The Tribune asked candidates in contested races for Lake County Board five questions about issues facing county government. Here are the responses from Lake County Board candidates in contested races in districts 1, 3, 5, 9 and 16.
What is the biggest issue facing Lake County residents, and how would you address it as a County Board member?
Deborah Barry (Democrat): The aging of Lake County has gone unnoticed. Median age is up 9 percent since 2000; residents 65+ grew by 33 percent while our youngest population (0-4) declined by 11 percent. This is nothing less than the exodus of young families, along with the generation diversity and disposable income they bring. We need to reverse this trend; the county needs stop acting as a commercial developer and focus instead on community life, entertainment options, alternative transportation, recreation and tourism. The county is losing its sense of place.
Our first commitment is to our older residents. Caring for the elderly and the infirm is a social contract between the government and the governed. The outsourcing of Winchester House management demonstrated the current board’s callousness toward patients and caregivers. The county must communicate directly so that seniors take advantage of every property tax exemption and/or preferential assessments. These seniors may own their homes outright, but struggle to pay their taxes. Programs to keep them in their homes should be the county’s priority.
Both families and seniors would welcome new transportation options such as circulating busses among the train stations, health care centers, schools and shops and enhanced “roll-able” lanes to accommodate powered chairs, golf carts and pedestrians. We can learn from the most successful senior developments and progressive subdivisions like Prairie Crossing in Vernon Hills.
I would also address the marketing and communications of Lake County. We need to enhance the image of the county to potential residents and visitors. I’d facilitate news desks for the broadcast media outlets in the area to increase news coverage; the northwest suburbs rarely make news except for violence or traffic accidents.
There’s a reason voters don’t know anything about the county board and its members; the current board is intimidating and detached from its constituents. I will be available to my constituents on Skype, Twitter and regularly scheduled visits in the communities I represent. The county itself should videotape all committee meetings, as it does for the big board meetings. The committees are where the real work is done and where voters can know what the members are thinking and how they are negotiating.
Craig Taylor (Republican): Fiscal issues will continue to be the biggest challenge we face over the next decade. We must grow our economy so that those looking for work can find employment, and this is done by supporting our current businesses while working with Lake County Partners to attract new employers to the county. Going forward we must continue to do all we can to cut expenses to keep pace with the economy and maintain a balanced budget, ensuring we keep our AAA bond rating. If we can continue to spend the public’s tax dollars wisely, we will do our part to lower property taxes while hoping that other government bodies within Lake County who are a much larger share of property taxes will follow our lead. We need to do all we can to keep Lake County a prime place to live and work.
Lake County and the Chicago Metropolitan Planning Agency are to conduct a land-use study for a proposed extension of Highway 53. Do you support the extension? What issues should the study take into consideration?
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Deborah Barry (Democrat): We are spending endless taxpayer resources simply studying this project. I say no to extending 53 until there is financing in place. The toll scheme is ridiculous; I don’t have to pay $5 to go from Lake Cook Road to 120 — I can do that for free on a number of surface roads. Extending 53 will increase cut through traffic in the adjacent suburbs, which municipalities lack the funds for public safety.
In addition, before we take on such massive public works, I want to be sure that local contractors get some of the work. At present, Illinois doesn’t permit such set asides; it should. I also want to understand why the road construction and repairs in Lake County have such a short life. Is the issue unqualified bidders or substandard materials. The endless projects look like “make work” to me. Who benefits?
Before I would support this project, I would have to see projections for a positive bottom line. Then I would compare the investment in 53 with alternatives that will improve transportation and improve the environment: electric busses that circulate among train stations, health centers, shops and schools and enhanced “roll-able” lanes to encourage and protect pedestrians, wheelchairs and golf carts.
At present, Lake County is losing businesses. While Waukegan is on a path to redevelop its downtown, the county is stuck in “business as usual” mode. That’s why this election is so important, to overthrow the current majority and change the culture of the county board.
Craig Taylor (Republican): It is vitally important that we improve transportation in District 19 and Lake County in order to reduce travel times, improve access to businesses, and decrease road congestion. This is one of the best actions we can take to help grow the Lake County economy in order to create jobs for our talented residents, not to mention the improvement it will make to our way of life. To that end I continue to be a strong proponent of the extension of Route 53, working with County Board Chairman David Stolman to finally make this necessary project a reality. The study needs to take into consideration the environmental impact, ensuring this necessary extension has as little of a negative impact as possible on the surrounding communities.
Motorola Mobility’s announcement this summer it would leave Lake County for Chicago and lay off employees in the process came as a surprise to many people in the county, including elected officials. As a County Board member, what would you propose county do to retain employers like Motorola Mobility and also attract new jobs?
Deborah Barry (Democrat): The exit of Motorola is like what Chicago faced with Sears Holdings and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange — it’s all about taxes, not about Google’s Chicago offices. This move has been long in the making. Where was Lake County? I think the county is not business-friendly nor does it adequately market its assets. The board seems to be on a path for the “next big thing,” rather than concentration on repairing and expanding what sets Lake County apart.
Big business dangles promises of vending and spending locally, but in exchange wants tax breaks that, effectively, make its presence a zero sum game — or worse. We need a new paradigm in which big employers actually become part of the community and contribute to revenues in the long term. The old-fashioned concept of a “company town” may be a template for business relations in this county. It’s going to require state legislation on set asides for local employees. Or perhaps big employers could commit to a percentage of employees residing locally (as do some schools systems and public safety organizations).
I think that business attraction/retention is best done by professionals in the field, not politicians and public sector employees. Far more important, the county must focus its considerations on small business and local owner/operators that grow communities and economies from the bottom up.
Craig Taylor (Republican): First, we must continue to be fiscally conservative as we are spending the public’s tax dollars and have to be accountable to them with how responsibly we spend their money. This fiscal responsibility has allowed Lake County to maintain adequate reserves for future economic uncertainties and to remain one of only 38 counties in the country to have a AAA bond rating. We have not, and will not, raise taxes. Instead, we are focused on growing Lake County’s economy by working with Lake County Partners, our Economic Development Agency, to create “shovel-ready” sites for new business development, retain our current businesses, and improve the overall business climate.
We also streamlined our permitting process by opening a new central permit facility with one-stop-shop capabilities. We need to keep in close contact with our business leaders to insure we know what their concerns/issues are and work to help address them. I’m an active member of our local Chamber of Commerce so I can interact with the business community firsthand.
The Lake County Assessor’s Office has indicated that even though property assessment valuations are generally lower this year, property taxes aren’t likely to decline for residents. As a County Board member, how would you respond to residents frustrated that they aren’t seeing property tax relief even in difficult economic times?
Deborah Barry (Democrat): There’s an honest response and a helpful response. The honest response is that the county receives only about a tenth of total property tax revenues. The helpful response — but rarely welcome — is that voters have to engage at the taxing district level. Currently, these districts budget the maximum allowable, regardless of actual needs; that budget drives the levy which determines the tax rate.
On the county side, staff reductions and equal pay for women are to its credit. But are our public sector employees paid more than comparable workers in the private sector? Do so many county employees really deserve county passenger vehicles; can’t they drive their own cars and be reimbursed based on mileage?
We must also eliminate townships, an arcane system that is often inefficient and redundant, and demand that the county and municipalities consolidate services and eliminate duplication. Homeowners should be proactive to can also appeal their assessments, as I do almost every year. Homes are assessed in broad strokes; individuals can identify specific differences in their properties by market value or comparable properties.
Craig Taylor (Republican): This is an important issue, because homeowners are struggling to keep up with the tax burden, especially in a tough economy. First, I would point out that 1/3 of Lake County’s budget comes from property taxes, accounting for (on average) 7 percent of property tax bills. So the best way I can directly assist in this area is to continue to fight for reduced spending in the county budget. I have worked to reduce our budget by $15 million over the past two years without reducing necessary services, resulting in a budget in 2012 that spends $19 million less than the budget in 2009 and a budget in 2013 that will spend even less. Second, I actively work to arm the residents in my district with the information necessary to ensure their property assessments are accurate, and many have filed appeals that have resulted in a reduced tax burden. Third, I continue to act as an ambassador for fiscally conservative policies in hopes that my example will encourage spending restraint by the local taxing districts that make up 93 percent of property tax bills.
The Lake County Board recently approved a “planned unit development” concept for a shopping center in Ela Township on a property owned by the Dimucci family. Even with tighter controls on the site, neighbors still objected to the potential size and scope of the project. Did the board make the right decision, and if a developer makes a specific proposal for the site, what should be considered in the county’s review?
Deborah Barry (Democrat): No, this massive rezoning was completely improper, an example of “upside down” zoning. There’s no developer; all this approval does is increase the potential sales price of the Dimucci — at a time when the rest of us face plummeting home values. County staff should have rejected this “un-plan” until there was an interested developer.
There are good reasons no one has been interested in this property since the mid-’90s. First, we have over a million square feet of empty retail space in the region; there’s no lack of retail space. Second, there’s no demand for additional shopping; another mall would merely cannibalize the sales at nearby malls. Third, such a development, if properly planned might enhance the lifestyle locally and attract visitors; but the bottom line is that even the best multi-use project is a zero sum game. The ongoing costs of public safety, traffic control, municipal and county services can even outstrip the revenue.
I want to see site to determine precisely what parts of this property is buildable. The scale of any development should be proportional to that calculation instead of pulling square footage out of thin air. The many unique, fragile ecosystems in this area are county treasures; this development will impact water, air, flora and fauna. If elected, I will resist further approvals on this development as proposed and monitor county expenses on this project.
Craig Taylor (Republican): I believe the Board made the right decision, though this was a difficult decision for me. I have worked to build consensus, facilitating getting Hawthorn Woods and North Barrington to sit down with the county and participating in crafting an agreement that is acceptable to all three governing bodies. The action the board took is just another step in the process. In order for the requested zoning change to take effect the property owner must find a developer willing to meet all the criteria contained in the 89-page agreement and must provide detailed plans/drawings and studies for any project they propose. If it meets all requirements it must be approved by the Planning, Building and Zoning Committee (and board) before anything can be developed on the site. The villages and county will work together to make sure any proposal that may come forward is high quality and minimizes the impact on the surrounding community.