Cook County board District 14 Goslin: Candidate Profile

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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:BioQA Bio City: GlenviewWebsite: http://goslinforcookcounty.com/ (Campaign site)Office sought: Cook County board District 14 Age: 60Family: Commissioner Goslin and his wife Victoria, a special education teacher are proud parents of Kate (a social worker) Maggie, (1st/2nd grade teacher) and new college graduate, son AlexOccupation: Real Estate DeveloperEducation: B.S. ed in Political Science and Secondary Education from Southern Illinois University and completed postgraduate study in Real Estate.Civic involvement: Member: Glenview Chamber of Commerce, Immediate Past President Optimist Club Independence Day Celebration Commission Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church Glenview Leadership Council Board Member, Thomas Place Senior Housing Former Officer, Northwest Municipal Conference Past member Glenview Rotary Club-Sunrise, Glenview Naval Air Station Reuse Task Force the Navy League, Glenview Values Project Community Network, United Way Project Compass, Helping Hands National leadership Board Member, National Association of Counties (NACo) Chair, NACo Program and Services Committee Board Member, NACo Research Foundation Past Chair, National Association of Countiesâ#128;™ Hospital Task Force Past Chair, Large Urban County CaucusElected offices held: Commissioner Cook County Board, 1998 - present Member, Illinois House of Representatives, 89th General Assembly Supervisor, Northfield Township ,3 terms Township Collector, Northfield Township Township Trustee, Northfield Township Committeeman, Northfield Township, 1994-2006Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoQuestions Answers Why are you running for this office, whether for re-election or election for the first time? Is there a particular issue that motivates you? If so, what?I truly enjoy my job representing the citizens of the 14th District and I believe I have well represented our suburban viewpoint. I want to continue the work to reinvent Cook County as an effective, efficient and economical unit of government, managed in a professional manner. This philosophy is the heart of my mission statement, guiding my work on the board. My background includes the lessons learned as the owner of a small business meeting a payroll each week, as the leader of a local government, and as an officer of a council of governments working to solve problems regionally.If you are an incumbent, describe your main contributions. Tell us of any important initiatives you've led. If you are a challenger, what would you bring to the board and what would your priority be?Controlled spendingâ#128;brvbar; Strengthened Ethics Codeâ#128;brvbar; Represent Suburban Viewpoint. The dynamics of the Cook County government have changed a great deal in the past four years. Before, any meaningful effort to improve operations was initiated by one of more of the commissioners. Now there is great collaboration between the President and the rest of the Commissioners. This experience has resulted in four balanced budgets that collectively contained $1.2 billion in deficits, solved through cost cutting, efficiencies and tough choices. Todd Strogerâ#128;™s 1% sales tax increase eliminated. Performance based management has been instituted to demand more accountability from our operations employees.Describe your position regarding efforts the county has taken to control spending. How have these measures affected the suburbs, and, in particular, do you support proposals President Preckwinkle has made to eliminate unincorporated areas so they would not be under county control?To balance the last four budgets without raising real estate taxes and eliminating the 1% sales tax increase required real cuts and strategic structural changes, eliminating 2,000 budgeted positions and reducing the county workforce by 8% over four years. During this time, $71,165,072.00 was returned to the 14th District in infrastructure, services and community programs. I support the annexation of unincorporated areas - it has been my experience as both Northfield Township Supervisor and Cook County Commissioner that isolated pockets of unincorporated neighborhoods present serious obstacles to economical delivery of county services.How do you rate the county government on transparency and the public's access to records? If you consider it adequate, please explain why. If you think improvements are needed, please describe them and why they are important.Access to county information has never been easier from those departments and officials committed to the spirit of open and transparent discussion. For example, on my county website, constituents can learn the amount of dollars that my office has returned unused to the County budget (a total of $417,075.00, a reflection of my belief that taxpayer resources can be managed in an economical manner while providing quality constituent services.)Twitter and e-newsletters are also cost-effective ways I invite residents to join the conversation. The administration has improved the main county portal to include a number of useful interactive functions as well.What, if anything, should be done to improve automation and customer service in Cook County offices? What steps should be taken to make that happen?No doubt properly applied technology can improve performance and create an environment that will allow the county to reduce duplicate personnel, create efficiencies and save money over the long term. My goal for the next term is to see the Information Technology Department improve its strategy, coordination and effectiveness. The STAR (Set Targets, Achieve Results) Initiative was developed to help county departments and agencies set goals and measure performance. With respect to customer service in county offices, I have seen vast improvements. All county employees are being held to a higher standard in both performance and in interaction with citizens.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Continue to protect and strategically expand our forest preserve holdings, as appropriate, (such as the 397 acres recently acquired in Barrington Hills), bringing the district closer to the statutory limit of 75,000 acres in the next ten years. Serving as chair of the FPD Finance Committee, I am committed to promoting fiscal responsibility while protecting our precious holdings that add so much to our local quality of life. Earlier this summer, the District issued its first General Obligation Bonds in 8 years, resulting in new funding for land acquisition. The current buyerâ#128;™s real estate market will help stretch acquisition dollars.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Many leaders inspire me in different ways: some for their wisdom and some for their lack of judgement. I try to learn from everybody.What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Work hard and play by the rules.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Everyday I am grateful for the opportunities I have been given, the life I have and my family. No need for a do-over.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?History - there is so much to learn from the past to guide you in the future.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Enjoy the Journey!