CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A Democratic DuPage County Board member is proposing a bi-partisan effort to cut the size of the county board.
DuPage County Board member Mary Fitzgerald Ozog has recruited five other Democratic and Republican board members to sign on to her idea to cut the county board’s size in time for the 2022 election.
"If we eliminate six positions, we could, right off the bat, eliminate $312,000 in salaries," not to mention benefits that some board members receive, she said.
There are currently six three-member districts that make up the DuPage County Board. Ozog would like to see that reduced to six two-member districts. That would cut six seats.
Ozog said this is the right time to cut the board's size when so many DuPage County residents are feeling the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
She also points out that, "I think it’s something we can offer our taxpayers and part of the DuPage County philosophy in the last few years has been the ACT initiative: Accountability, Consolidation and Transparency and this certainly would fit in consolidation."
DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin said cutting the board is something he’s been suggesting for the last 10 years.
"I welcome Mary Ozog to the party. Better late than never. But, this is something that we have been plotting a course and it was always our intention and our plan to do this," he said. "I don't think this is really a particularly heavy lift. I think it's good government. I think we've got bi-partisan support. It leads to more accountability, transparency. We'll save some money."
If the board's size is to be cut from 18 to 12 members, it would have to be decided upon this year--a Census year--so that it could take effect for the next 10 years, starting with the election of 2022.
Among the bi-partisan group of DuPage County Board members who have signed on to Ozog's request to begin discussions on reducing the board's size are Liz Chaplin, Dawn DeSart, Brian Krajewski, Julie Renehan and Sheila Rutledge.