John Hammerand: 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: Wonder LakeWebsite: http://www.hammerand.comOffice sought: McHenry County board District 4Age: 60Family: Married for 39 years; two children; for more personal information, see my websiteOccupation: Owner of Service Business for 34 years; Previous Sales Representative for major Capital EquipmentEducation: Candidate did not respond.Civic involvement: Candidate did not respond.Elected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: Candidate did not respond.Candidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Excessive Government SpendingKey Issue 2 Excessive Government RegulationKey Issue 3 The County Board should Reduce the tax rate for Valley Hi, as the Building Bonds have been retired (paid off).Questions Answers McHenry County has managed the recession without a budgetary crisis like those in other counties. How do you ensure the county continues on that path and that reserves aren?t depleted? Are there specific budget areas that need more attention?Over ten years ago I campaigned to have a 3 month reserve fund, when none was present. This year we increased the Reserve Fund from 5 to 6 months. However, we still carry a considerable debt load. I believe we should have reduced our debt rather than increase our reserves. We need to cut expenses on items such as funding a lobbyist in Washington DC and other corporate welfare which we have no duty to provide, and instead look out for our citizens by reduce our costs and thus their taxes.Does the McHenry County Board have a good transportation improvement plan? Please be specific and suggest whether you think anything is missing or should be scrapped.It?s a good program if you live on dedicated streets and roads. Not so good for those in the rural areas that depend on our upkeep of bridges and roads and those who live on non-dedicated roads.Does the county need to address its ethics policies? Why or why not? If so, how?I have always felt that standing for election was an honor and a privilege. I made sure that personal interests never interfered with my judgment. I have found in my 14 years this is not always the case. Some persons do it for personal gain; either monetarily or professionally. I think this is wrong. I have made an attempt to address this problem by introducing the Whistleblower Act and by providing support for the new, more probing Economic Interest Statements. I also believe that county employees in decision-making capacities should not have employment or leadership positions in outside agencies or associations, as this leads to conflict of interest. Appointees who prove to have conflict of interest should be immediately removed from the position.Assess McHenry County?s efforts thus far in terms of groundwater preservation and protection. What needs to be done now and in the future?Suburban development assumes a water supply from outside of their property. This has always been available as Chicago spread westward, but McHenry County is ineligible for Lake Michigan water. In many instances our developments look like typical Chicago suburban developments. This needs to change. We have a responsibility to ensure that homes and businesses to be built have adequate water supplies.Assess how the county health department approached the whooping cough outbreak. What should have been done differently?To my knowledge, the Health Department has responded appropriately.