Cost cutting a focus in 18th District county board race

The difference in the race for the Lake County Board's 18th District seat comes down to having been there and done that versus bringing "real world experience" to the job, candidates say.

Republican Aaron Lawlor, 28, of Vernon Hills, and Democratic challenger Kay Hoogland, 54, of Long Grove, agree on several points, including holding the line on spending, pursuing property tax reform and connecting with constituents.

However, their differences on some issues, such as the county budget, is more a matter of degree rather than opposing viewpoints.

"We can cut now or we can cut really hard later. I've been doing this all along," Lawlor said of a $6 million cut last year and a $9 million reduction from that total proposed for the 2011 county budget.

Lawlor, a political consultant and former staffer for U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk, spent six years on the Cook Memorial Library board before being appointed in summer 2009 to fill the post vacated by Pam Newton.

Hoogland is a longtime corporate executive and an attorney specializing in labor and employment issues. She's making her first run for elected office.

The 18th District includes all or portions of Buffalo Grove, Hawthorn Woods, Indian Creek, Vernon Hills and Long Grove. Information in this story is from a joint interview with the candidates and from their responses to questionnaires.

Hoogland said the $6 million cut represents only about a 1 percent drop from the previous year and the forest preserve operating budget fell about 2 percent. County board members also serve as forest preserve district commissioners.

Both agencies should apply the same scrutiny to spending as families and businesses have done, she added.

"We need more serious cost reduction efforts that mirror what the average person is experiencing on the job and in their homes," Hoogland said.

Lawlor said he has proposed or voted to cut spending more than a dozen times, freeze salaries for officials up for election and agreed to give back his own raise as a board member.

Unlike the state and federal governments, he said, Lake County has not borrowed and spent its way into deficits. Balancing the budget should be done through spending cuts, not increasing taxes or raiding reserves, Lawlor added, noting his decisions came with input from constituents and employees.

"We simply can't afford to fill positions where the workload has dramatically decreased," he said.

Another example of Lake County's financial health, according to Lawlor, is its ranking as one of 38 counties in the U.S. to maintain an AAA bond rating. That shows a "stark difference" between Lake and "our peers in Chicago and Springfield," he contended.

Hoogland said the bond rating relates to borrowing money, but doesn't measure the cost of government or efficiency.

She said more private sector experience is needed to drive down the cost of government. She advocates a top-to-bottom review of operations to prioritize essential services and identify areas to cut.

Lake County also should establish standards on the cost-per-resident of services for comparison with other counties and communities to "tell us where we need to make changes."