Donald Rage: 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: Sleepy HollowWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Kane County board District 21Age: 54Family: Married,wife Diana, son Michael and daughter Jackie.Occupation: Owner of Rage Property Management,Inc. which manages Condominiums, Townhomes and Homeowner Associations managing over 1,500 units in Dundee Township.Education: Real Estate Salesman liscense, broker classes at Elgin Community College, Insurance Producers liscense, Undergraduate studies at DePaul, Loyola and Mundelien College in Business Management.Civic involvement: Former Sleepy Hollow Elemenary P.T.O. President, Chairman Three Rivers Boy Scout Council,Precinct Committeman, Chairman of Dundee Township Rebublican Central Committee, Knights of Columbus, Habitat for Humanity, Feed the Homeless Christmas dinner.Elected offices held: Precinct Committemanand Kane County Board.Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NeverCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 I enterd the race because I felt the voters needed another choice based on the two candidates who had filed. Neither had leadership experience on a county level and I did not want the taxpayers from Dundee Township to suffer from this lack of experience.My number one campaign issue is the unfair property assessments being levied on the taxpayers of Dundee Township.Property values have plummeted and in some cases the property assessments have increased. The outcome, people will be paying more taxes when their home values have been decreased. Having sat on the three-member Board of Review, I have a working knowledge in how the system works.It is broken and needs to be fixed. I have already spoken with Senator, Chris Lauzen regarding the legislation he sponsored and was passed,that gives homeowners the ability to use distressed sales in valuing their properties. If nothing else, the people of Dundee Township need to be assessed fairly.Key Issue 2 My second campaign issue would be transportation related to the north end of the county. When I was first elected to the Kane County Board, I made widening Randall Road to four lanes a priority.I gathered all the mayors from Elgin, Sleepy Hollow, Carpentersville and Algonquin at a luncheon and went over the plans for the widening and was successful in getting everyone to buy into the plan. This was accomplished during my first term on the County Board.We still have the issue with a bridge crossing the Fox River at Longmeadow. While this continues to move at a slow pace it needs to be brought to the front burner to become a reality. There have been bridges built at Sullivan Road in Aurora, Stearns Road in South Elgin and now a bridge in St. Charles. I would once again bring all the parties together to explain the benefits of this local bridge. For jobs, for our economy, transporting our children safely to and from school and getting working parents home to their families earlier to enhance their quality of life.Key Issue 3 My third priority would be to hold the line on tax increases and look for every way to reduce operating cost of county government. I have in the past voted against budgets that were put before the Board. I had submitted alternate budgets but I think there was too much pressure to just go along. Previously when I was on the board I would hear "That's the way we've always done it."Those days are gone and the question must be "What can we do to reduce the tax burden on the taxpayers of Kane County."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 do support a more stringent ethics ordinance. While a past Chairman of the Administration committee, I put into effect a license plate frame with the Kane County Board phone number that was put on all Kane County vehicles that enabled the taxpayers the ability to report a misuse or abuse of county vehicles. Having a government job is a privilege and employees as well as elected officials must be held accountable. If someone might perceive something to be wrong, it usually is even if the law says it is not.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?This would have to be done on a cost benefit based analysis. If we can fund programs or request for programs, then this ends up creating jobs or benefiting other programs we should look at those first. I was successful in sponsoring many river boat requests that today continue to benefit taxpayers of Kane County almost ten years later. The $500,000 grant I requested for the Senior Center in Dundee Township has proved to be money well spent. Not only do seniors use this facility but school children and many other groups have events at this facility. The same goes for the build-out of the Basement at the Elgin Township building which services many of the taxpayers of Elgin Township.While I sponsored the grant that saved the one room school house that now is located at Randall Oaks Park on Randall Road. I have to say that would not be atop priority for me during these tough economic times.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 do believe the Kane County court system needs to be upgraded. When I first got on the County Board we were using a Main Frame computer system. We were successful in coming off the Main Frame and saved the county millions of taxpayer's dollars over the years. We will once again need to do a cost based analysis to see what is exactly needed, how much it cost and what funds, including the automation funds the different offices have to fund towardsthis project. If it means raising taxes I would be opposed to it.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?This would need to be studied to determine how these benefits factor into their compensation package. With the new Health Reform ActI do not believe that the county should pay for family coverage.I currently have health insurance coverage so this is not a priority for me. The pension benefits were addressed by the state legislature and I am not sure how this affects the county board. I believe you would need to serve three terms to be entitled to some pension benefits. I would have to look at the pension benefits to see the financial ramifications on the county.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'When I was on the board I meet with the elected officials to try and understand their request during the budget cycle. Many times the board picks a number and approves that budgeted amount. We need to have all elected officials at the table and work as a team to fund all departments.If it means shorting one department this year because we need more money in another we should all be able to agree. This should also be done on a 4 year plan. This way each elected official knows where they fit on the plan and together we can become more efficient in delivering services to the taxpayers of Kane County.