David Hennessey: 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: Carol StreamWebsite: www.henn.community facebook.com/henn15Office sought: Carol Stream Village Board Age: 30Family: Wife - Andrea; Mom - Paula; Brother - ChrisOccupation: Teacher and Coach at Glenbard NorthEducation: St. Xavier University - Master's in Education (2011); University of Southern California - School of Policy Planning and Development (2007); Elmhurst College - Bachelor's in Political Science (2006)Civic involvement: Planning and Zoning Commission - Village of Carol Stream (2009 - 2011, 2013 to present); Co-Chair - Glenbard 4 Kids (2014); Police Commission - Village of Carol Stream (2012); Volunteer Baseball Coach - C.S. Park District CSTSBA (2006 - 2008); Volunteer Football Coach - CSYFA (2007)Elected offices held: Planning and Zoning Commission - Village of Carol Stream (2009 - 2011, 2013 to present); Police Commission - Village of Carol Stream (2012)Questions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?To be the best candidate, you need to have the right balance of knowledge (information) and wisdom (judgement). Holding public office has been a dream of mine for some time. Naturally, I decided to focus my college education on political science and public policy. I earned a bachelor's in political science and then spent time in graduate school for public policy and administration. My college education was a nice first step, but I knew if I wanted to serve in a place like Carol Stream, I needed to fully immerse myself in the community. I started that process in college, working for the Park District with a focus on after school programs, camps and youth sports. Later on, when I shifted gears to education, I worked for a year at Stratford Middle School and eventually took a position at Glenbard North. Today, I'm there teaching English, science and social studies and coaching varsity football and track. Throughout the same time period, I've been fortunate to serve on the Village's Planning and Zoning Commission. These experiences have introduced me to great people throughout the community and have given me the opportunity to soak up the core values of Carol Stream. With my education as the knowledge and my experiences as the wisdom, I feel confident in my ability to be a quality addition to the Village Board.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.We are fortunate enough to live in a community that does not levy a village property tax. I support continuing the idea of no village property taxes. Like nearly every community in Illinois, Carol Stream has their own sales tax. I think our current rate is at an appropriate level as it does not discourage consumers from frequenting our businesses, while at the same time helps provide much needed revenue to the village. As a trustee, I'd take the initiative to make sure we continue to use sales tax to strengthen the financial well-being of our community.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?I've been fortunate to personally know several members of both our police and fire departments. We have some great people watching over our community. The departments are innovative and forward-thinking. Thanks to those departments' effectiveness, studies have shown that Carol Stream is one of the safest places to live, and I'm confident that this trend will continue. However, I worry that in today's world, these occupations have become greatly under-appreciated. Sometimes we take for granted the duties of our community guardians. In particular, much media attention has been brought to events that call into question the judgement of police officers. While it's okay to have a healthy debate about the circumstances of those unfortunate events, the bottom line is that the police are fundamental to the well-being of the community. Like us, they are human, but each day they work in possibly the most trying profession society offers. It's important to me--not just as a future trustee, but also as a citizen--that people have an understanding and appreciation of what our police do on a daily basis. As a trustee, I would continue to promote the positive force our police and fire departments bring to Carol Stream and would help bridge any gap that may exist between those departments and the people.Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?In Carol Stream, we don't spend outside our means. We have no outstanding general obligation debt, and we run a lean and clean city budget. This sort of economic policy is rare in today's governments. We should continue this trend to the best of our abilities. I am not opposed to making investments in the community--especially with infrastructure--if the return on investment is significant enough. Whether it's with road enhancements, energy improvements, flood control projects or an internet utility, we need to ensure that the standard of living in Carol Stream remains at a high level.What's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?I love technology, and an idea I'm really excited about is exploring the feasibility of Google Fiber in Carol Stream. Google Fiber would bring super-fast, reliable and affordable internet to our residents. In fact, Google even offers a free monthly internet plan. I know it would be a great advantage to have this service available in our community. We always want to improve communication within the village, especially during times of distress. The internet is the medium of today and tomorrow, so the best way for our residents to stay connected is to provide the opportunity to have faster and more affordable internet access. For our children, their education increasingly depends on internet access as our local school districts have gone to a one device per child plan. For adults, being on top of bills, job duties and other responsibilities requires access to the grid. Exploring ideas like Google Fiber or other technology improvement projects are in our best interest.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?We have some wonderful shops and restaurants here in Carol Stream, yet when I talk to young people I hear a familiar question uttered, "Why can't Carol Stream have a downtown?" The trend ten years ago had everyone heading to the far west suburbs to find the best bang-for-your-buck house on the market. Now, young adults I talk to say they are looking for a community that is closer to the urban center, and one that maybe has a little urban feel itself. Enter the idea of "no downtown in Carol Stream". The "millennial" generation wants to live in communities where there are easily accessible shops and restaurants: a central area of commerce. I'm afraid a downtown just isn't practical in Carol Stream. Downtowns are built around a commuter train station or a body of water. We don't have those here, but it's okay, because we can get creative. Let's start by taking a comprehensive look at communities nationwide like our own--without a downtown--and see how they've created working central commerce areas. Then, with that information we can see how to best map our development future. We have a lot to offer young people: a fantastic location, a great variety of housing, top-of-the-line schools, parks and public amenities. As we head to the future, we need to be aggressive with courting new members to our community. Adding more centers of commerce--where people can shop, interact and be entertained--will help keep Carol Stream thriving into the next generation.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Elon Musk: He's not a political leader, but he prides himself on sharing ideas and solutions to enhance our world.What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?It's ok to fall down, but you should always get up and move forward. I learned this from my mother after my father passed away.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?It'd be easy to say "high school", but instead I'll say I would have invested in Facebook or another hot tech company.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Economics: Economists love incentives, and thinking about incentives has led me to create some unique ideas, especially in my coaching and teaching responsibilities.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?My favorite quote from Winston Churchill: "To improve is to change. To perfect is to change often."