WurfWhile

John Zimmerman wrote an Op-Ed September 26, 2004 describing the unprincipled $75 million money-grab of DuPage Water Commission funds by Robert Schillerstrom and the DuPage County Board. It’s well worth reading. I’ve quoted parts of it below:

“DuPage Water Commission members are again angrily demanding an accounting of how the money they have been forced to relinquish through a new state law, sought and gotten by Schillerstrom, is being spent.
….
Schillerstrom has done such a quick turnaround in explaining why he needs this money, I’m surprised he hasn’t sprained his neck.

Let’s go back to last spring, when the board chairman was making a passionate plea for the money to keep us safe from harm. Terrorist threats. New diseases. Both terrifying and costly to battle.

So off he went to Springfield…[and] succeeded in persuading the General Assembly to give him that $75 million, his victory was trumpeted this way in a press release:

‘Schillerstrom made his case for the reallocation of the (water commission) sales tax revenue based on the pressing needs to combat bio-terrorism and bolster the county’s homeland security efforts.’

So how much has been spent to shelter us from biological bombs and to make our homeland more secure?

Well, of the $30 million [already spent], $1 million has been specifically dedicated to homeland security.
….
Where else has the money gone? Well, there’s the $300,000 for economic and work-force development (what, to train terrorists for a kinder occupation?); $1 million in human services grants for not-for-profits (what, to persuade the terrorists to join the Boy Scouts to become good citizens?); $750,000 for mental health and drug courts (what, to put terrorists into counseling if they are arrested in DuPage County?)[;]…$5 million for emergency cash reserves…;
$8.5 million to fix up the DuPage Convalescent Center…; [and] $10 million was spent on law enforcement and public safety. But not for new anti-terrorist programs that I know of, but to ‘prevent layoffs and interruption of essential services.’
….
Remember last year, when Schillerstrom said the law giving him water money would pay for ‘pressing needs to combat bio-terrorism and bolster the county’s homeland security efforts.’? Contrast that with what Schillerstrom said last week:

‘The law is clear,” he said. “We can spend it for whatever we want to spend it for. I think we could spend it to build roads if we want to.’

The truth emerges. He should have said so last year. That would have been a heck of a lot more honest….. [Schillerstrom should tell the public what he will spend the remaining money on] [n]ot just to satisfy the water commissioners. But to answer to the public, the public he vowed to keep safe, the public that might feel bamboozled.

The public that has watched him to do the Schillerstrom shuffle. Or the Schillerstrom hustle.”

I agree with Zimmerman that much of the money was spent on worthy programs - but the stated purpose of the Water Commission funding raid was “homeland security” not ‘to plug up budget holes without raising taxes.’ Schillerstrom and the County Board has used the money dishonestly - and taxpayers who are now receiving temporary relief (five years worth) will be surprised by additional taxes or service cuts when the money is gone, because Robert Schillerstrom and the County Board decided to kick the budget problem down the road instead of facing it. And those who think taxpayers got a great deal with this spending should remember they paid for it. Water Commission funds come from a 0.25% DuPage sales tax. To DuPage taxpayers I say it’s your money, you should know where it comes from, and where it will be spent.