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 3 Age: 66Family: Divorced. One Daughter, two grandsons.Occupation: Attorney/ County Board MemberEducation: Juris Doctor, Catholic University of America, 1976Civic involvement: Environmental Defenders of McHenry County; McHenry County Historical Society; Crystal Lake Historical Society; McHenry County Bar Association.Elected offices held: McHenry County Board, District 3; Crystal Lake Park District Board of Commissioners; Republican Precinct Committeeman, Nunda 15Questions AnswersThere were significant voting problems in the March primary. Are you confident sufficient steps have been taken to avoid a repeat in November? What role, if any, should the county board have in such matters?What role, if any, should the county board have in such matters? I have met with the County Clerk and she says that all problems have been resolved. We will have more phone lines into the county building, more judges have been trained, and the software should not experience any further problems. There was a perfect storm of problems in the primary between using new hardware and software, same day registrants, and unprecedented turnout. The County Clerk is an independent elected official and can tell the County Board to go pound sand, so there is only so much that we as a Board can do. The ultimate remedy for any problems lies with the voters in the next election cycle. Why are you running for this office, whether for re-election or election for the first time? Is there a particular issue that motivates you? If so, what? I am running for my board seat in addition to running for County Board Chairman as state law does not allow a popularly elected County Board Chairman to have a vote unless the county is over 450,000 in population. McHenry County currently stands at around 300,000. There is a bill pending in the legislature that would change that. If that passes, I will resign my Board seat and the Board will appoint a replacement from the same political party. Describe your position regarding the balance between county spending and revenues as it exists today, then describe the chief threats you see looming in the future and how the county should deal with them.The County actually has 157 different sources of revenue. Property taxes account for 38% of the total, or a little under $80 Million. Since I have been on the Board, we have cut spending by over $100 Million over 4 years, and will continue to do so in a responsible manner so as not to impair vital services. Anyone who claims that they can cut #8220;property taxes#8221; by ten percent, as the Democrat candidates are doing, is lying to the voters. The entire county portion of the average real estate tax bill is under 9 percent so do that we would have to completely eliminate county government and bill the taxpayers for the additional one percent. This would involve shutting the down the court system, releasing all of the prisoners from the jail, eliminating the sheriff, health department, and highway department, and throwing out zoning enforcement and planning in the unincorporated areas. Good luck getting to work this Winter with no one to plow the roads, How do you rate the county government on transparency and the public's access to records? If you consider it adequate, please explain why. If you think improvements are needed, please describe them and why they are important.The county has been very compliant in all Freedom of Information Act requests, which have been numerous this past year due to attempts by local labor unions to try to go on a witch hunt looking for dirt on county board members to use in the election on behalf of the Democrat candidates. They did not come up with anything. We made some changes as well to the Ethics Ordinance, to the extent that we can consistent with state law, which restricts us to some extent. Further changes are going to require revisions in state statutes. Please list any elected office you've ever run for and what the result of that election was. Have you ever been appointed to fill an unexpired term?I ran for State Senate in the 1990's to try and help stop an ill advised Fox Valley Freeway proposal that would have run a new Freeway through the heart of County Board District 3. I was not successful in the election but they did run a picture of me in the newspaper under the headline #8220;Freeway Dead In County.#8221; I also ran for Nunda Township Supervisor in 2001 on a platform of drastically reducing the size of township government and lost by 140 votes. I was elected to the Crystal Lake Park District Board in 2007 and again in 2009 before running for and being elected to the County Board in 2012, at which point I resigned from the Park District Board. What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Taxes are obviously the major issues. Last year I spearheaded the effort to take a one year holiday from the Valley Hi Nursing Home levy, which is something that can be done only once every other year without losing the levy which was voter approved in 2002. This year we are looking at creative solutions to utilize those funds and temporarily reduce the surplus for Valley Hi that has been accumulated because of the strictures imposed by the state tax cap legislation. I would also like us to reinstate the Regional Planning Commission to at least review the Land Use Plan annually instead of waiting for the next census. Another looming issue is whether or not to buy another building next to the government campus and build something on that land for current and future expansion needs of the Health Department, and thereby create space opportunities for the IT Department and States Attorney. We will also be deciding on whether or not to go forward with construction of improvements on Randall Road and what needs to be done to complete the I 90 interchange at Route 23, as well as development options for that corridor. I am very interested in developing better intergovernmental cooperative operations with other local governments, particularly municipalities, on things such as road maintenance, and building inspections which we have begun to explore. We are also going to be looking at possible consolidations of boards and commissions which are appointed by the County Board, bearing in mind that none of the members of those bodies are paid anything so cost savings must first be identified and possible adverse consequences examined. Finally we need to look at possible changes in the size of the Board, reduction in the number of committees and the number of members on each committee, and discuss potential redrawing of county board districts, which can be done only in the redistricting year that follows the 2020 census and so will fall outside of the terms of office being decided in this election.Please list any elected office you've ever run for and what the result of that election was. Have you ever been appointed to fill an unexpired term?I ran for State Senate twice in the 1990's and Nunda Township Supervisor in 1999, losing all three. I ran successfully for Park District Board in 2007 and 2009 and County Board in 2012.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.None of the current leaders are too inspiring. My examples from the past are Lincoln, Jefferson, John Adams.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Family is the most important thing in life. My mother died at the age of 52.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I would probably try to pursue more in the creative areas.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?History was always my favorite. I went on to major in it in college. He who does not study history is condemned to repeat it.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Always be true to yourself, and treat others like you would like to be treated.