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Peter Jakab: Candidate Profile

Wood Dale City Council Ward 1 (4-year Term) (Independent)

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: Wood DaleWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Wood Dale City Council Ward 1 (4-year Term)Age: 45Family: Single, my immediate family includes Father, Sister, Brother, 5 Nephews and 2 NiecesOccupation: Operations Director in a company consulting schools and municipalities for insurance and accounting throughout the countryEducation: B.S. of Finance from DePaul University, Graduated 1989Civic involvement: Member, Community Development Commission, Wood Dale Former Member, Streetscape Committee, Wood Dale Former Member, Clean Air Counts Committee, Wood DaleElected offices held: President, Park Royal Building Assoc. No. 2, Wood Dale, 2005-Current President, Park Royal Pool Assoc., Wood Dale, 2012-CurrentHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Work on infrastructure issues such as repairing and replacing sidewalks and/or streets where needed, getting the new Wastewater Treatment Plant completed on time and on budget, and making sure the Elgin-O'Hare Expansion gets off to a good start. This project is one that can end up bringing both property and sales tax dollars to the City.Key Issue 2 Work on the Flooding issues. The city has had an expensive study done and now the Council needs to follow its recommendations and not just let this costly engineering report sit on the shelf.Key Issue 3 Communication with the public. I have had a lot of complaints that the city does not always communicate in an effective and transparent manner. The citizens of the community electing local officials have to be told what is happening especially when it is going to affect them.Questions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?As a resident, I have been attending both City Council and Committee meetings in Wood Dale for the past 5 years and am familiar with challenges our community faces. I have been working with schools and municipalities for 18 years which familiarizes me with public entities budgets and financing. Also serving on the various City committees has given me insight into other issues. As a Leader I have served as President of a Condo Association and Pool Association which has given me the experience of getting things done knowing that I am doing the best for the majority of members. I plan on being a New Leader with New Direction.Given the delicate balance between the need for revenue and over-taxing local businesses, what is your opinion of your community's present level of local sales taxes? Is the tax just right, too low or too high? Explain.I believe local sales taxes are just right. As all money is dedicated solely and only for capital improvements and infrastructure. However, many people have complained to me about the ever increasing sewer and water rates. Many seniors are having difficulty paying these exorbitant rates for basic human services. We must work to hold the line as best we can on these ever increasing monthly bills. If the city wants more sales tax dollars the most logical thing to do is to help promote the city and bring in new business and development to the community.Talking with your friends and neighbors, what seems to be their biggest public safety concern? Explain the concern as you see it, and discuss how you think it should be addressed.Needing more police presence and infrastructure such as roads and sidewalks needing repair and/or replacement. I think I can address these issues by working closely with the Police Chief, Public Works Director, City Council and other City personnel. The problems need to be discussed and studied, then a course of action needs to be implemented.In these tight economic times, municipal budgets have to be prioritized. Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?Wood Dale seems to pay for study after study and then does not follow through on addressing the problems the study finds. I think the City needs to cut back on these studies unless the Council can agree and prepare ahead of time that whatever the findings are, they will be worked on or addressed in someway. It is a complete waste of money to have these studies sit on the shelf. Other places the budget can be trimmed are on extras for items that are not a necessity today and now. More money has to go to infrastructure issues such as flooding, streets and sidewalks in order to keep everything in good working order. Wood Dale also needs to make its Police more visible by putting more officers on the streets and making sure they are given the right tools they need to do their jobs.What's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?One idea I had which I brought to city council was the Generator Reimbursement Program which was a great success. I think I need to expand this program because Wood Dale has many power outages and many residents could use a generator. At the same time pressure has to be put on ComEd to resolve the outdated infrastructure issues which cause these outages.