ADELMAN PONDERS VETO OVER LANDFILL CONTRACT

HE OPPOSES BOARD'S PUSH FOR DETROIT FIRM

Will County Executive Charles Adelman is polling County Board members before deciding whether to veto a measure that gives priority to a controversial Detroit firm seeking a county landfill contract.

Adelman says he will not veto the measure passed last week by the Republican-controlled board if it becomes obvious that lobbyists for the firm have the 17 votes needed to override him.

"I don't want to veto it just to be vetoing it," Adelman said. "I'm counting to see how many votes I have."

On June 20 the board ignored a recommendation from its Executive Committee and sent Adelman instructions to negotiate first with City Management Inc. in seeking a multimillion-dollar contract to operate a county-owned landfill at the former Joliet Arsenal near Wilmington.

The measure passed 15-12 on a party-line vote.

The Executive Committee had voted to send Adelman the names of all four firms that are in the final running for the contract but to offer no recommendation.

Adelman said Friday that he is considering a veto because Richard Kavanagh, a local lobbyist for City Management, has vowed to file suit if his firm fails to get the job.

Adelman says a veto would bolster the county's position if the eventual contract ends up in court.

"I've already been told . . . they are going to say in court that I didn't follow the instructions of the County Board."

Kavanagh could not be reached for comment Friday.

An Adelman veto would go to the board at its meeting Thursday. After the June meeting, Adelman lashed out at the board and the lobbyists, saying they had sown the landfill process with public suspicion and mistrust.

Adelman said he plans to initiate a three-month environmental study of the proposed landfill site before signing a contract with an operator and pledged to keep lobbying out of the decision-making process.

The two top-ranked firms have hired local elected officials, including state Sen. Thomas Dunn (D-Joliet) and state Rep. Larry Wennlund (R-New Lenox), as they seek to win a contract that could produce as much as $1 billion in revenue over the next 30 years.

Kavanagh, a top official of the county Republican Party, and Dunn have been lobbying for City Management, and Wennlund for Oakbrook-based Waste Management of Illinois.

USA Waste and Browning-Ferris Industries also are seeking the contract, but no lobbyists have surfaced on their behalf.

Adelman also said he is holding off on signing an ordinance that would prevent the siting of a billboard within a one-mile radius of an existing sign.

Adelman, who thinks the measure is too restrictive, said he is waiting to see whether it is called back for reconsideration at Thursday's board meeting. If Adelman fails to sign an ordinance but does not veto it, the measure goes into effect after 30 days.