Cathy Cawiezel: 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: LisleWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Lisle Village Board Age: Candidate did not respond.Family: Candidate did not respond.Occupation: AccountantEducation: B.S.:Business/Finance, Marquette University Concentration: Accounting, Benedictine UniversityCivic involvement: Village of Lisle Trustee since 2009 Lisle Heritage Society Board member since 1994 Chairman, Lisle Community 4th of July Ice Cream Social, since 2012 Friends of the Lisle Library board member since 1999 Lisle Woman's Club member Teacher, Religious Formation, St. Joan of Arc grade school, 12 years Volunteer, Annual Plant Sale, The Morton Arboretum, 7 years Balloon crew, Lisle Eyes to the Skies, 3 yearsElected offices held: Village of Lisle Trustee 2009-presentQuestions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?I would like to preface my response by saying that I respect all of the candidates and appreciate their willingness to serve. I am highly motivated to make judicious decisions for the Village because those decisions personally impact my family and me. I am a life-long resident of Lisle by choice. I know our community well from having been active in a variety of activities that have given me the opportunity to interact with people from all parts of the Village. My residency in the original section of Lisle offers a balance to the perspectives the trustees collectively bring to the board from the various unique neighborhoods. Anyone watching local Lisle politics for the past 5 years knows that I have the courage to swim against the tide if I believe a path is right for the residents of this Village. My career experience has honed a skill set that serves me well as trustee. I have worked as an accountant for over two decades in both the corporate and not-for-profit sectors. I work in the treasury department of a mid-sized local not-for profit organization, served as Controller for a small private university, and managed the accounting department of The Morton Arboretum during the time they undertook the most expansive capital development in their history. Prior to moving to the non-profit sector I worked as a corporate accountant for a Fortune 100 company.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.Approximately 25% of the Village's tax revenue is sales tax. All Illinois municipalities must be alert to the ongoing concern that the state may divert the local share of sales tax to state revenue goals. We should strive to increase sales tax revenue through business growth. As Lisle seeks to develop its downtown and properties along Ogden Avenue it should encourage sales tax generating businesses. I support Lisle's downtown zoning code that requires retail, restaurant, or entertainment use at ground level, but support service businesses at ground level as well because of the vibrancy they add to the district. I tried very hard to have a low impact retail component included in the development west of Benedictine University, and believe it was a mistake for the Village to annex 60 acres without requiring some sales tax generating element.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 Village of Lisle has an outstanding Police Department. Chief Dave Anderson sets a tone of service and excellence. They continually stay up to date with policies, programs, and equipment. Just one example of their efficiency is their recent introduction of the Volunteers 4 Lisle Program. It "gives the public the opportunity to volunteer their services to the Village, establishing positive partnerships. These partnerships enable the Village to access the wealth of resources available locally and expand service to the Lisle community." The Lisle-Woodridge Fire District is also superlative. It operates independently from the Village. Gang and drug activity, and low incident/high consequence crimes such as public shootings are public safety concerns for all municipalities and areas where our police department judiciously focuses attention and resources. Just one specific example: Some Lisle residents experienced significant problems related to juvenile homes located in their neighborhoods. The Lisle Police Department's response was swift and effective. They worked with the homes' authorities to develop action steps towards their goal, and their communication with neighbors was superlative.Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?State mandates continue to be the single most significant challenge to local government budgets. The Village board continues to advocate for public safety pension reform with the goal of long term pension sustainability. The Village Board has supported excellent staff initiatives of fiscal conservatism. The outsourcing of the IT department is one example.What's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?I continue to advocate for maintaining the character of our neighborhoods and adding heritage preservation to the mix of lenses used to evaluate development. Development should compliment and be respectful of the aspects of Lisle that allured people to stay or relocate here. Among the reasons people are drawn to suburban living is that it offers a high level of amenities without the congestion of an urban setting. We can model after many of our neighboring communities in preserving areas which still have the character and individuality of Lisle's earliest footprint. A specific project I am working on is supporting the First Congregational Church of Lisle in their goal to preserve their historic 19th century building.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Here are several: There are far and away too many goods and services that Lisle residents must leave town to purchase. That is a great inconvenience as well as a loss of sales tax revenue to our Village. A Lisle resident must travel at least 10 miles round trip out of town to purchase a piece of sandpaper, for example. As the great-granddaughter of Albert Riedy, who founded Lisle's first hardware store in 1889, Riedy's Hardware, I am troubled that for the first time in over 125 years there is no hardware store in Lisle. I would like to work to recruit a store. I believe Lisle should be respectful of zoning codes intended to control density and use. These codes are there to protect the quality of life in Lisle. Any changes to or variances from code should be done in a manner fully transparent to the citizens of Lisle. I believe it is sometimes appropriate to use financial incentives to attract business and industry. But the use of the taxpayer's money in this manner should be tied specifically and quantifiably to a return to the taxpayer on that investment.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Bill O'Reilly, journalist. He seeks both sides of issues; is fearless in standing up for what he believes in; values hard work and personal accountability.What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?That you can't go wrong if you love God above all else and love your neighbor as yourself.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?In general, any missed opportunity to be kind.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Literature and technical writing. Literature because it broadens one's perspective, and technical writing because being able to communicate wellis critical in any endeavor.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Treasure, celebrate, and cultivate your unique talents.