Michael Walkup: 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: Crystal LakeWebsite: www.WalkupElection.comTwitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: McHenry County Board District Chairman Age: 66Family: Daughter, Erica Wacker, Grandsons, Ryan Wacker and Colin Michael WackerOccupation: AttorneyEducation: Juris Doctor, Catholic University of America, 1975, B.A. University of Illinois, 1971, Crystal Lake Community High School, 1967Civic involvement: McHenry County Historical Society, Crystal Lake Historical Society, Environmental Defenders of McHenry County (Board, past), McHenry County Bar Association, Northwest Suburban Bar Association (Board of Governors, past),McHenry County Farm Bureau, McHenry County Land Foundation.I have been heavily involved in efforts to preserve our local environment through sound land use planning, conservation efforts, preservation of our historic heritage, and preservation of varied forms of agriculture, and tax reduction efforts.Elected offices held: McHenry County Board, District 3, since 2012;Crystal Lake Park District Board, five years; McHenry County Regional Planning Commission; Nunda Township Planning Commission; McHenry County Historic Preservation Commission; Crystal Lake Historic Preservation Commission.Questions AnswersWhy are you running for this office? Is there a particular issue that motivates you, and if so, what is that?I believe that McHenry County needs reform oriented, full time, and visionary leadership for thefuture. My family were one of the original pioneer settlers in McHenry County and I have a deep love for the county and it's people and land. The County Board Chairman can do a great deal to set the future direction of the county on multiple levels, either directly or by example. I am also concerned that the current Chairman suffers from multiple conflicts of interest due to his other full time occupation as an attorney for developers, real estate interests, and townships. Although also an attorney, my practice, which is done part time out of my home, is limited to helping the disabled, and does not involve any work in McHenry County. As I am just entering retirement age, If elected, I would phase out that practice and devote full time to my duties as County Board Chairman.McHenry County is in the top one percent of all of the counties in the entire nation in personal property taxes. Bloated local government bureaucracy and the role of special interests are some of the chief reasons for this. I have been working to streamline local government, through consolidation, elimination of obsolete practices, reduction of staff, and revision of the County Board Rules to make government more open and accountable. Although there are multiple issues that concern me, all of them eventually come back to reducing our tax burden. For example, new residential development does not pay for itself and ends up costing taxpayers. Inefficiencies in government do the same. Right now we have multiple governments, government departments, boards and commissions which duplicate one another and/or continue to perform tasks which are no longer needed. Any attempts to try to address that are met with fierce resistance from entrenched interests. We need leadership that is motivated and capable of overcoming that and making government run more like a business and save tax dollars.What is the role of the county board chairman and how does that match your skillset?I believe I am very well suited for the position of county board chair. In my term on the board I have exercised leadership skills in a variety of areas, such as reforming the Mental Health Board, freezing the tax surplus at the nursing home, drafting new Board Rules and Ethics Ordinance changes. I can work with all members of the Board in a harmonious fashion while still pushing for needed changes. I do not believe that the status quo should continue and will work for further reform efforts to help save tax dollars.Detail three specific initiatives you would like to accomplish if you are elected.We will be doing a new Land Use Plan during the next period. I spent several years on a previous County Planning Commission as well as a township commission, and was the county representative for the Citizens Advisory Commission to the Chicago Metropolitan Area Planning Commission when it wrote it's 2040 Regional Plan for the entire Chicago Metro area. I want to be sure that our new plan incorporates the latest concepts in land use planning in anticipation of a renewal of growth for our area. In particular, we need to adopt policies, and follow those policies, which will confine any new growth to areas which already have the infrastructure in place and which does not interfere with local agriculture. Although this idea is incorporated in our current Land Use Plan, the County Board does not follow it in making zoning decisions. I would like our new Plan to be more explicit in this regard and make sure that it is followed by the Board.Second, we need to look further into how our county may consolidate various units of local government, county departments, commissions and boards to operate more efficiently, to save tax dollars. We need to adopt zero based budgeting for all county departments where each department has to be able to justify what they do as part of the budget process and not just assume that their current budget and level of staffing that were set by previous Boards is correct, as we do now. In this vein, we also need to eliminate nepotism and all other forms of corruption from county government. Some of this will require statutory changes from the General Assembly so that directly elected county officers are required to follow the same rules for their office staffs as do county departments. Right now the County Board is unable to direct compliance with county personnel rules for directly elected county office holders such as the Clerk, Recorder etc. This needs to be changed.Third, we need to bring in business to the county that will enhance our ability to grow economically and that will be able to employ people at wages that allow them to live within the county. A case in point is the now shuttered and deteriorating Motorola plant which was touted as a job creator for the county but which instead mostly employed people from the Rockford and Twin Cities area in Wisconsin due to the low wages that were paid and is now an empty hulk. A good example of the type of new businesses that will enhance the county would be Sage Products in Cary. We need to find a business such as that for the Motorola location and other locations in the county.Describe your position regarding the balance between county spending and revenues as it exists today. Then, describe the chief threats you see looming and how the countyshould deal with them.The county is keeping within its budget, saving ten million dollars this year, primarily to changes in leadership in some county departments such as the Sheriff's office and the Health Department. In the case of the Sheriff, we elected a new, reform oriented Sheriff last year, and he has made great strides in ridding that department of wasteful spending and bloated payrolls. I was one of only three county board members who endorsed him in the GOP primary which he won by fewer than 100 votes. Something similar happened with the Health Department on the departure of the long time director and his replacement with a new head.One of the big problems now is the surplus at the Valley Hi Nursing Home, which is run by the county. There is currently a $40 Million reserve despite the fact that the nursing home has not needed more than One Million Dollars per year in recent years to make up deficits. I served on the Operating Board of Valley Hi for two years but was taken off by the new Board Chairman when I started to make noise about the growing surplus. We have now adopted, thanks mostly to my insistence on the issue during this year's budget process, a proposal which at least freezes future growth in the surplus for a limited time. However, a permanent solution must be found.The Mental Health Board continues to be a problem, spending one third of the funds it takes in annually from a special tax on overhead despite the replacement of most of it's board by the committee on which I served for two years. Any attempts to try to impact this have met with determined resistance so only partial reforms have been accomplished. This needs to be further addressed.Although not directly a county issue, the townships in the Eastern portion of the county, particularly Algonquin, Nunda and McHenry, continue to waste taxpayer dollars on exorbitant salaries, unnecessary functions, and the allowance of rampant nepotism . I spearheaded the effort to try to allow the voters of the county to decide whether or not to consolidate some of those townships but the current board majority and board chairman scuttled the effort. This needs to be renewed, along with citizen led efforts to possibly seek referenda to abolish certain townships in areas in which most of the land has been absorbed into municipalities. We also need to look at centralizing the tax assessment function to bring assessments in line between various townships here there have been large discrepancies.Please list any elected office you have ever run for and what the result of that election was. Have you ever been appointed to fill an unexpired term?I served for five years on the Crystal Lake Park District Board prior to being elected to the County Board. I also ran for Nunda Township Supervisor and for State Senate. I was elected GOP precinct committeeman in my precinct in 2000.I have also served on several boards and commissions to which I have been appointed, including Planning and Historic Preservation, at the municipal, township and county levels as well as the Citizens Advisory Committee to CMAP (Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning) during the drafting of their 2040 Metro Land Use Plan.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Governor Rauner is doing a good job under difficult conditions and I support his efforts.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Respect for others and always treating others as you would want be treated.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I would probably do pretty much the same thing. I went into the law and have helped a lot of people who were deserving.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?History and music. Those who do not study history are condemned to repeat it. As you go through life, try to sing a little.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Be true to yourself. Always be honest. Follow your passions, where ever they may take you, and don't take life too seriously.