C# :: DropDownList Is Not Being Populated

My query APPEARS to not return any results to populate my dropdown list.

public void getColumnList() {
SqlConnection con;
SqlCommand cmd;
SqlDataReader dataReader;
con = new SqlConnection(ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["ConString"]);
cmd = new SqlCommand();

[code]....

following code successfuly puts my CommandText within the DropDownList. If I copy and paste the CommandText straight into SQL server, it indeed returns the names of the columns.

dataReader.Read();
if (dataReader.HasRows) {
while (dataReader.Read()) {
chkbxlstColumn.Items.Add(cmd.CommandText);
}
}

So if my query is correct enough for SQL Server, why can't C# and ASP.NET recognize the results returned and put it into my control?

FYI I've even tried the blow (initially) and it didn't work either.

chkbxlstColumn.DataSource = dataReader;
chkbxlstColumn.DataValueField = "name";
chkbxlstColumn.DataTextField = "name";
chkbxlstColumn.DataBind();