(Todd Connor's survey was mistakenly left out of the Voter's Guide)

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District - Todd Connor

Candidate’s name: Todd Connor                                                       

Party: Democrat

Email address: todd@toddconnor.org                                                                                   

Website: www.toddconnor.org                                                                      

 What do you consider to be the major issue(s) facing Cook County?  With respect to the Water Reclamation District (MWRD) and the residents of Cook County, the major issues facing them remain: 1) Flooding, 2) Taxes, and 3) Clean Water.  The residents of Cook County want to ensure there is clean water throughout our waterway system and within the Great Lakes watershed, do not want their basements to flood, and want to pay a reasonable amount of taxes to accomplish those two tasks. 

The MWRD, towards those ends, is facing a number of decisions that it must make in advance of those three objectives.  The Storm Water Management Ordinance, which will be shaped and passed in the next several months, is the most significant and comprehensive measure currently pending to address flooding and sustainability.  The ordinance needs to incentivize green infrastructure and sustainable development, while not stifling economic development by creating onerous and ineffective bureaucratic protocols.  Estimates are that 43% of Cook County is impermeable surface, which means every time water hits a paved road, it is redirected into our sewage system, picking up toxins along the way.  By incentivizing sustainable development, we not only preserve the natural state of affairs by allowing water to replenish the ground aquifers as intended, but we also reduce the capacity on our sewage system, reducing energy costs, the need for additional infrastructure spending, and the risk of overflowing our sewers into our streets, basements, and Lake Michigan. 

 With a $1.6 billion budget, the MWRD this year is going to spend more money than the CTA.  The budget represents 5-10% of property taxes, and would be a Fortune 1000 company if it were a private corporation.  We need to ensure that every dollar is being spent to the highest and best use, and that we have Commissioners that know the right questions to ask and are willing to ask them.  As a Navy Veteran, former Investigator for the Illinois Inspector General, and Management Consultant to government clients, I have learned how to do more with less, and know how to make sure every dollar is maximized.  We need these skills at the MWRD and in government to ensure taxpayers get a good return on their investment.  Through increased transparency, competitive bidding, and looking at good ideas that we can use from other waste water utilities, we can ensure that taxpayers get maximum value for their money.

 I launched a site, www.cleanwaterchicago.org, to demonstrate my commitment to the environment, and showcase to the public the issue of disinfection.  Right now we are fighting proposed standards from the Illinois EPA to disinfect our sewage effluent.  We need to proactively address environmental concerns and be forward looking to understand all of the various contaminants that are in our runoff and sewage, the negative environmental impact that they represent for people that recreate on the waterways as well as on our ground water quality, and work to enforce the highest reasonable standards possible.

What will your number one priority be, if you are elected?  I have provided my top three priorities:

 1)  Procurement reform.  The Huffington Post recently reported on my critique of a recent $600 million municipal bond deal that was awarded in a back room agreement without clear performance evaluations, and without the use of an RFP process.  Additionally problematic is that the current procurement rules allow sitting Commissioners to choose co-Managers to municipal bond deals.  This highly anomalous arrangement is precisely the thing that the Illinois Reform Commission has been battling at the state, and we cannot allow elected officials to make direct procurement decisions.  Every contract awarded should be available to the public for scrutiny, shown online in a searchable database, and should also reflect the performance metrics in place.  The public deserves to know which vendors have been selected for professional services and construction contracts, what the selection criteria were, and how the parties are performing.  No-bid contracts not only deprive the public of competitive value, but also (and perhaps more importantly) of new ideas.   

2)  Disinfect our waterways.  I launched www.cleanwaterchicago.org to educate the public and rally support for our long-overdue need to implement disinfection technologies throughout the Chicago Area Waterways.  When compared with the 23 largest dischargers of sewage effluent in the United States, the MWRD is the only one that does not comprehensively disinfect.  The Illinois EPA and the MWRD have been in a protracted 2 year rule making process before the Illinois Pollution Control Board fighting over whether or not to meet clean water standards.  For all of the taxpayer dollars that have spent for these three bodies to arbitrate a rule making process, we have wasted money on lawyers and court battles, instead of the implementation of a solution.  Meanwhile, people continue to recreate on the Chicago Area Waterways and risk illness as a result.  We have an obligation, and I believe also a desire, to ensure that our waterways are safe for human contact, and that these water resources are available beyond our generation for future generations of Chicagoans. 

3)  Government reform.  From televising MWRD meetings, to conducting a comprehensive review of the governance structure, to implementing an Inspector General, there are a number of initiatives that need to be undertaken to bring this agency in line with best-in-class organizations of its type.  For example, at a given meeting there are rarely votes taken given the fact that meetings are conducted from a consent agenda.  I believe this is problematic.  The public wants to know, and deserves to know, where Commissioners stand on a range of issues.  I would be an advocate for frequent votes to create a public record.  Campaign finance and ethics rules still permit a construction firm to make an unlimited political contribution to a sitting commissioner, and in turn have that same commissioner vote to award contracts.  This type of arrangement invites foul play, and needs to be changed.  Tougher ethics rules need to be implemented to prevent conflicts of interests, and allow for greater transparency on commissioners’ secondary income streams.  This is just the beginning of a list of questions I will be eager to ask if elected.  

What avenues do you see to reduce government spending and waste?  I believe the MWRD needs an Inspector General to investigate waste, fraud, and abuse, as well as serve as a standing audit function to oversee the activities of third party contractors, which is where most of the money of this $1.6 billion budget is spent.  We need robust protocols in place that are looking for opportunities of improvement of government operations.  Employees, taxpayers, and contractors know best where the MWRD can improve itself to reduce government spending and waste, and we need to provide a venue to harness the best of those ideas to make improvements. 

There are several areas that I plan to investigate, if elected.  Commissioners have the equivalent of 3 staff positions, which is more than State Senators, and seems excessive.  The fact that they are given their own automobiles seems unnecessary as well, particularly when taxpayers all throughout our state are exercising restraint with their own personal budgets.  The summer patronage program, which continues to function as an employment program for the politically connected, needs to end.  By televising meetings, having online, real time, procurement, contract, and political contribution reporting, the public will be able to scrutinize the decisions being made by commissioners and determine if there has been undue influence or poor decision making.  Transparency, in my estimation, is the best medicine for many of our ills, particularly determining if there is waste. 

  We need commissioners who invite scrutiny of current operations, and are eager to ask of themselves and of the agency, “what can we do better?”  That mentality is healthy, and brings out the best in people and in government.  I am committed to advocating for open, honest, and responsible government.