Bill Kruckenberg: 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 ZurichWebsite: http://ElaFirst.comOffice sought: Ela Township Highway Commissioner (4-year Term)Age: 60Family: Married for 38 years,2 children, 1 grandchildOccupation: Carpenter, Self employed General Contractor/Carpenter for 30 years and currently Ela Township Highway Commissioner for 11 yearsEducation: Washburn Trade School for Carpentry, 1973 Certified Highway Commissioner by Township Officials of Il Continuing Educational Courses in Highway Management- over 100 hours, currentCivic involvement: Lions Club FEMA Emergency Management Certified Lake Zurich's Emergency Management Volunteer Past Ela Township Precinct Committeeman Past Hawthorn Woods Architectural CommissionElected offices held: Hawthorn Woods Trustee, 1993-2001 Ela Township Highway Commissioner, 2001-presentHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 To continue to provide all people with quality services while being fiscally responsible. This means continuing to hold high standards of my employees so that we may do many in-house services to save money.Key Issue 2 Continuing to improve Ela Township's storm water qualities and maintain the good quality of the roads.Key Issue 3 To continue to run the highway department like a business. Even though we cannot make a profit(government does not make a profit, government serves the people), I continue to watch our spending, getting the highest quality for our dollar. Under intergovernmental agreements with surrounding villages, I have been able to save the taxpayers money by using the townships resources to bring in outside income and save the villages money at a reduced cost to them.Questions Answers Name the three most important goals or objectives this board should tackle in the coming term. Prioritize them, and briefly discuss why you believe each to be critical, and how the board should go about addressing them.Continuing to stay fiscally responsible and open Continuing to provide and expand quality services Expand our use of available social mediasIn the 21st Century, with municipalities gobbling up vacant land, why are townships needed? Should they be serving a new role? If so, what?Not all the people are or want to be within village limits. There are a large number of townships that have intergovernmental agreements with villages that reduce the costs and duplication of services, equipment and manpower. This is a savings to all. We in Ela provide services that the villages do not. A few of the services are: Senior/handicap buses, Senior Service, Youth Service, Social Workers, General and Emergency Services Townships were established over 150 years ago to serve the people. The need to serve has not gone away. The way we serve has changed and townships will continue to advance. Townships are closest to the people and will continue to serve the people in ways the villages or counties cannot.What should be the primary responsibility of township government?To serve the people with integrity and accountabilityIn these hard economic times, can you identify some township expenses/programs that could be trimmed or eliminated to reduce the tax burden?The real problem is with the state, not getting their house in order. The average tax amount to the township in Ela is approx. $150 to 200. Forty-five percent of the road and bridge levee go back to the villages in the township. Do you think that if townships were eliminated that the state would give the villages that money? This would be another burden for the struggling villages. In the highway department, we look for new ways to increase our services without increasing our budget, like our recycling programs. The entire board is always examining services to make them better or eliminate them.What specific background or experience do you bring that makes you the best qualified candidate to serve as an elected official in the township?I had a successful business for 30 years. I know how to run the road district and the employees like a business. I have always had a balanced budget. I have always demanded high standards from employees to contractors. I have great relationships and reputation with the surrounding villages, townships and counties. I am a working highway commissioner. I don't ask my employees to do anything that I would not do. I go beyond my legal description of having a supervisor position and average more than 40 hours a week. Many residents have seen me working along side of my employees. I continue to take continuing education to improve myself. The road district, under my direction, has become involved with the CERT program, Lake County Emergency Response, IPWMAN(State of Illinois Emergency Response) . I have initiated intergovernmental agreements with surrounding villages to bring outside income into the road district, with a reduced cost to the villages.