Legislation sponsored by State Sen. Dan Cronin (R-Elmhurst) was signed into law on Friday, and is anticipated to increase transparency and oversight at the DuPage Water Commission.
Sen. Cronin introduced Senate Bill 580 (PA 96-1389) after an independent audit revealed evidence of serious mismanagement by the DuPage County Water Commission. The Senator said that his primary goal was to sunset the sales tax collected by the Water Commission. The tax will sunset on June 1, 2016.
“My number one priority was to sunset the sales tax, which this new law will do. That doesn’t often happen, so I consider that a significant accomplishment,” Cronin remarked. He went on to say that SB 580 is a different, more responsible, approach to government.
“I wanted to reassure the taxpayers that in the future there will be accountability for members of the Commission,” explained Cronin. “I went to extreme lengths to increase transparency, and to incorporate requirements to ensure that in the future qualified, credentialed people are serving on this Commission.”
The senator explained that Senate Bill 580 will terminate the terms of all current commissioners on January 1, 2011, and thirteen new commissioners will be appointed. The chairperson will be appointed by the County Chairperson with consent of the County Board, and one commissioner will be appointed from each of the six County Board Districts at the discretion of the County Chairperson and the County Board. The remaining commissioners will be appointed from each County Board district by the majority vote of the mayors of the municipalities in the County Board district which have the greatest percentage of their respective populations within the district.
Cronin introduced Senate Bill 580 following reports of extreme negligence and misconduct by members of the DuPage Water Commission. An audit revealed that incompetence and intentional mishandling of the funds under their control resulted in millions of dollars in taxpayer revenue being frittered away by commission members.
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