Carol Calabresa: 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: LibertyvilleWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Twitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Lake County Board District 15 Age: 72Family: Husband-WilliamDaughters-Elizabeth and KathrynSon-Vincent4 Grand ChildrenOccupation: County Board Member/Forest Preserve CommissionerEducation: BS Political Science University of Wisconsin-MadisonCivic involvement: Lake County Opiate InitiativeConserve Lake County BoardElawa Farm BoardDomestic Violence CouncilLibertyville Junior Woman's ClubWinchester House Advisory BoardElected offices held: President-Lake County Forest PreserveVice Chair-Lake County BoardChair-Land Acquisition and PreservationLake County Board MemberLake County Forest Preserve CommissionerLibertyville Township TrusteeLibertyville Township Open Space DistrictQuestions 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 want to continue working with LCOI to fight the heroine epidemic. Trained officers and deputies saved 107 lives by administrating the naloxone antidote. I want to continue to influence state and national opioid legislation. Additionally, we want all Lake County officers certified in Crisis Intervention Training. Part of this process includes identifying and implementing more mental health services.I am also running as a fiscal conservative to maintain our AAA Bond Rating.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?We can engage the broader community via social media to elicit their ideas for displaying temporary exhibitions. Additionally, we can heighten awareness through press releases, monthly email news letters, videos, and social media about the relocation status and newly planned exhibits. During the interim, schools should be notified about newly created field trips and in school programing.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 believe transparency is critical. However, for the first and only Finance-Administrative meeting, there were 349 views for only two minutes. For the communications staff, to accomplish the live television-webscast, their video programs were cut from 12 to 6 per year which reduced their ability to deliver highly informative material to the public. We have over 40,000 people utilizing our newsletters, social media, and videos. We can reach more people and provide them updated and relevant material for their every day lives. In this manner, we can accurately measure subscriber numbers and activity.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.Overall, it is more cost effective for the county and municipalities to share services providing building inspections and public safety. Some municipalities are too small to effectively finance a police or building department. The county staff conducts a thorough investigation covering our entire operating costs and benefits. We only hire personnel according to the number of contracts signed.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?In 1984 I was appointed to the Libertyville Township Board. In 1985, I was successfully re-elected and became a founding member of the Libertyville Township Open Space District. I have run for the County Board and Forest Preserve every two to four years since 1986 and won each election.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?I want to insure and oversee the successful completion and opening of the new court house and the juvenile court house in a cost effective manner.I want to help transition patients from Winchester House into a new facility.I will be extra vigilant in the final land acquisitions from the previous bond referendum. In addition, I will be a strong advocate for forest preserve trail completion and natural resource preservation and restoration.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Bob DoldWhat is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Growing up on a family farm we learned that work always came first and fun came later.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?No regrets. I am grateful to have served the Lake County residents for over 30 years. I am extremely appreciative and honored for the opportunity.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?An outstanding English teacher inspired a love of reading. Constant learning enables me to solve the next set of issues facing our county and residents.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Use common sense and don't give in to peer group pressure.