Sidney Mathias: 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: Buffalo GroveWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Twitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Lake County Board District 20 Age: 71Family: Rita Mathias, spouse; Elliot Mathias, son; Scott Mathias, son; and 7 grandchildrenOccupation: Lake County Board MemberEducation: Roosevelt University, B.S. Mathematics, 1966 and DePaul University College of Law, J.D. 1968Civic involvement: Docent, Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center; Executive Vice-President, Congregation Beth Judea; Board Member, Jewish Federation of Chicago; Commissioner, Illinois Holocaust Genocide Commission; Member, Illinois Child Support Advisory Council.Elected offices held: Lake County Board Member, 2014- present; Illinois State Representative, 1999-2013; President, Village of Buffalo Grove, 1991-1999; Trustee, Village of Buffalo Grove, 1988-1991, Member, Village of Buffalo Grove Zoning Board of Appeals, 1983-1988.Questions Answers Why are you running for this office? If you are running for re-election, is there an important project you want to implement? If you are a challenger, is there a particular issue that motivates you? Please explain.I have been a resident of the Northwest suburban area for almost 40 years. My wife and I raised our two sons here. We have had the benefits of the great schools and other services provided in our community. I believe in giving back to your community and teaching my children and grandchildren the importance of community service.The most important project that I want to see come to fruition is the extension of Rt. 53 into Lake County. I will continue to advocate for this most important project in our region.What are your ideas to ensure the Lake County Discovery Museum remains relevant with county residents during the year it is closed while it moves from Wauconda to Libertyville and its new space is prepared?It is incumbent on all Forest Preserve Commissioners to include articles in their newsletters on a regular basis about some aspect of the Lake County Discovery Museum in order to keep it in the public eye. Staff should also prepare press releases and articles on social media such as Facebook on the progress of the Museum at its new location and also publish articles on various artifacts in the museum collection.Do you believe all of the county board's and forest board's committee meetings should be televised live and webcast? Why or why not?I strongly believe in transparency. The General Public should be able to watch all county board and forest preserve committee meetings at their convenience. One of the first action items that I brought to the Village Board when I became Village President in 1991 was to televise all village board meetings.Some municipalities are turning to Lake County government for contracted services in areas such as building inspections. For example, Lake Zurich signed a two-year contract with the county in late 2015 and expects to save $100,000 by paying $67 an hour for the inspections. Do you see this as a good thing for the county because of the revenue or are there concerns that should be addressed if these arrangements continue to grow? Please explain.Intergovernmental agreements with cities, villages and other local governments are a benefit to our constituents. In the example that you set forth above, the taxpayers of Lake Zurich will save a substantial amount of tax dollars. Smaller communities may not be able to afford to hire employees for building inspections and should take advantage of the County's expertise in many areas. I have also supported joint purchasing agreements between the County and local units of government because of the savings due to the quantities purchased such as joint salt purchase for our streets.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?Trustee, Village of Buffalo Grove, Appointed, 1988; Trustee, Village of Buffalo Grove, Elected, 1989; President, Village of Buffalo Grove, Elected, 1991; President, Village of Buffalo Grove, Elected, 1995; State Representative, State of Illinois, Elected, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010 and Lost Election in 2012; Lake County Board Member, Appointed, 2014.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?We need to continue to balance our budget in Lake County and maintain our AAA bond rating and set an example for other units of local government to do the same and hold the line on property taxes. Creating new good jobs and retaining our current businesses as well as seeking out new businesses in Lake County is also an important issue to me. This can be done by continuing our efforts to showcase Lake County as a business friendly area of our state. Also by our continued support of Lake County Partners.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Sen. Mark Kirk inspires me. Despite suffering a life-changing stroke, he has put in countless hours of rehabilitation in order to move forward.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?The importance of education.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Spending more time with my parents.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?My favorite subject in school was Mathematics. Math helped me in later life to be analytic in solving problems.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Always maintain your integrity.