Bill to Eliminate DuPage Forest District Commissioners' Salaries Passes House Committee
Salaries and benefits of up to $80,000 per commissioner may be nearing an end.
Legislation sponsored by state Rep. Deb Conroy (D-46th, Elmhurst) to eliminate the salaries and benefits of DuPage Forest District commissioners and chairman won the approval of a key House committee last week.
The House Counties and Townships Committee approved House Bill 2377 with a 3-2 vote. The bill will head to the full House for consideration.
The proposal eliminates the salaries and pension, dental and medical benefits given to the Forest Preserve’s chairman and six commissioners. In DuPage County, commissioners meet once a week and receive a base salary of $53,500. With benefits, each commissioner costs the taxpayers up to $80,709.50. Forest district commissioners in neighboring counties may be reimbursed for necessary expenses and receive a nominal salary of $0 to $3,000 per year, according to a press release from Conroy's office.
“As we continue to weed out government waste and further our commitments to spending taxpayer dollars more responsibly, it is encouraging that this committee recognizes the vast taxpayer waste in these overly generous compensation packages,” Conroy said in a prepared statement. “My intent is not to lessen DuPage County’s capacity to preserve our natural habitats and expand open lands opportunities, but to make sure that we’re investing our limited resources into those efforts rather than to pay for bloated salaries.”
State Rep. Dennis Reboletti (R-45th, Elmhurst) also sponsored HB 2481, which would dissolve the DuPage County Forest Preserve District Board and transfer the responsibilities of the Forest District to the DuPage County Board in 2016.
RELATED: Legislators Turn Their Attention to DuPage Forest District as a Way to Save Taxpayers Money
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Dan F.
10:41 am on Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Politics writ large, Springfield style!
Dan
11:13 am on Tuesday, March 12, 2013
What about the bill to put the stormwater fees on ALL properties in DuPage County?
We can look to Downers Grove to get an idea of what we can expect. 11% increases on their rain tax every year for the next 15 years unless they decide to raise the uncapped fees even higher. Soon the County will add their fee so they will see two new storm water fees in their mailbox. Considering the storm water eventually heads out of the county can we expect to see a Illinois storm water fee along with the city and county fee? Keep in mind this is for ALL properties including schools, libraries, religious organizations and other non for profits.
Voice of Reason
12:29 pm on Tuesday, March 12, 2013
this is actually pretty sad when you think about it. conroy is now finally ON the public dole (thanks to mike madigan's 750 thousand dollar campaign cash). so yes, she IS the worst kind of hypocrite, and that is being nice. but truth be told, the city of elmhurst is a 100 million budget and aldermen aren't paid a dime. so for a 68 million dollar budget, I'm not sure why these 7 commissioners should receive any compensation or benefits. if you go to their web site, it's hard to find, but buried in their 244 page budget is the 748,761 dollar expense for the 7 commissioners -- a pretty sweet part time job !
CountyLeaks
2:40 pm on Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Here's some interesting information involving the Forest Preserve:
http://wheaton.patch.com/blog_posts/smoked-out-dupage-county-board-chairman-dan-cronins-pick-chris-hage-all-pork-no-bean-counter-fundraiser
Senator Breckinridge
10:56 am on Wednesday, March 13, 2013
actually, their budgeted expenditures are 105 million, similar to city of elmhurst; the 68 million figure is the amount that is collected from taxes; so yes, same basic size goverment as elmhurst. who are the forest preserve dist commissioners that represent elmhurst ? or maybe we should pay our alderman - do you get what you pay for ?
Jim Court
1:35 pm on Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Will the political intrigue never end?
I have to wonder if we would not be better off placing qualified citizens in these positions, keeping them for one term, and if they have done an excellent job, allow them to serve in an advisory capacity. This way we keep the talent yet do not allow anyone to gain the incumbent advantage, personal gain, or become a power broker. We really need ethical statesmen who truly want to leave a legacy of service and contribution to the community.We have many capable educators, lawyers, business people, and members of the general community who would do an outstanding job. Any thoughts on this