Kane chairman announces initiatives for re-election bid
Kane County Board Chairman Chris Lauzen embraced the economic potential of new technology and emerging environmental processes as the cornerstones of his platform for re-election Tuesday.
Standing before a small audience of supporters in an auditorium at the county government center, Lauzen promised the pursuit of three initiatives if elected to a second term. At least two of them would rake in new cash in an effort to extend the county's frozen property tax levy.
The first involves cellphone amplification. Lauzen believes there is a potential for new income in leasing space to cellphone providers for the placement of mini cell towers on existing light poles throughout the county.
The hitch is there is a legal opinion on the books that bars the county from pursuing that opportunity. Lauzen said the opinion has been misinterpreted.
"We're digging deeper to get this opportunity properly understood," he said.
The second initiative Lauzen plans to pursue is an expansion of the county's fiber optic network.
He described a public-private partnership with the village of Gilberts that would make it one of the first gigabit fiber-optic communities in the state. Gigabit fiber is up to 20 times faster than 50 megabit downloading. A typical high-definition movie takes about two minutes to download at 50 megabit speed. That movie would take about seven seconds to download at gigabit fiber speed.
The third initiative would bring waste-to-fuel recycling to Kane County, which turns household waste into renewable fuel that burns cleaner than coal.
Lauzen endorsed the redevelopment of the former Settler's Hill Landfill into a cross-country course. But he said the other landfills that county residents send their trash to are a problem.
Instead of collecting tipping fees from waste haulers at those landfills, he'd rather collect economical processing fees for the conversion of waste to green fuel.
"Imagine bringing in more operational revenue to prevent property taxes by merely taking out the trash in a more environmentally responsible way," Lauzen said.
Lauzen's opponent in March is Ken Shepro, chairman of the St. Charles Republican party and former county board attorney.
Lauzen also endorsed Kane County Auditor Terry Hunt for a second term. Coroner Rob Russell didn't get the same stamp of approval. Lauzen endorsed Russell's Republican challenger, Dr. Bob Tiballi, for the March primary.