Arlene Hickory: Candidate Profile

Note: Answers provided have not been edited for grammar, misspellings or typos. In some instances, candidate claims that could not be immediately verified have been omitted. Jump to:BioKey IssuesQA Bio City: Lake BluffWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Lake County board District 21Age: 70Family: divorced, three children, nine grandchildrenOccupation: nurse clinical specialist (retired)Education: bachelor of science in nursing, 1962; Master of Science in Nursing, 1967.Civic involvement: Progressive Democrats for America, MoveOnElected offices held: noneHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: noCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 protect lake county from privatizing of resourcesKey Issue 2 balance need for jobs with maintaining worker rights, health and environmental protectionsKey Issue 3 encourage development and use of renewable energy sources.Much more needs to be done.College of Lake County is a member of the Illinois Green Economy Network, has some grants to develop training programs in the green industry (energy auditing, weatherizing), some sustainability initiatives, but nowhere near the level needed.Questions Answers The county remains in the black, but property taxes across the region are high. Should programs be cut to save taxpayers money? If so, which ones and why?Before cutting programs need to analyze current revenue streams to determine if taxes are fairly distributed among all sectors (private, public).While it may be a long time before the mortgage/forclosure debacle is managed, lost taxes will reflect in higher property taxes.I think critical programs like education and health, if cut, in the long run depress values and bypass taking the harder but more effective course of seeking alternative measures.What should be done with the Fort Sheridan golf course? If no building or management proposals come back from vendors, do you propose abandoning golf? If so, are you concerned about a lawsuit? If you propose building a course, how should it be funded?In June 2011 the FPD Board of Commissioners voted to solicit proposals from the private sector for a golf course.This was preceeded by about 2 years of public debate, a debate that reflected a declining interest in a golf course, an acknowledgement of high costs during an economic downturn.As of January 6th deadline no bids were forthcoming. There is a land deed resolution that holds a promise of a golf course "in perpetuity", but the old course was demolished in 2003 and has been enjoyed as a recreational spot and a refuge of sorts for wildlife. I am not clear about the full nature of ambivalence about this golf course, but in light of these economic times further debate/review seems indicated.The Winchester House nursing home recently was turned over to a private company for operation. Should other county or forest district departments be privatized to save taxpayers money? Please explain.I do not approve of privatizing of certain functions for saving money.Some services within a larger function can be privatized based on saving money, but in order to maintain close monitoring and fulfillment of misssion/goal priorities, management needs to be within the governance structure.When the private company took over management one of the first things that happened was staff pay was reduced (based on what criteria? what formula? what grade levels?), which resulted in staff loss.This kind of disruption affects not just immediate quality of care but impacts in a critical way the backbone of a care facility through reduction of trust, feeling of security, team bonding and erosion of staff skill levels. Saving money versus maintaining quality of care/services is a poor outcome.Once there are losses in quality standards it becomes difficult and costly to recoup those standards. The county is largely a human services body and benefits from being cohesive and integrated.Is there a specific type of service or amenity that is lacking in your district? If so, how do you propose to provide and fund that?Deerfield village is developing green energy initiatives.Walgreen Co has instituted a company wide initiative to reduce energy use by 20% and is adding solar panels and proposing use of wind turbine at its headquarters in Deerfield. Other communities in the district without this kind of strong leading will need sources of encouragement to develop projects/proposals to elicit grants (eg., the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation)that will lead to savingsand advantages to our environment.I would encourage inter community communication and assist in resource identificationShould the county continue to pursue open space policies' Why or why not?Open space policies that focus on land and water management and wildlife refuge preservation are important to a healthy environment.Water and air quality are affected by land use, flood control, land management (eg., erosion).Threatened plant/animal domains, once lost ,are difficult to recover.Recreation and the beauty of natural spaces add value to lives.Added value also increases property value.