Will County Gazette

Will County Board member Steve Balich is raising concerns about a $60,000 contract between the village of Homer Glen and a lobbying firm run by former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

“Why does the village of Homer Glen, where I live, pay the guy $60,000 when the only one that can fix the water bills is the ICC (Illinois Commerce Commission)?” Balich said in an interview with the Will County Gazette.

The contract, approved by village officials, will pay RRB Strategies LLC — Blagojevich’s lobbying firm — $10,000 per month to advocate on behalf of residents dealing with high water bills.

Will County Board member Steve Balich | Facebook / Elect Steve Balich

The agreement comes as the Illinois Attorney General investigates Illinois American Water, which serves about 6,000 homes in the village and has been accused of overbilling, faulty meters and poor customer service.

A recent village survey found that 685 of 794 respondents reported unexplained spikes in water usage.

Mayor Christina Neitzke-Troike has said the hire is part of a broader strategy to secure federal infrastructure funding and support state legislation, including Illinois Senate Bill 1513. The bill would allow municipalities to repurchase private water systems through a voter referendum. The Village Board has also taken steps to revise local ordinances to require franchise agreements for utility companies.

Balich, however, questioned the value of lobbying in this case.

"The mayor (Christina Neitzke-Troike) is tied with the Democrats. He's got $80,000 in her campaign. So, what does a person with $80,000 in their campaign do? She hires Blagojevich to lobby to lower water bills," he said.

Blagojevich, a disbarred attorney and convicted felon, was sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2011 after being convicted on multiple counts of corruption, including attempting to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama. His sentence was commuted in 2020 by President Donald Trump.

“All right, why would you hire Blagojevich who’s not liked by anybody in the state??” Balich said. “Nobody in the state, Republicans or Democrats. She hires him, gives him $10,000 a month, and his job is to reduce our water bills. I've met Blagojevich and I got nothing against him. I think he's a nice guy, but that's as far as it goes. I wouldn't hire him and pay him $0.05 to lobby for water bills when the only one that can change the water bills is the Illinois Commerce Commission.”

Balich also questioned whether lobbying the General Assembly would have any practical effect, noting that the legislature does not control water rates.

“The ICC is not going to listen to anybody. They're going to do whatever they think is right,” Balich said. “If you're going to try and lobby the state reps and senators, none of them like you. So how do you lobby somebody that doesn't like you?”

Separately, Blagojevich has registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act to lobby for the Republic of Srpska, a Serb-majority region in Bosnia and Herzegovina led by Milorad Dodik, a pro-Russian figure who was recently sentenced to prison and fled to Moscow.

Balich called the Homer Glen contract part of what he views as political theatrics.

“Without a doubt it is. I mean, it's shenanigans on shenanigans, you know?” Balich said.