXACT same piece, she's whacking Cronin for voting for the RTA sales tax.

Now, reasonable people can disagree about the RTA sales tax. I personally am not a fan. But the ONLY reason she's able to makes those claims is because DuPage basically got bailed out by the $75 million water commission money and the RTA sales tax increase. When it came to voting for a budget WITHOUT that money--a budget that would have cut certain services---she didn't vote for it. When the money arrived, she took the money and ran like the wind.

So in her actions, she was for the tax, but now she's blaming Cronin for hiking taxes. If she wants to harp on Cronin, fine. But then articulate a plan and budgetary vision that doesn't include the RTA sales tax money. She's trying to have it both ways.

I look at the RTA issue here:

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I dissect the three candidates here:

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This message has been edited. Last edited by: Ted E.,