Village Chronicles

Clark: I have an engineering degree, an MBA and a broker’s license from the state of Illinois. I have both education and experience. I’ve done a lot of volunteer work with the Morton Arboretum, the forest preserve and the Sierra Club. I’ve just completed classes at the Morton Arboretum in wetlands restoration and management and in prescription burn. In the next few weeks, I’ll have completed all the requirements for certification from the Morton Arboretum as a designated woodland steward. Nobody has those qualifications on the forest preserve board that I’m aware of. I think it’s important to understand a candidate’s environmental qualifications as well as his education and experience, and I think the president needs to know about a lot of different fields to keep up with all the varying demands that the forest preserve is involved in—public works, stormwater issues, buying land and managing a business. I have all those qualifications covered. I’ve worked in both Fortune 500 companies and small companies. I’ve done all these functions as president of a North American company as well as performed human resource, engineering and marketing functions.

 

What motivates me is that I care deeply about the forest preserve; I spend a lot of my time volunteering there. I care about the environment. Also, after attending forest preserve board meetings and seeing how they operate it, I’ve realized I have the skills to improve it from a financial standpoint. I’ve studied their audited financial statements going back to 2002, and I know there are areas of improvement. My abilities lie in working through other people; it’s what I excel at—motivating people to work together to accomplish bigger and better things. My project management background of 10 years will come in handy being president of the forest preserve. My skills and desires are a perfect match for this position, and now is the right time.

 

Pierotti: Since 1994, I’ve been president of the forest preserve, which encompasses 60 preserves, 30 fishing lakes and educational facilities. These preserves have received awards for the way they’re maintained. Currently, we have a Triple A bond rating,, a balanced budget, and we lead the nation in the services we provide; we’ve lowered the tax levy rate 13 out of 16 years; I prevented the county from building a highway through the middle of the county’s largest preserve—Pratt’s Wayne Woods; we’ve provided services while maintaining a strong fiscal policy. So, my record speaks of my qualifications, and I stand on my record.

 

As far as motivation—I’m doing what I love to do. Since 2002 when the forest preserve became a separate entity from the county, I made a commitment that I would stay in this position until I was certain the forest preserve’s course was set and would be successful. This next term will probably be my last term in office, so I want to ensure that whoever succeeds me has the same level of commitment I have had. Anyone on our six-member board has the experience, commitment and qualifications to succeed me. Because of our master plan—and we have master plans in place for all our holdings—we will be financially sound this next term. We hire consultants to develop one, five, ten year and twenty-five year plans. Future presidents and boards can look at these master plans for guidance, and they will all be in place after this next term. I want residents to become more and more aware of what our forest preserves have to offer. This is what motivates me.

 

What have Warrenville residents told you they are most concerned about, and how will you respond to their concerns?

 

 Clark: A big issue is the fleet maintenance building. A second big issue is flooding. The forest preserve plans to develop the fleet maintenance building in the forest preserve, and Warrenville area residents have responded by saying this development does not belong in a forest preserve. We have asked repeatedly for the forest preserve to address this, and after five months of making presentations, they reluctantly agreed to do so. That was 13 months ago. People need to know their position before the election, but there still has not been an answer. We suspect that if the incumbents win, they’ll build the facility as planned regardless of what local people and people across the county have told them—that this is not proper. As far as flooding, the forest preserve, county board and stormwater management should be working together to address it. I hear the rhetoric, but I don’t see enough intergovernmental cooperation happening. Also, the county slashed the stormwater department’s finances, exacerbating flooding problems in Warrenville and elsewhere. The forest preserve should renew efforts to buy properties along the rivers, with the help of grant money.

 

Pierotti: Warrenville residents have a severe water problem, and we’re working closely with stormwater management to alleviate it. One specific group has a problem with the fleet maintenance building. In 2002 before the board split, the previous board passed a resolution authorizing and approving a new maintenance building. There were 22 public meetings in which at no time did anyone appear to contest that building. I vetoed the building because of its excessive cost and how the contract had been developed. If I hadn’t vetoed it, there would be a new maintenance building on its present site. In 2006, we were told that for safety reasons we had to do something with that maintenance building. Already two companies told us we needed a new building, but we hired a third company to do an analysis—the consulting contract referred to by my opponent as a no-bid contract. We had more public meetings, and then the homeowner’s group said they opposed the building because it wasn’t needed. They also said the forest preserve was being financial irresponsible, and that the maintenance building would be a nuisance to their neighborhood. Yet, the proposed building is 25 percent smaller than the former one passed with no opposition. The only difference is the homeowners’ group is led by my opponent who in 2002, was a republican. Now, the association comes to our meetings and tells us yes, we need and can afford a new fleet maintenance building, but we just don’t want it in our backyards. What changed all that? Politics and union members support for my democratic opponent. The day I’m motivated to do something in the best interest of a third party but not in the best interest of the forest preserve is the day I’m not qualified to run for office. The homeowners’ association asked us to explore alternate sites, and we’ve done that, spending over $100,000. But, if we spend taxpayer dollars to move to a second site, what are we going to do with the original site? This is strictly a not-in-my-backyard argument. I’m offended when this association has told me we’ve been financially irresponsible. Our consultants tell us we’re endangering our employees by not replacing a 40-year-old facility. Since 1994, I’ve never had an opponent in a primary or a general election. I’ve always worked in total cooperation with both parties; I’ve made the forest preserve a Switzerland on Naperville road. Protectors of the environment should not be politically motivated. I’m supported by the Sierra Club, people with democratic affiliations as well as the Republican Party. I owe no one anything; I don’t want anything. I’ve made a commitment and I’ve kept it. I’m very outspoken, sometimes to the point of being criticized for it.

 

Do residents pay the forest preserve too much in taxes, too little, or just the right amount?

 

 Clark: I think the forest preserve is a wonderful asset which improves our quality of life. In turn, it raises property values in DuPage County. Fewer tax dollars go to the forest preserve than to schools and park districts. For what residents get out of the forest preserves, I think taxes are fair. Naturally, if government received more taxes they would spend it. But, there are things the forest preserve can do to improve operations. What we need to look at is whether we’re getting good value from the money we’re paying in taxes. That’s one of the reasons I’m running because I don’t think we’re getting good value for the taxes we’re paying. For example, when you have no-bid contracts up to $350,000, and from an engineering standpoint, I watch change orders come in that aren’t reviewed from a due diligence standpoint, and I see contributions that are received from vendors to people on the board. It’s easy for the public to understand we aren’t getting good value. I’ve talked with Cook County’s forest preserve and asked them how many people they employ--400 total. Yet, they have three times the land we do, and we have 370 employees. This is a perfect example of how our forest preserve is overstaffed and bloated. There’s definitely room for financial improvements.

 

Pierotti: The portion residents pay is something like 2 cents out of every tax dollar. Unlike the county that gets sales tax and fee revenues, we have no other revenue other than property taxes. I think we give a good bang for the dollar. The taxes we collect are not only for operations but also to repay bond money. The taxpayers own over 25,000 acres that’s worth about $3.5 billion dollars, and the total debt on it is less than $250 million. This is why we have a Triple-A bond rating. Our debt payment goes down every year, and around 2020, this debt will be gone unless future boards incur more debt. When the debt is gone, the cost of operations will also go down. This is one reason the forest preserve is financially secure and has a high bond rating. The other reason is we have around $240 million in reserves for catastrophes. Every year the risk of a catastrophe goes down because it’s primarily caused by the methane gas, which is lessening. In years to come, future boards will be able to take money out of the reserves, and that will also lower costs. I’m proud of this, and I think residents are paying a fair amount of taxes. In 13 of the last 16 years, we’ve been able to lower the tax rate levy. Two of those years we couldn’t lower it because we passed a bond issue, and we had to raise taxes to cover the additional debt service. This last year because of the economy, we couldn’t lower the levy, but we kept it about the same. I think we’re practicing sound financial business; we run a tight ship, and the taxpayers are getting a good value. Additionally, the forest preserve has over 5,000 volunteers who contribute over 80,000 hours every year. We could never afford to do what we do without our volunteers.

 

Should the forest preserve be involved in solving flooding problems in DuPage County? Why or why not?

 

 Clark: Yes. The forest preserve owns about 12 percent of the county’s land, and some of that land is along river ways. The forest preserve needs to be the environmental leader in the county. One of those issues is developing wetlands and biodiversity. Being in an urban area, we have a lot of runoff water and that’s not going to change except to get worse. We’re going to have to figure out a way to use this water, clean it up, and change it into something that can be used in an appropriate manner. You just can’t push it off into a corner and hope it goes away. The forest preserve should be working in conjunction with the stormwater people as well as the county board. I’ve heard their rhetoric that they’re cooperating, but I don’t it.

 

Pierotti: Yes, and we are. We’ve always addressed stormwater; we worry about flooding. People don’t realize how many thousands of forest preserve acres are not developed and are contributing to stormwater runoff. The forest preserves retain something like 70,000 acre feet of water. In addition to this, we work closely with the county and stormwater management to do whatever we can to alleviate flooding problems. But, we can’t just dig a hole in a forest preserve to hold flood waters without permission from the county’s stormwater department. Unfortunately, the county cut stormwater management funding and reallocated it elsewhere. With a new bond issue recently passed, money is now allocated to stormwater management. The forest preserve is not to blame for the flooding mess but, rather, the various local governments who issued building permits to increase their tax revenues. We’ve cooperated with other governmental agencies in the past and we’ll cooperate in the future.

 

How does purchasing farms such as Kline Creek, Danada and St. James fulfill the forest preserve’s mission?

 

 Clark: It’s open land that would otherwise be sold to a developer. The forest preserve is interested in preserving open land and they’ve made some good acquisitions at reasonable prices. The issue is whether the farms should remain farm land or not. I’ve taken equestrian training at Danada and have met a lot of people who are excited about the horses, especially children. It adds a good balance to the environmental emphasis of the forest preserves. There is a delicate balance here between farm land and forest preserve, and I’m still reviewing the St. James farm proposal. I question some in the group in charge of the proposal because some don’t live in DuPage County. Farming may not be the best use of the land. The forest preserve’s mission statement includes recreation, yet the term is undefined. The current board has decided that more recreation is something they’re interested in marketing to the public. They’ve hired marketing contractors, who in turn, recycle contributions back to them. This unnecessary marketing campaign demonstrates to the public that the board is wasting residents’ money.

 

Pierotti: Under our mission statement we have to provide recreation, education and conservation. Some in the eastern portion of the county have complained we’ve concentrated our acquisitions in the western portion of the county. But these lands were available and were less expensive. We bought St. James for open land as opposed to development; the same was true for Danada. I think county residents are lucky to have a lot of open lands. Farms converted to forest preserve property are not a negative but a positive. If the forest preserve hadn’t bought the farm land, developers would’ve built on it. This would’ve been good for municipalities’ tax revenues but not necessarily for residents. When we bought St. James from Mr. McCormick, he wanted us to keep its equestrian flavor. So, we’re going to keep it open for equestrian events, maintain and improve its buildings, expand its trail system, allow fishing in its pond, archery on its grounds and picnickers on the vast amount of open space. These are the parts that fulfill the forest preserve’s recreation, conservation and education portions of its mission.

 

What one issue do you disagree most with your opponent?

 

 Clark: The use of taxpayer money for self promotion. I object to using the forest preserve as a monument in which to install your name for everyone to see. Also, I object to the hiring of an outside consulting firm a year before an election in which, for the first time, you are being challenged. The forest preserve calls this marketing the forest preserves to residents. But, we already own the forest preserves, so there’s no need to market them. Citizens will understand that they’re getting a good value if you do what you say you’re going to do at the lowest cost. Trying to sell the forest preserves, to me, it’s obvious that it’s self promotion in order to hype amenities citizens are already paying for. The president and the board are using this marketing campaign for their own re-election. This goes to the root of how you approach the morals and ethics of the business. I don’t view the forest preserves as mine but as the citizens of the county, but my opponent feels it’s more his, and he’s allowed to do these things. I don’t think this is appropriate.

 

Pierotti: Mostly, I disagree with my opponent’s position of us not being green enough. We do have strong green initiatives. But I also disagree with him on his attack on the forest preserves finances, and I’m offended by his malicious accusations of mismanagement and pay-to-play. I haven’t held a fundraiser in over five years. Any money that is contributed goes into three scholarship funds in memory of my son. I’m also offended by his accusations that we give out no-bid contracts; it isn’t true. He’s also accused us of letting methane gas go into the environment, but we’ve raised over $14.6 million from the sale of the methane gas to Commonwealth Edison. I don’t believe in running a negative campaign, but he’s filed over 200 FOIA requests which have cost taxpayers over $50,000. He has never been involved with the forest preserve except as a volunteer, which he joined just subsequent to his campaign. He got involved at the Morton Arboretum after his campaign began. His biggest complaint to me is that back in 2003-2004 we changed the signage. This was done without my knowledge. When I found out about it, I asked that my name be removed but was told it would cost more to remove it than to leave it the way it is. I reimbursed the forest preserve for the cost of that. Is my opponent going to reimburse taxpayers $50,000 for misusing the FOIA, saying it was for the homeowners group when he didn’t have their authorization for doing so? He’s made false statements such as the forest preserve golf courses are losing $2 million per year. The golf courses make a small profit. After the fire at Oak Meadows, he said we got a lower than expected settlement, but we received over $7 million, although it took us 18 months to settle it. This was a fair settlement. Saying we issue no-bid contracts is a lie. What he wants us to do is to adopt a contract the union wants because he’s got union money and employees to back him. He’s shown he’ll align with third-party people and not necessarily act in the best interests of the forest preserve. He says we allow political signs on forest preserve property, but we don’t. If he did his homework, he wouldn’t be making these wild accusations. Whenever he makes these and other false statements, I have to make time to defend it. I’m running on my record—we have a balanced budget and are projecting balanced budgets five years into the future. The forest preserve is a very well run facility that tries to serve the needs of the residents of DuPage County. 

On Nov. 2, our readers will help decide who will be the next President of the DuPage County Forest Preserve. Recently, Village Chronicles reporter Crystal Lynn posed identical questions to the two candidates, Dennis P.  Clark (D) and incumbent D. “Dewey” Pierotti (R). Below are the questions and the candidates’ responses

What qualifies you to be forest preserve president, and what motivates you to seek election to this office?

 

Clark: I have an engineering degree, an MBA and a broker’s license from the state of Illinois. I have both education and experience. I’ve done a lot of volunteer work with the Morton Arboretum, the forest preserve and the Sierra Club. I’ve just completed classes at the Morton Arboretum in wetlands restoration and management and in prescription burn. In the next few weeks, I’ll have completed all the requirements for certification from the Morton Arboretum as a designated woodland steward. Nobody has those qualifications on the forest preserve board that I’m aware of. I think it’s important to understand a candidate’s environmental qualifications as well as his education and experience, and I think the president needs to know about a lot of different fields to keep up with all the varying demands that the forest preserve is involved in—public works, stormwater issues, buying land and managing a business. I have all those qualifications covered. I’ve worked in both Fortune 500 companies and small companies. I’ve done all these functions as president of a North American company as well as performed human resource, engineering and marketing functions.

 

What motivates me is that I care deeply about the forest preserve; I spend a lot of my time volunteering there. I care about the environment. Also, after attending forest preserve board meetings and seeing how they operate it, I’ve realized I have the skills to improve it from a financial standpoint. I’ve studied their audited financial statements going back to 2002, and I know there are areas of improvement. My abilities lie in working through other people; it’s what I excel at—motivating people to work together to accomplish bigger and better things. My project management background of 10 years will come in handy being president of the forest preserve. My skills and desires are a perfect match for this position, and now is the right time.

 

Pierotti: Since 1994, I’ve been president of the forest preserve, which encompasses 60 preserves, 30 fishing lakes and educational facilities. These preserves have received awards for the way they’re maintained. Currently, we have a Triple A bond rating,, a balanced budget, and we lead the nation in the services we provide; we’ve lowered the tax levy rate 13 out of 16 years; I prevented the county from building a highway through the middle of the county’s largest preserve—Pratt’s Wayne Woods; we’ve provided services while maintaining a strong fiscal policy. So, my record speaks of my qualifications, and I stand on my record.

 

As far as motivation—I’m doing what I love to do. Since 2002 when the forest preserve became a separate entity from the county, I made a commitment that I would stay in this position until I was certain the forest preserve’s course was set and would be successful. This next term will probably be my last term in office, so I want to ensure that whoever succeeds me has the same level of commitment I have had. Anyone on our six-member board has the experience, commitment and qualifications to succeed me. Because of our master plan—and we have master plans in place for all our holdings—we will be financially sound this next term. We hire consultants to develop one, five, ten year and twenty-five year plans. Future presidents and boards can look at these master plans for guidance, and they will all be in place after this next term. I want residents to become more and more aware of what our forest preserves have to offer. This is what motivates me.

 

What have Warrenville residents told you they are most concerned about, and how will you respond to their concerns?

 

 Clark: A big issue is the fleet maintenance building. A second big issue is flooding. The forest preserve plans to develop the fleet maintenance building in the forest preserve, and Warrenville area residents have responded by saying this development does not belong in a forest preserve. We have asked repeatedly for the forest preserve to address this, and after five months of making presentations, they reluctantly agreed to do so. That was 13 months ago. People need to know their position before the election, but there still has not been an answer. We suspect that if the incumbents win, they’ll build the facility as planned regardless of what local people and people across the county have told them—that this is not proper. As far as flooding, the forest preserve, county board and stormwater management should be working together to address it. I hear the rhetoric, but I don’t see enough intergovernmental cooperation happening. Also, the county slashed the stormwater department’s finances, exacerbating flooding problems in Warrenville and elsewhere. The forest preserve should renew efforts to buy properties along the rivers, with the help of grant money.

 

Pierotti: Warrenville residents have a severe water problem, and we’re working closely with stormwater management to alleviate it. One specific group has a problem with the fleet maintenance building. In 2002 before the board split, the previous board passed a resolution authorizing and approving a new maintenance building. There were 22 public meetings in which at no time did anyone appear to contest that building. I vetoed the building because of its excessive cost and how the contract had been developed. If I hadn’t vetoed it, there would be a new maintenance building on its present site. In 2006, we were told that for safety reasons we had to do something with that maintenance building. Already two companies told us we needed a new building, but we hired a third company to do an analysis—the consulting contract referred to by my opponent as a no-bid contract. We had more public meetings, and then the homeowner’s group said they opposed the building because it wasn’t needed. They also said the forest preserve was being financial irresponsible, and that the maintenance building would be a nuisance to their neighborhood. Yet, the proposed building is 25 percent smaller than the former one passed with no opposition. The only difference is the homeowners’ group is led by my opponent who in 2002, was a republican. Now, the association comes to our meetings and tells us yes, we need and can afford a new fleet maintenance building, but we just don’t want it in our backyards. What changed all that? Politics and union members support for my democratic opponent. The day I’m motivated to do something in the best interest of a third party but not in the best interest of the forest preserve is the day I’m not qualified to run for office. The homeowners’ association asked us to explore alternate sites, and we’ve done that, spending over $100,000. But, if we spend taxpayer dollars to move to a second site, what are we going to do with the original site? This is strictly a not-in-my-backyard argument. I’m offended when this association has told me we’ve been financially irresponsible. Our consultants tell us we’re endangering our employees by not replacing a 40-year-old facility. Since 1994, I’ve never had an opponent in a primary or a general election. I’ve always worked in total cooperation with both parties; I’ve made the forest preserve a Switzerland on Naperville road. Protectors of the environment should not be politically motivated. I’m supported by the Sierra Club, people with democratic affiliations as well as the Republican Party. I owe no one anything; I don’t want anything. I’ve made a commitment and I’ve kept it. I’m very outspoken, sometimes to the point of being criticized for it.

 

Do residents pay the forest preserve too much in taxes, too little, or just the right amount?

 

 Clark: I think the forest preserve is a wonderful asset which improves our quality of life. In turn, it raises property values in DuPage County. Fewer tax dollars go to the forest preserve than to schools and park districts. For what residents get out of the forest preserves, I think taxes are fair. Naturally, if government received more taxes they would spend it. But, there are things the forest preserve can do to improve operations. What we need to look at is whether we’re getting good value from the money we’re paying in taxes. That’s one of the reasons I’m running because I don’t think we’re getting good value for the taxes we’re paying. For example, when you have no-bid contracts up to $350,000, and from an engineering standpoint, I watch change orders come in that aren’t reviewed from a due diligence standpoint, and I see contributions that are received from vendors to people on the board. It’s easy for the public to understand we aren’t getting good value. I’ve talked with Cook County’s forest preserve and asked them how many people they employ--400 total. Yet, they have three times the land we do, and we have 370 employees. This is a perfect example of how our forest preserve is overstaffed and bloated. There’s definitely room for financial improvements.

 

Pierotti: The portion residents pay is something like 2 cents out of every tax dollar. Unlike the county that gets sales tax and fee revenues, we have no other revenue other than property taxes. I think we give a good bang for the dollar. The taxes we collect are not only for operations but also to repay bond money. The taxpayers own over 25,000 acres that’s worth about $3.5 billion dollars, and the total debt on it is less than $250 million. This is why we have a Triple-A bond rating. Our debt payment goes down every year, and around 2020, this debt will be gone unless future boards incur more debt. When the debt is gone, the cost of operations will also go down. This is one reason the forest preserve is financially secure and has a high bond rating. The other reason is we have around $240 million in reserves for catastrophes. Every year the risk of a catastrophe goes down because it’s primarily caused by the methane gas, which is lessening. In years to come, future boards will be able to take money out of the reserves, and that will also lower costs. I’m proud of this, and I think residents are paying a fair amount of taxes. In 13 of the last 16 years, we’ve been able to lower the tax rate levy. Two of those years we couldn’t lower it because we passed a bond issue, and we had to raise taxes to cover the additional debt service. This last year because of the economy, we couldn’t lower the levy, but we kept it about the same. I think we’re practicing sound financial business; we run a tight ship, and the taxpayers are getting a good value. Additionally, the forest preserve has over 5,000 volunteers who contribute over 80,000 hours every year. We could never afford to do what we do without our volunteers.

 

Should the forest preserve be involved in solving flooding problems in DuPage County? Why or why not?

 

 Clark: Yes. The forest preserve owns about 12 percent of the county’s land, and some of that land is along river ways. The forest preserve needs to be the environmental leader in the county. One of those issues is developing wetlands and biodiversity. Being in an urban area, we have a lot of runoff water and that’s not going to change except to get worse. We’re going to have to figure out a way to use this water, clean it up, and change it into something that can be used in an appropriate manner. You just can’t push it off into a corner and hope it goes away. The forest preserve should be working in conjunction with the stormwater people as well as the county board. I’ve heard their rhetoric that they’re cooperating, but I don’t it.

 

Pierotti: Yes, and we are. We’ve always addressed stormwater; we worry about flooding. People don’t realize how many thousands of forest preserve acres are not developed and are contributing to stormwater runoff. The forest preserves retain something like 70,000 acre feet of water. In addition to this, we work closely with the county and stormwater management to do whatever we can to alleviate flooding problems. But, we can’t just dig a hole in a forest preserve to hold flood waters without permission from the county’s stormwater department. Unfortunately, the county cut stormwater management funding and reallocated it elsewhere. With a new bond issue recently passed, money is now allocated to stormwater management. The forest preserve is not to blame for the flooding mess but, rather, the various local governments who issued building permits to increase their tax revenues. We’ve cooperated with other governmental agencies in the past and we’ll cooperate in the future.

 

How does purchasing farms such as Kline Creek, Danada and St. James fulfill the forest preserve’s mission?

 

 Clark: It’s open land that would otherwise be sold to a developer. The forest preserve is interested in preserving open land and they’ve made some good acquisitions at reasonable prices. The issue is whether the farms should remain farm land or not. I’ve taken equestrian training at Danada and have met a lot of people who are excited about the horses, especially children. It adds a good balance to the environmental emphasis of the forest preserves. There is a delicate balance here between farm land and forest preserve, and I’m still reviewing the St. James farm proposal. I question some in the group in charge of the proposal because some don’t live in DuPage County. Farming may not be the best use of the land. The forest preserve’s mission statement includes recreation, yet the term is undefined. The current board has decided that more recreation is something they’re interested in marketing to the public. They’ve hired marketing contractors, who in turn, recycle contributions back to them. This unnecessary marketing campaign demonstrates to the public that the board is wasting residents’ money.

 

Pierotti: Under our mission statement we have to provide recreation, education and conservation. Some in the eastern portion of the county have complained we’ve concentrated our acquisitions in the western portion of the county. But these lands were available and were less expensive. We bought St. James for open land as opposed to development; the same was true for Danada. I think county residents are lucky to have a lot of open lands. Farms converted to forest preserve property are not a negative but a positive. If the forest preserve hadn’t bought the farm land, developers would’ve built on it. This would’ve been good for municipalities’ tax revenues but not necessarily for residents. When we bought St. James from Mr. McCormick, he wanted us to keep its equestrian flavor. So, we’re going to keep it open for equestrian events, maintain and improve its buildings, expand its trail system, allow fishing in its pond, archery on its grounds and picnickers on the vast amount of open space. These are the parts that fulfill the forest preserve’s recreation, conservation and education portions of its mission.

 

What one issue do you disagree most with your opponent?

 

 Clark: The use of taxpayer money for self promotion. I object to using the forest preserve as a monument in which to install your name for everyone to see. Also, I object to the hiring of an outside consulting firm a year before an election in which, for the first time, you are being challenged. The forest preserve calls this marketing the forest preserves to residents. But, we already own the forest preserves, so there’s no need to market them. Citizens will understand that they’re getting a good value if you do what you say you’re going to do at the lowest cost. Trying to sell the forest preserves, to me, it’s obvious that it’s self promotion in order to hype amenities citizens are already paying for. The president and the board are using this marketing campaign for their own re-election. This goes to the root of how you approach the morals and ethics of the business. I don’t view the forest preserves as mine but as the citizens of the county, but my opponent feels it’s more his, and he’s allowed to do these things. I don’t think this is appropriate.

 

Pierotti: Mostly, I disagree with my opponent’s position of us not being green enough. We do have strong green initiatives. But I also disagree with him on his attack on the forest preserves finances, and I’m offended by his malicious accusations of mismanagement and pay-to-play. I haven’t held a fundraiser in over five years. Any money that is contributed goes into three scholarship funds in memory of my son. I’m also offended by his accusations that we give out no-bid contracts; it isn’t true. He’s also accused us of letting methane gas go into the environment, but we’ve raised over $14.6 million from the sale of the methane gas to Commonwealth Edison. I don’t believe in running a negative campaign, but he’s filed over 200 FOIA requests which have cost taxpayers over $50,000. He has never been involved with the forest preserve except as a volunteer, which he joined just subsequent to his campaign. He got involved at the Morton Arboretum after his campaign began. His biggest complaint to me is that back in 2003-2004 we changed the signage. This was done without my knowledge. When I found out about it, I asked that my name be removed but was told it would cost more to remove it than to leave it the way it is. I reimbursed the forest preserve for the cost of that. Is my opponent going to reimburse taxpayers $50,000 for misusing the FOIA, saying it was for the homeowners group when he didn’t have their authorization for doing so? He’s made false statements such as the forest preserve golf courses are losing $2 million per year. The golf courses make a small profit. After the fire at Oak Meadows, he said we got a lower than expected settlement, but we received over $7 million, although it took us 18 months to settle it. This was a fair settlement. Saying we issue no-bid contracts is a lie. What he wants us to do is to adopt a contract the union wants because he’s got union money and employees to back him. He’s shown he’ll align with third-party people and not necessarily act in the best interests of the forest preserve. He says we allow political signs on forest preserve property, but we don’t. If he did his homework, he wouldn’t be making these wild accusations. Whenever he makes these and other false statements, I have to make time to defend it. I’m running on my record—we have a balanced budget and are projecting balanced budgets five years into the future. The forest preserve is a very well run facility that tries to serve the needs of the residents of DuPage County.