Douglas Scheflow: 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: ElginWebsite: http://www.ScheflowforKane22.comOffice sought: Kane County Board District 22Age: 54Family: Married to Lena Scheflow, we have 4 children ages 13 to 24.Occupation: LawyerEducation: Bachelor of Science from the University of Michigan, College of Engineering, 1979 J.D. from the Univ. of Illinois, College of Law, in 1983.Civic involvement: I am a member of the First United Methodist Church of Elgin, Church Council, a Sherman Hospital mens group known as SHMA, and I recently was a Cosmopolitan Club member, I am a former board member of the Anderson Animal Shelter, Elgin Day Care Center, Open Door Clinic, and have volunteered for other organizations.Elected offices held: I have not held elective office.Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: Minor traffic offenses onlyCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Lower Taxes and Lower Spending:The county government operates to serve the needs of the taxpayer, not the other way around.In the current slow economy and the reduction in home values, we need to be sure county government is doing all it can to keep tax bills low.We need to elect county board members that will speak out against unnecessary spending.Key Issue 2 Open and Honest Government:The county residents deserve to have confidence that those persons charged with the oversight of the county budget and expenditures are honest and trustworthy.We need to elect people who have a history and reputation for openness, fair dealing and honesty.County finances and contracts need to be conducted with the highest ethical standards and must be fully disclosed for all interested parties to review.Key Issue 3 Traditional Economic Values:The county government should stand for free enterprise and individual rights.I will stand for smaller government and a preference for local government.I will avoid having the government start new programs and expanding into areas that are better provided by the private sector.Questions Answers Do you support a more stringent ethics ordinance for Kane County governing the conduct of elected officials and county employees' Why or why not? If so, what should the ordinance contain?I would support a more stringent ethics ordinance.State requirements are minimum requirements and it would be beneficial to exceed those requirements at the county level so that all present and future officials and employees know that a high standard is expected.Having said that, I don't believe that an ethics ordinance will solve ethics problems in government, any more than gun control laws stop crime.We need to (1) elect people who set high ethical standards for themselves and who have had a history of high standards, (2) government employees and elected officials need to speak out and take action when ethical standards are compromised, and (3) the press can pay a large roll in shining light on government practices that are both 'legal' and 'ethical', but not supported by the taxpayers.The county's portion of gambling proceeds has been decreasing every year for several years. What is your plan to prioritize use of that money? What might be done to wean the agencies and programs that receive this money off of it?The county use of the riverboat funding should be prioritized based upon the overall financial needs of the county, based upon the importance of the services to the residents and whether those needs are part of the core services charged to the county level of government.A better approach in the future would be to shift use of the riverboat funding to non-recurring capital improvements that will save operational costs or otherwise increase efficiency in government or perhaps outside agencies as well.Agencies that receive funding should be (1) notified of decreases in future funding and (2) matching requirements by the recipient could be imposed or increased and (3) agencies could be required to demonstrate their own fundraising efforts in support of the funding requests, all in an effort to do more with less.These same efforts could be applied to county recipients of the riverboat funds.Do you believe the Kane County court system needs a computer system upgrade that might cost as much as $12.6 million? If so, do you support using RTA sales tax money to fund the cost, or do you have a different plan? If not, what is your alternative plan?I have used the Kane County Circuit Clerk's online computer system and I have no doubt that a computer upgrade is required and will be expensive.The future for court records is electronic filing and record keeping, similar to what the U.S. Bankruptcy Court has been using for several years.However, I would want to explore this expense in detail over time to find a prudent approach to solve the problem.First, I would explore the use or adoption of systems used by other counties, so we don't 'reinvent the wheel'.Second, a more global data processing system should be explored that would handle all of the county's computer needs, such that all county systems are compatible and costs could be shared over other county departments.I would oppose using RTA taxes for court system costs and would try to budget the cost into a capital plan for the county.Do you believe county board members and the chairman should receive health insurance and pension benefits' If you are running for one of those positions, do you plan on accepting those benefits' Why or why not?I believe that Illinois governments are burdened with the cost of employee benefits.Often, the elected officials that negotiate the benefits also receive the same or similar benefit, creating conflicting interests.I believe that state-wide reforms will be required to eliminate or reduce health insurance and retirement benefits for elected officials state-wide.I support health insurance and retirement benefits for true full-time positions, such as the sheriff and state's attorney, because these jobs need to be paid competitively with similar positions in the private sector.At this time, I don't have a plan in place to accept or reject the county benefits, if elected.How do you resolve the ongoing debate over the county board setting budgets for departments run by other elected officials whom the county board has no control over? How should the county board enforce the budgets it sets'I believe that open government and an active press should shed light on elected officials that fail to follow their properly approved budgets.I also believe that proper leadership will be needed to build bridges between departments and the board.There needs to be respectful cooperation between both the board and the elected officials, which may have been lacking in Kane County recently.Both sides must respect the interest of the other.I don't believe that this has to be an ongoing major issue for the county.