Christopher Russell: 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: Fox River GroveWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Fox River Grove Village Board Age: Candidate did not respond.Family: I am the son of Kenneth the Goldsmith, Diane the engraver and have 1 brother.Occupation: Certified TrainerEducation: The Sunshine School Fox River Grove, Algonquin Road School Fox River Grove, Fox River Grove Middle School, Cary-Grove High School, Mchenry County College.Civic involvement: Cary-Grove High School Student Council General Assembly Member, I am involved with Fox River Grove's United Methodist Church as well as Woodstock's Blue Lotus Temple.Elected offices held: General Assembly Member, Student CouncilQuestions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?Unlike other candidates I have recent, direct experience of what it is like and what it means to grow up in and be a product of Fox River Grove. Therefore I am able to more easily understand, represent, and relate to the nearly 40% of residents under the age of 27. I understand the history, unique circumstances, and potential of my village. I am a member of the first class of the Fox River Grove district 3 to have computer training since 1st grade and have grown up in the internet age and consequently have better ability to use technology to wade through information and find facts for the betterment of this village's plans. Also in my nearly 2 decades of citizenship I have traversed every street, sidewalk and park countless times and almost certainly have a more complete topographical understanding of Fox River Grove's landscape. As Einstein said "It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer." I have neither a spouse nor children and work less than 40 hours per week, consequently I have more time to devote to working on solutions for my village.What is your opinion of your community's present level of local sales and property taxes? Is the tax just right, too low or too high? Explain.Very few places in this nation have higher taxes. According to Tax Foundation.org's property tax data, McHenry county's average property tax on homes is at roughly $5,495, placing us at 29th highest nationally. Our counties' taxes rose an average of $400 since Tax Foundation's 2009 assessment. When people are given the choice of where to open a business, purchase a home, or raise their children, Illinois and local tax policy is unfortunately making it easier to choose a neighboring state. Local funding contributes 87.1% of District 3's revenue compared to the state average of 66% coming from local funding. School Board President Devin Bright has said there is a general feeling on the board the community is heavily taxed and the district takes in more money than it needs to operate. That being said I would not recommend cutting such revenue streams without something to take its place. Future development (particularly Gart Partners proposed development) must result in net increased revenue for the village before tax relief can be enacted and put more of citizens own money back in their wallets.Rate the efficiency of your town's police and fire coverage. Are the departments well prepared for the next decade? What, if anything, should be changed? Do you have specific public safety concerns?The Fox River Grove Fire Protection District has been so efficient that between 2011 and 2012 They lowered their taxes by 7.7%. The Fire Department protects approximately 9,000 residents in an area of about 8 square miles covering the Village of Fox River Grove, portions of Barrington Hills and surrounding unincorporated areas of McHenry County. The Fire department and Police department should have trust that our village will fund what they determine is needed to be fully prepared to ensure the safety and welfare of residents and buisnesses in the village as well as provide comprehensive protection and crime and fire prevention.Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?Last year nearly $800,000 went to road resurfacing, de-icing materials and streetlight electric. It would be of great value to look at the 2013 World Technology Award finalist Solar Roadways endorsed by U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID). Their technology combines a transparent driving surface of panels that can sustain a 250,000 lb load with underlying solar cells, electronics and sensors that generate electricity which would pay for the cost of the panel, thereby creating a road that pays for itself over time and thereafter generates revenue. LEDs "paint" the road lines from beneath, lighting up the road for safer night time driving and have a heating element in the surface to prevent snow/ice accumulation. Most national media attention regarding this village has focused on tragedy. This would be a way to garner positive national media coverage and increase demand for spots in the 500 or so apartments in Gart Partners proposed development. Locally it would result in less pollution and more broadly less dependency upon foreign oil. Additionally, the village has in place a cost-sharing program for residents and business-owners who wish to purchase a new tree for their parkway. I believe this program should include the list of air-filtering plants compiled by NASA as part of a clean air study published in 1989. The results suggest that certain plants provide a natural way of removing toxic agents such as benzene, formaldehyde and trichloroethylene from the air, thereby demonstrably increasing air quality.What's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?The stated purpose of the Board of Trustees is to maintain and enhance Fox River Grove by providing quality services to residents and businesses in a cost-effective manner and by continuing to improve the physical and economic environment of the community through partnerships with those individuals and organizations affected. Mindfulness training can be introduced into the school system at virtually no cost but carrying a multitude of benefits which would enhance the local educational system such as increased memory capacity, ability to focus attention and suppress distracting information, enhance self-insight, morality, intuition and fear modulation, all functions associated with the brain's middle prefrontal lobe area. Evidence also suggests that mindfulness has numerous health benefits, including increased immune functioning (Davidson et al., 2003; see Grossman, Niemann, Schmidt, Walach, 2004 for a review of physical health benefits), improvement to well-being (Carmody Baer, 2008) and reduction in psychological distress (Coffey Hartman, 2008; Ostafin et al., 2006). Additionally mindfulness practice appears to increase information processing speed (Moore Malinowski, 2009), as well as decrease task effort and having thoughts that are unrelated to the task at hand (Lutz et al., 2009). A study in conjunction with researchers at Stanford University showed that after 8 weeks of mindfulness training, the fourth through sixth graders in the study had documented decreases in anxiety, and improvements in attention. They were less emotionally reactive and more able to handle daily challenges and choose their behavior.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Red light cameras have been banned in Connecticut, Nevada, New Hampshire, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Mississippi and Minnesota. Some have been banned due to safety concerns, others due to a state supreme court finding them illegal and unconstitutional. In the 2011-12 fiscal year, the village issued 8,090 red-light camera violations, out of the 11,374 that camera vendor RedSpeed sent to the village. Of the violations issued by the village, 737 were contested, either by mail or at in-person hearings, and 295 of the drivers were found not to be liable. That is 295 people in 1 year most likely left with an unfavorable view of the village. The claim is that this camera truly promotes safety, which would be to the contrary of University of Illinois Prof. Rajiv Shah, who has said "My own research has shown that red light cameras do not offer a significant safety benefit," as well as findings of Washington, DC which found its data showed the cameras increased accidents. Additionally, the Virginia Department of Transportation conducted a study and subsequently followed it up two years later to confirm the cameras increased accidents at intersections with the cameras. In 2009 RedSpeed refused to answer questions about right-turn violations posed by the Daily Herald. This is a matter which must be thoroughly investigated.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Pope Francis, some quotes that come to mind are "We all have the duty to do good." "We just cannot worry about ourselves."What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Life life not to be served, but to serve. And when you find a way to challenge the status quo, you are free.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?As would any time-traveler, Stop Hitler and use my future knowledge to make billions in the stock market and solve world hunger. (Slight Humor)What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?History, "... ignorance of history--that is, absent or defective collective memory--does deprive us of the best available guide for public action .. ."If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Be kind.