Cronin Wins Republican Primary for DuPage County Chairman

In a decisive electoral victory Illinois Senator Dan Cronin won the Republican nomination for DuPage County Chairman in Tuesday’s election.

Cronin took almost 50 percent of Republican votes cast for that office. With all 749 precincts reporting, Cronin took 42,786 votes. His nearest opponent, current Board member Debra Olson, garnered 24,692 votes. The last two weeks of Olson’s campaign were hindered after a web-site, republicansforfamilyvalues.com, released a report alleging a series of affairs by Olson, a married woman and mother of four.

While Cronin, who also serves as Chairman of the DuPage County Republican Party easily, sailed to victory on Tuesday, he campaigned hard across the county spending more than $300,000 in the primary.

Since Cronin entered the race he became the principle target for his opponents, particularly Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso and Olson. Both candidates criticized some of Cronin’s votes in the legislature, particularly his support of consumption taxes. Cronin’s support of the bill that raised those taxes, as well as the rate on the RTA, was at the bequest of DuPage County leaders. DuPage leaders faced a shortage of funding which would lead to gutting services, including law enforcement. Cronin responded to the requests and helped pass the bills which brought a new revenue stream into the county. If the bills had not been passed property taxes likely would have been raised even higher to provide the funding.

Cronin celebrated his victory on Tuesday night with hundreds of supporters. Following his victory Cronin said he’ll focus on work at his Senate office. He also plans to spend time at the county offices in Wheaton to monitor the budgeting process.

Olson Fires Back At Water Commission Critics

Debra Olson, candidate for DuPage County Chairman, emailed an eleventh hour counter to claims she was to blame for the mismanagement of  19 million dollars in DuPage County Water Commission funds.

The following is from Olson’s campaign:

The Water Commission is funded through a countywide sales tax since its inception.  It has the ability to raise a property tax as well, but has abated that property tax and relied solely on the sales tax funds and the funds from member water purchasing.  The members of the water commission purchase water from the Water Commission at a rate set by the Water Commission Board.

The Finances of the Water Commission are controlled by the Chief Financial Officer, the Finance Committee, and the Board of the Water Commission.

DuPageCounty government has no authority over the funds of the Water Commission, and does not have authority to approve or disapprove the Water Commission budget.  It has been alleged that the DuPage County Public Works Department has authority over, or responsibility for, the Water Commission and its finances.  That claim is completely false.

The DuPage Water Commission has undertaken an investigation of the improper accounting of funds that led to a revelation that the Water Commission budget had a $19million deficit.  Though preliminary reports from Water Commission Board meetings indicate that the money is not missing, but instead was used to pay bills and not appropriately accounted for, the final outcome of the investigation is still forthcoming.

DuPage County was given $15 million annually (of the approximately $30 million received by the Water Commission) for five years from the countywide quarter cent sales tax collected by the Water Commission.  That transaction required state legislative action, which was in fact authored by State Senator Dan Cronin. Cronin was one of only three DuPageCounty legislators to vote in favor of that legislation.  The other two were State Senators John Millner and Kirk Dillard.

At the end of those 5 years, the Water Commission member municipalities then took a one-time $40 million lump sum from Commission funds and distributed it among the member municipalities.  No further funds were distributed toDuPage County Government.

The accounting problem was identified in the fall of 2009, which is approximately two years after the $40 million distribution was made.  It is unclear as of yet how far back the accounting errors/omissions go.

The Water Commission Board voted in December to approve a $30 million short-term borrowing plan to be able to continue to abate the property tax.  The long-term budget impacts are still to be determine.

At this time, the Water Commission is conducting an investigation, and until that report is presented to the Commission, it is premature to hold hearings or speculate on the impact to unincorporated residents on Lake Michigan water.

Debra Olson, DuPage County Board Member and candidate for County Board Chairman, has stated in interviews over the past three months that she believes it is appropriate to relieve the Executive Director of his duties once the investigation is final (the CFO has already left the Commission).  Anyone found culpable or derelect in duty should also be relieved of their position. Debra has spoken to Water Commission commissioners, and believes the Water Commission should adopt better safeguards, accounting and reporting procedures, and checks and balances to insure all funds are properly accounted for and transparency is paramount.

“It is unfortunate that my opponents have sought to distort the truth and my statements on this issue, as they have done with so many issues in this campaign.  I encourage voters to become thoroughly informed on this issue through the Water Commission members and website, and to learn my positions on issues from me, rather than my opponents.”

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County Board Chairman Hopefuls Spend Over $500,000

The four Republican candidates running in Tuesday’s primary for DuPage County Board Chairman have collectively raised nearly $500,000 for their campaigns.

Senator Dan Cronin’s finance reports indicate he has collected $262,625 in cash contributions and in-kind donations to go along with the nearly $80,000 he began his campaign with.

The remaining three candidates have raised a combined $177,177 in addition to the money they started with, according to financial reports now available on the state election board’s web-site.

According to the same report all four candidates have collectively spent $507,331.

Senator Cronin entered the campaign with nearly $80,000 in his political war chest as of last week. He has spent more than $300,000 in an attempt to secure the Republican party’s nomination in Tuesday’s primary. Records indicate Cronin has also made a personal loan to his campaign in the amount of $30,000.

Mr. Cronin’s campaign war chest was filled by a number of Illinois businesses and political action committees. The Chicago-based engineering firm Knight Partners and the Inland Real Estate Group out of Oak Brook each donated $10,000 to Cronin’s campaign.

Senator Carole Pankau and current County Board Member Debra Olson each spent more than $80,000 on the race, according to their financial filings. Olson slightly out spent Pankau, but raised just $42,432.67 during the campaign compared to Pankau’s $80,138.90.

The report indicates Ms. Olson started her run for County Board Chairman with $130,000 in her campaign fund, of which $60,000 was a personal loan she had made to herself.

Olson’s husband, Don recently donated an additional $10,000 to his wife’s campaign. Also listed in the filing was fellow county board member JR McBride who made a $2,150 donation to Olson’s campaign.

Pankau loaned her campaign $8,000, the bulk of her funds came through corporate, political and union committees as well. Her son and daughter each donated $4,000, and Bloomingdale Republican State Rep. Franco Coladipietro’s campaign donated $5,000 to Pankau’s efforts.

Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso has seen his contributions almost double in the past two weeks. Grasso has raised $54,606 so far, according to his state finance reports. He loaned his campaign $15,000 last week and received his largest single contribution in the amount of $5,000 from Oak Brook-based development firm Inter Continental Real Estate.

The winner of Tuesday’s primary will face Democrat Carole Cheney in November. Cheney’s campaign has yet to file a report with the state election board.

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Debra Olson No-Show at Wayne Township Candidate Forum

Debra Olson candidate for DuPage County Chairman, canceled a scheduled appearance at the Wayne Township Republican Organization’s candidate forum. Ms. Olson continues to remain silent on the scandal which has rocked her candidacy. The web-site Republicans for Family Values is running a follow up to their original story on Ms. Olson.

Click the link below and you will be re-directed to the Republicans for Family Values web-site, where the story is posted.

http://republicansforfamilyvalues.com/2010/01/28/debra-olson-a-no-show-at-wayne-township-gop-candidate-forum-still-provides-no-response-to-adultery-charges/

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DuPage County Chairman Race Gets Personal

We were tipped to this news story, which given the timing, is bad for Debra Olson’s campaign for DuPage County Board Chairman.

Apparently, Debra Olson is a very public Christian and pro-family Republican and has run her campaign for office as such.  According to the site RepublicansForFamilyValues.com, Olson has had two adulterous affairs in the past ten years, one lasting as long as a year and a half.

An article on the web-site, which has an open source in an aggrieved wife, claims Olson slept with two prominent DuPage citizens. The article is long and detailed with multiple comments from Jean Allen, the wife of Wheaton attorney David Allen who she claims had a long-term affair with Olson.

This is a lengthy read, but summarized in the first few paragraphs of the story.

Olson’s opponents in the Republican race for DuPage County Chair are Dan Cronin, Carol Pankau and Gary Grasso.

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