Law enforcement officials: DuPage County budget 'unacceptable'
DuPage County's top law enforcement officials joined forces Tuesday to oppose the County Board chairman's proposed 2008 budget and recommend a sales-tax increase to fund public safety.
Chairman Robert Schillerstrom addressed the board Tuesday morning, proposing cuts that would lay off about 180 public safety workers - including about 100 employees from the sheriff's office. The county would lay off 235 employees overall under the proposal.
At a news conference that afternoon, State's Attorney Joe Birkett, Chief Judge Ann B. Jorgensen, Circuit Court Clerk Chris Kachiroubas and Coroner Pete Siekmann said they would not tolerate cuts they feel will greatly impact their ability to perform their mandated duties. The officials also spoke on behalf of Sheriff John Zaruba, who did not attend the news conference.
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Past cuts to public safety
Sheriff's Work Alternative Program
State's attorney's special victims unit
Customer service employees in circuit court clerk's office
Probation officers
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"Despite increasing demands on all of us, we have been able to absorb severe budget cuts over the last four years without sacrificing public safety," Birkett said. "There is no more room to cut. In fact, as the County Board members know, all of our offices are already severely understaffed.
"Chairman Schillerstrom's proposed budget is completely unacceptable to those of us charged with fulfilling the first mission of government: the protection of the public."
The board's Judicial and Public Safety Committee recently recommended the addition of 11 employees to Birkett's office, including seven more prosecutors. Under Schillerstrom's proposal, the office would lose 14 employees, including three prosecutors. Birkett has said DuPage already has the lowest ratio of prosecutors to population of any large county in the country.
The proposed budget also would eliminate 18 employees from the court clerk's office, eight employees from the public defender's office, five from the DuPage County Circuit Court and one from the coroner's office. The cuts would eliminate 29 probation officers.
"There won't be enough state's attorneys to staff the courtrooms. I won't have enough public defenders to adequately represent the indigent accused," Jorgensen said. "Those who are convicted and placed on probation will not be able to afford the appropriate services. Probation officers simply cannot handle effectively caseloads higher than what they're already handling."
Schillerstrom's proposal also would close satellite traffic courts in Addison, Glendale Heights, Downers Grove and Wheaton. This would add 8,000 defendants each week to the dockets of the circuit court, Kachiroubas said. The result will be overcrowding of courtrooms and longer waiting times for lawyers, defendants and local police officers who have to appear in court, he said.
Schillerstrom said the proposed cuts are necessary because Springfield has failed to provide DuPage County with a new revenue source, which the county needs because expenses are growing much faster than revenues. He acknowledged the cuts could have a serious impact on public safety.
"I can't think of a cut in this budget I make enthusiastically," Schillerstrom said.
The law enforcement officials are asking the County Board to place a referendum on the February ballot asking voters to approve a quarter-cent sales tax increase.
"We have been saying this for four years," Birkett said. "We believe the voters will agree with us; the protection of the public is the first mission of all governments."
Birkett declined to discuss what will happen if they board does not act on the request and goes forward with the proposed cuts.
"We're confident that they're going to do something," he said. "They have to do something."
The County Board must approve a budget by the end of November, since the county's 2008 fiscal year begins Sunday, Dec. 1.