Some people vote from their pocketbooks. Others vote from their basements.
Flooded basements, to be exact.
Flood control may indeed be the most pressing issue over which the Du Page County Board has real sway. It`s the elective body local enough to get a closeup view of flooded basements and anguished homeowners-yet large enough and obligated by statute to do something about it on a regional scale.
No wonder board candidates from the new Districts 1 and 2, in the flood-prone eastern portion of Du Page, have no shortage of opinions about what county government should do for them.
In District 1, there are no Democratic challengers, and four Republicans are running for four seats. And there are no contested races among Democrats in District 2.
But there are 10 people running for the four Republican nominations to the County Board from District 2, situated squarely on Salt Creek. There, the devastating 1987 storm and continuing flood problems have set the issue of controlling that water-and paying for such services-at the top of candidates` agendas.
Because of that, their platforms are at times indistinguishable.
None are willing to take what in their area would be the politically suicidal step of lambasting the County Board`s recent decision to spend almost $40 million to buy the old Elmhurst-Chicago Stone quarry, seen in the area as a key in holding flood water and saving homes.
Nor do any say that communities along the flood way should have to pay for flood control by themselves, a suggestion that plays better in western Du Page.
But there are shades of gray as each candidate talks about reconciling the ongoing flood-control projects with the issue of paying for them.
The candidates include two activists who have worked for flood-control projects. Donald Thompson, a retired AT&T manager from Oak Brook, and Barbara ”Lexi” Payovich, a construction company partner and Oak Brook village trustee, both entered the political arena as advocates in grass-roots groups that culminated in the influential Salt Creek Citizens for Flood Control.
Also running are two local politicians who served on Elmhurst planning and zoning boards when that town and other Salt Creek municipalities were allowing construction in the most flood-prone areas. Both Olivia Gow, a former Elmhurst alderman, and Edward Merkel, now an incumbent County Board member, say the local councils were seduced by tax revenue promised them by developers. The board must involve the towns in the remedy, they say.
Gow favors ”good land investments” like the quarry, although she decries its cost, and aggressive acquisition of open space in east Du Page for flood control. Merkel calls for special fees to be paid by those who build in the flood plain.
Two other incumbents join Merkel in taking credit for the quarry purchase. Irene Stone and Patrick O`Shea, both of Lombard, say they have the political savvy needed to keep fighting for the interests of flood-fearing residents.
They must face attempts by Du Page County Board Chairman Aldo Botti and his political allies to paint the pro-quarry board members as spendthrifts.
Two Botti-supported candidates echo his line of not hating the quarry, just its cost. James Sullivan, a former Du Page associate judge from Oak Brook, and Clayton Moore, a lighting salesman from Lombard, both say they are ”left with questions” about the cost.
Sullivan said he thinks the Salt Creek communities are obligated to cooperate to fix the problem, since they allowed building in the flood plain over the last two decades. Moore, a York Township trustee, said he would seek guidance from board members he trusts in introducing more regional cooperation.
A third Botti-endorsed candidate, Villa Park Mayor Joyce Daly, heartily applauds the quarry purchase, regardless of price. Frustrated with the sometimes sluggish action toward flood control, Daly wants to see the County Board use its high profile to effect regional and even state cooperation.
Oak Brook accountant and attorney Michael Coveny, running as a political newcomer stressing ”needed independence” in a time of divisive County Board politics, challenges not only the finances of the quarry purchase but also those of other county dealings.
Real tax savings have to happen elsewhere-the County Board controls less than 6 percent of the average tax bill-but important county services could be threatened by declining revenues, he said.
Several challengers complain about the bickering on the board, which they say appears to be Aldo Botti and friends versus everybody else, and they worry about how the squabbles affect issues important to them.
Had county officials acted earlier, they may have been able to get the quarry for a quarter of the final price, Gow said.
She and municipal leaders Daly and Payovich say they have seen important projects stalled at the county level because politicians couldn`t-or wouldn`t-get off the dime.
Sullivan points out that now, to outsiders, it seems board members only go along with their allies.
”That`s very bad for people who live here,” said Coveny. ”You should judge on a case-by-case basis, not judge the project or program on the basis of whoever proposed it.”
Incumbents concede that. But, O`Shea said, the board`s modus operandi is a reality, and it will only intensify if Botti comes out of the March primary with the promise of a friendlier board.
”You have to fight fire with fire,” said O`Shea, a friend of the regular Republican organization that Botti is bucking. ”We`ve seen where you don`t vote the way of the chairman, you catch his ire. You need people who can stand up to that (or) the district will suffer.”
Any more ”rubber stamps” on the board would mean an autocracy, one that might turn on members who don`t toe the line, said Stone.
Stone, O`Shea and, at times, Merkel, have all been leaders in challenging Botti.
Daly acknowledges that taking Botti`s side in his feud with Du Page GOP chairman and state Senate Minority Leader James ”Pate” Philip (R-Wood Dale) could mean a tougher relationship with Springfield.
Still, she said, the board`s high profile obligates it to be a leader in setting policies, even those outside its purview.
And although the board has little to do with law enforcement and represents a relatively small amount of the property tax bill, several candidates list fighting gang crime and axing taxes in their agendas.
