(The Center Square) – DuPage County Board Chair Deb Conroy says her administration has not raised taxes, but Republican candidate Gary Grasso says that’s not true.
Grasso spoke in Chicago on Wednesday and said the county budget increased about 22% from fiscal year 2023 to fiscal year 2027.
“In the three years that my opponent has been in office, the budget has gone up $127 million, from about $584 million to the proposed $711 million,” Grasso said.
Conroy said Grasso, who currently serves as mayor of Burr Ridge, can’t run on his own record.
“Instead, he shows that he has no idea how to run a county. I’m focused on what matters to DuPage County residents. I’m proud that we haven’t raised taxes yet continue to provide top-quality services to our residents while maintaining healthy reserves and AAA bond ratings,” Conroy said in a statement to The Center Square.
Conroy said her record shows she’s not afraid to demand taxpayer accountability and transparency in all of the county’s offices and departments.
“The truth is that DuPage County continues to grow because in DuPage County we are fiscally responsible while taking care of people,” Conroy said in her statement.
Grasso said Conroy is spinning the story.
“So she says, ‘Oh, well I kept a percentage flat.’ However, you raised assessed value. The taxes have increased,” Grasso told The Center Square.
Grasso said he would freeze DuPage County’s gas tax, which is scheduled to rise automatically in the new budget. He also pledged to roll back the chair’s salary, which the board raised in April from $131,559 to $185,000 for what Grasso said is a part-time job.
The Burr Ridge Republican called out Conroy and DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek over an ongoing dispute between the two Democrats.
Kaczmarek wrote in August that Conroy knowingly chose to ignore her office’s itemized list of elections expenses.
The board then approved an additional $665,000 for costs related to mail-in ballots.
On Sept. 24, the first day of early voting in Illinois, Kaczmarek’s office issued a statement saying voting was paused due to a technical issue, although voters were able to return and cast ballots at early voting sites the next day.
Grasso said Kaczmarek did not do her job from day one.
“She didn’t do it for four years, and the current chair supported her for re-election, so it’s on her also,” Grasso said.
Grasso said Conroy should have talked with Kaczmarek to resolve the dispute.
“You pick up the phone and talk. You don’t go hire lawyers right away, which is what this chair has done, and spend over $280,000 on private attorneys to have a public fight with her clerk,” Grasso said.
Democrat Paula Deacon Garcia and Republican Patricia Kladis-Schiappa are on the ballot to replace Kaczmarek.
Election Day is Nov. 3.
