John Curran of Woodridge will ask voters to re-elect him to represent the 3rd District in DuPage County on Nov. 4. Pamela Miles of Downers Grove, the Democratic candidate, is challenging Curran for the seat.
Curran, a Republican, has been on the DuPage County Board since 2009. He has been a Cook County assistant state’s attorney for the past 16 years, served one term as Woodridge village trustee before joining the DuPage County Board.
Miles, now retired, was a television journalist and director of a community-based correctional center in Ohio that provided anger management courses, job placement and other program for offenders. Miles believes she can better represent the diversity of the population in the district, which includes all or parts of Burr Ridge, Clarendon Hills, Darien, Hinsdale and Willowbrook, and other communities.
Curran says he is committed to keeping DuPage County taxes low and eliminating the bureaucracy and red tape that hinder businesses and the creation of new jobs. In Curran’s five years on the board, the county has reduced its operating budget and saved money by combining its youth detention services with Kane County and revising employee benefits.
Personnel policies were changed so that sick days could not be cashed out right before an employee retires, because that inflates his or her pension. The cash value the county was paying for the unused sick days was based on the employee’s current pay rate, not what he or she was earning when they accumulated the sick days, Curran said.
The county also reduced the number of vacation days employees received by five and substituted three personal days for them. Unlike vacation days, personal days do not carry over to the next year, if they are not used.
“We have done as much as I see we can do under the current state law,” to reduce pension costs, Curran said.
But he sees many more opportunities ahead to reduce expenses by consolidating operations and programs with other counties or government bodies. He wants the county to evaluate consolidating mosquito abatement, sanitary districts and firefighting equipment for potential savings.
Miles moved to Downers Grove about 2005 to be closer to her grown sons and her grandchildren “I love DuPage County and I specifically love Downers Grove,” Miles said.
She has attended County Board meetings and watched them online. Miles said she decided to run for a county office because, “I saw a need here.” She believes she could better represent the people who suffer “silent pain,” that is from domestic violence, elder abuse or drug addiction.
The makeup of the county board “does not reflect the people we represent,” Miles said. “We could use more women on the board.”
Miles said she did not know the salary that comes with the position is $50,079, an amount which seems high for a part-time position, she said.
Working for Cook County and DuPage County means Curran earns two government salaries. But recognizing that in recent years, county employees have had benefits cut and wages frozen, Curran in June voted to keep County Board members’ pay the same for the next two years, followed by 2 percent raises in 2017 and 2018.
Also, being an assistant state’s attorney for Cook County, handling civil cases, has given him “a tremendous leg up” in handling his responsibilities on the DuPage County Board, Curran said.
“I have hands-on institutional experience with county government and knowledge of the applicable county laws to address the issues,” Curran said.
Meet the candidates
John Curran
John Curran
Age: 41
Grew up in: Evergreen Park
Lives in: Woodridge
Family: Wife Sue and three daughters
Campaign website: http://www.curranfordupage.com/
Pamela Miles
Pamela Miles
Age: 66
Grew up in: Kane, Penn.
Lives in: Downers Grove
Family: Two grown sons, five grandchildren and one great-grandchild
Campaign website: http://pamelamilesfordupagecountyboard3.com/about-pamela/