Laurie McPhillips: 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: PlainfieldWebsite: www.mcphillipsforexective.comTwitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Will County Chief Executive Officer Age: 49Family: Russ Weglarz, husband of 23 yearsJohn Weglarz, son, 16Occupation: Real Estate Broker and Small Business Owner - Property Management CompanyEducation: Joliet Junior College, A.A. - Business ManagementGovernor's State University - B.A., concentrating in Business AdministrationIL Licensed Real Estate BrokerCivic involvement: Friends of the Will County Forest Preserve District - Vice-PresidentExchange Club of Joliet - past president, VP, Secretary, Newsletter editor and current memberZonta Club of Joliet - past Treasurer, current member.Will County Emergency Food and Shelter Board Member - currentVisitation and Aid Society - current member.Plainfield Chamber of Commerce, Member.Secretary, Homeowner Association Board in PlainfieldWill County Habitat for Humanity - former president (2 terms), former VP, Secretary and member.JJC Alumni Board - former TreasurerBig Brothers/Sisters of Will Grundy Counties, former board memberElected offices held: Will County Recorder of Deeds - 2004-2008Will County Board Member - 2010-2012Questions Answers 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?My goal is to hold the line on property taxes, so residents are not taxed out of their homes. Government needs to be run by administrators, not politicians. As Recorder, I implemented the first-ever on-line land records system and several other technology advancements which saved not only the County, but other taxing bodies time and money. Government agencies need to not only learn to save their own tax dollars, but consolidate and work with other taxing bodies to save money too. My opponent voted along party lines to increase property taxes, but my philosophy is to rather reduce expenses.If you are an incumbent, describe your main contributions. Tell us of any important initiatives you've led. If you are a challenger, what would you bring to the job and what would your priority be?I bring 20 years of experience actually running County offices and balancing budgets. My priority is to make government accountable and pro-active by re-instituting annual Department goals AND following up with the outcome annually. When I was Director of Operations under County Executive Mikan, besides working on the team to increase the County's bond rating, we instituted annual departmental goals, presented an annual report to the County Board identifying such goals, and followed up on the previous year's accomplishments. We need to be more pro-active and accountable in government and that has been lacking for the last 12 years.How can the county best manage its growth?Will County can best manage its growth through proper planning, technology advancements and working together with other governmental bodies to share resources and coordinate capital improvements, including transportation projects. The Will County Center for Economic Development (CED) recently had a workshop with its members and they discussed best practices. This is a great initiative, along the lines of consolidating resources, and we should build on the successes of those municipalities in Will County and not re-invent the wheel. Will County contracts with the CED and I would encourage that relationship too, so we can plan for growth as a "region".Describe your position on transparency in the office and the ease of access to records by the public. If you believe improvements are needed, what are they and how would you go about achieving them?I am 100% in favor of government transparency as it should be when taxpayer dollars are involved. There have been new laws to require additional transparency in salaries and benefits, which is great. However, I would like to take it one step further. There is an on-line checkbook that shows who was paid, how much and from which departmental budget, but it would be nice if it was more interactive and you could search by vendor with sub-totals and totals, since many times more than one office pays a vendor. I would like to see contracts on-line too.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?2004 - Elected Will County Recorder of Deeds, serving until 2008.2008 - Lost re-election and 2012 challenge.2010 - Appointed to Will County Board - ran for election and won - serving from 2010 - 2012.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?As I go door to door and listen to constituents, besides property taxes, government bureaucracy and waste top the list of concerns. I hear many complaints about the building permit and zoning processes and that they need to be more business and homeowner friendly. I will use my County management experience to work with the Land Use Department to create an environment of "how can we help you?" Also, as the County embarks on its $275 million bond issue for buildings, we should also address and eliminate some of the $1.2 million in annual rental payments and create permanent space.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Although not political, Joe Maddon is a leader that inspires me. He is a great team-builder and supports his community through charities as well.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Always work hard and finish what you start. We had a horse stable in high school, with "chores" that we did as a family business.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Although I have been involved with numerous charities in our community for over 17 years, I would have started volunteering earlier, as it is rewarding.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?My favorite subject was math and I was on the Math Team at Lincoln-Way High School. This helped me with preparing and balancing County budgets.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Always respect and help others.