1. We can’t afford to double the debt. The proposed tax increase would nearly double COD’s current debt. In this economy, we need belt tightening, not empire building. We cannot borrow and spend our way to prosperity. Voters agree: COD’s own survey, paid for with $66,350 of our tax dollars, found that a whopping 71.6% of voters agree that “people like me can’t afford to pay higher property taxes, no matter how good the cause.” And those results came after COD wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars on its “CODiscover” public relations blitz promoting the alleged benefits of the referendum. [i]
2. We don’t need subprime financing. COD is deliberately misleading the public – you can’t double your debt without a major tax increase. A so-called “no rate increase” referendum is like a subprime mortgage – it relies on backloading payments, so initial low “teaser” payments increase dramatically over time, and total interest costs are much higher because most of the principal payments are deferred. I estimate total debt service will approach a quarter billion dollars. Plus, it doesn’t work. COD has not provided data documenting how it arrived at its claims, but School District 200 made the same “no tax rate increase” claim in its 2008 bond referendum. It promised the bond tax rate would stay the same through 2023 and suggested the rate would even drop, yet within just two years the rate has already exceeded what was promised. [ii]
3. COD lied about the last referendum. COD claims it will tear down old buildings located on the west side of campus, and the “savings” will somehow yield enough money to heat, cool, staff and operate the more and larger facilities it wants to build. Only one problem: it made this claim in 2002 to pass the last referendum, and the buildings are still standing, as a continuing excuse for higher taxes! COD also claims its roofs are leaking – why, then, didn’t it fix what it has before building flashy new buildings? Rather than properly maintain its facilities on a regular basis, COD defers maintenance to create an appearance of “crisis.”[iii]
4. COD construction projects break the law. As widely reported, COD doesn’t think its construction projects should have to follow building codes and zoning regulations. It reneged on an intergovernmental agreement with the Village of Glen Ellyn, then wasted tens of thousands of dollars that should have been used to educate students, paying lawyers to sue the Village to try to avoid complying with building codes.[iv]
5. COD plays games with campaign financing. It’s illegal to use public money to promote passage of a tax referendum. COD is evading this law by setting up a political committee, “Supporters of College of DuPage,” with three senior administrators employed by COD as officers. After I exposed this on my web site, www.codfacts.com, the three abruptly resigned in favor of several other insiders. Plus, the “independent” committee that supported the 2002 referendum raised most of its $180,000 PAC money from vendors with COD contracts. This is unethical “Pay to Play” politics.[v]
[i] According to the most recent annual report on the COD web site, found at http://www.cod.edu/adminstr/misc/CODReport.pdf, COD has $177 million in bonded debt – adding another $168 million will increase that debt by about 95%. COD paid vendor Unicom Arc, a Missouri-based public relations firm frequently used by school districts to promote their referendum campaigns, $66,350 for surveys. Source: e-mail from Joe Moore, VP of COD, 8/12/2010. The surveys were “push polls” in which respondents are prodded with additional leading questions to generate desired responses, playing games with wording so that COD can claim voter support. Even Trustee Sandy Kim (who has worked in polling) stated at the August 9, 2010 COD Board meeting that initial numbers, not post polling final numbers, should be used. The questions I cite are questions 14 and 5, see https://ssdev.cod.edu/Media/Website%20Resources/pdf/newsEvents/CODiscoversummary.pdf. According to statements at the August 9 Board meeting, COD’s PR blitz included over 150,000 postcards mailed; I have personally received several postcards, and heard and seen repeated radio and print ads.
[ii] For its 2008 referendum, Community Unit School District 200 promised 44 cent tax rate for bonds would remain level (a “no tax rate increase” referendum) for term of bonds through 2023 (see http://www.cusd200.org/hubble_future/pdfs/Full-Debt-Tax-Chart.pdf); per conversation with DuPage County Clerk’s office, rate has already increased to 46 cents.
[iii] COD says it will tear down the same buildings it promised to demolish with the 2002 tax increase; see http://www.cod.edu/ces/FAQ.pdf and http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2002-11-07/news/0211070061_1_tuition-increases-tax-rate-cod. COD claims roof repairs are needed; see, e.g., http://www.codiscovercod.com/frequently-asked-questions.php. Yet it has spent millions on new buildings without first addressing needed maintenance, and has no definite plan to pay for upkeep and staffing of the new buildings it wants taxpayers to fund.
[iv] See, e.g., http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-06-23/news/ct-x-w-0623-cod-signs-20100623_1_cod-glen-ellyn-electronic-signs-building-codes.
[v] Election interference by governments using public funds is illegal; see 10 ILCS 5/9-25.1. Information about “Supporters of College of DuPage” and its revolving door of officers can be found in public records available at www.elections.state.il.us. Regarding PAC money in the 2002 referendum, see campaign finance disclosure reports for “Neighbors for COD,” available at www.elections.state.il.us. For example, Aramark gave $3,000, October 6, 2002, for information about its business dealings with COD see http://www.cod.edu/facilities_plan/planning/construction.htm; Perkins & Will gave $10,000, February 21, 2002 and October 22, 2002, see http://www.cod.edu/facilities_plan/archive/over/view.htm; Wight & Company gave $12,000, January 9, 2002 and October 28, 2002, see http://wightco.com/portfolio/Default.aspx?filter=project&projectID=110&projectTypeID=6. The State of Illinois bans such political contributions by state contractors to the public officials that awarded the contracts, but a loophole allows so-called “independent” committees like “Neighbors for COD” and “Supporters of College of DuPage” to accept such contributions.