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Jim Cooke: Candidate Profile

St. Charles Park Board

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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: St. CharlesWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: St. Charles Park Board Age: Candidate did not respond.Family: Wife - Lori Sons - Jim and Mike (age 14) Daughter - Sara (age 11)Occupation: AttorneyEducation: St. Charles High School Knox College - BA Chicago Kent College of Law - JDCivic involvement: ST. Charles Park District Board of Commissioners (Treasurer) St. Charles Park Foundation Board Member Tri-City Health Partnership Board Member Kane County Historic Preservation Commission MemberElected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Questions Answers What programs aren't paying for themselves? Would you keep, eliminate or change them? How and why?The Park District has a policy that programs are to be self-sustaining. However, within that policy certain program areas are given some flexibility as to adherence. Some examples of these are certain programs for older adults and teens. These programs are deemed to provide benefits to the participants that exceed the costs and sometimes strict adherence to the self-sustaining policy will be waived.Is there any additional open space the park district needs to acquire? Please describe.Open space is a priority for the Park District. We are always looking for additional land for open space programming and active recreational programming within the constraints of our budget and reasonable fiscal policy.Are there any unmet recreational needs? If yes, what are they and how would you propose paying for them? Or, should they wait until the economy improves?The one area of unmet recreational needs is reflected in the proposed Family Recreation Center for Breen Park. This facility will contain the needed programming space for basketball, volleyball, fitness workout area, indoor running/walking track, additional preschool and space for Fox Valley Special Recreation Association. This facility has been designed to accommodate the entire family and projections show it operating in the black while still offering family friendly pricing.Would you support sharing/pooling resources (i.e. printing, vehicles) with other local governments (school districts, village, etc.)? If so, what areas would you consider combining or merging to save money or improve efficiency?Not only do I support the sharing of resources, but the history of the Park District reflects this policy in any number of intergovernmental agreements and cooperation with the City of St. Charles, the Kane County Forest Preserve District, St. Charles School District and other governmental agencies. This policy has lead to many facilities and programs for our constituents at significant cost savings. Some examples of these are East Side Sports Complex, Primrose Park, River Bend Community Park, to name a few. The Park District also works closely with the many (non-governmental) associate groups to provide land and programs for our constituents (baseball, soccer, softball, football lacrosse, etc.). These relationships, and the cooperation with them, is vital to the Park District operations.If you are a newcomer, what prompted you to run for the park board? If you're an incumbent, list your accomplishments or key initiatives in which you played a leadership role.My contributions to the Park Board have to be considered within the context of one commissioner on a seven member Board. To the extent that my contributions evidenced a leadership role, I can say that I am most proud of the St. Charles Park District long history of collaborative and cooperative synergy between the Park Board and Park District staff in providing leadership and implementing policy for benefit of our constituents. Many of our facilities and programs have come into existence due to this relationship between Board and Staff.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?It is important to me that the Park District continue to serve the constituents of our District in a fiscally responsible manner, while providing a variety of facilities and programs to enhance the recreational opportunities available to all.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Candidate did not respond.What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Work hard.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Candidate did not respond.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Candidate did not respond.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Your integrity is everything.