Malcolm Chester: 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: Des PlainesWebsite: www.malcolmformayor.comTwitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Des Plaines Mayor Age: 68Family: Charles Chester (deceased father) former Managing Partner Martin, Craig, Chester Sonnenschein; Mary Carol Chester, (deceased mother) former English Professor McHenry College, Ron Chester, brother, Professor Emeritus, New England College of LawOccupation: Lawyer, former Corporate Executive TeacherEducation: B.A. Brown University, Political ScienceM.Ed. Tufts University, Child StudyJ.D. IIT Kent Law SchoolCivic involvement: Des Plaines Economic Development CommissionKeep Chicago Beautiful, former ChairmanRolling Meadows Chamber former BoardThresholds, former boardIllinois Health Care Cost Containment Council, former Vice Chair of this state boardIllinois Soft Drink Association, former PresidentElected offices held: Lake Forest Caucus (former)Des Plaines Alderman 6th Ward (current)Questions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?I have vast experience as well as a record of accomplishment as a business executive including serving as the VP of Public Affairs at Pepsi, a teacher of children with problems, and a lawyer and advocate for a variety of clients. I have been a leader and board member on many associations and not for profits. As an alderman, I have consistently stood up for the taxpayers and fought for disciplined spending and responsible budgeting. I also am committed to being a full-time Mayor, addressing the needs of our residents and businesses on a daily basis.What is your opinion of your community's present level of local sales and property taxes? Is the tax just right, too low or too high? Explain.Property taxes and sales taxes are too high, among the highest in the nation. While talking to our residents, I have had several homeowners state that they were moving out of DesPlaines for this reason. Our City earned a substantial revenue increase with the opening of the Rivers Casino, yet our taxes have not decreased. As Mayor, I will work to lower these taxes not merely leave them as they are and claim victory.Should city elected officials receive city-funded health insurance benefits? Do you receive the benefits now? Would you accept them if elected?I do accept them now, but if elected, I will switch to different insurance. We need to consider changing our health care benefits, and seriously look at a cost benefit analysis. This should be part of a comprehensive reexamination of both our salary and benefits done by professionals.Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?As to reductions, we have no effective gatekeeper for our legal billings. We need a person with experience in legal billings reviewing these invoices. I recently identified an unjustifiable legal expense, which I will raise at council. We need to use consultants judiciously and where they add value and expertise. The hiring of expensive consultants; such a PR firm to develop a logo and slogan, only managed to alienate the citizens with his recommendations. I also opposed a $8 mm city garage and a $4 million redo of Metropolitan Square. I led the effort to restore $1 million in street resurfacing money to our budget and strongly support adequate funding for redoing our infrastructure. Across the board, I believe we can increase efficiency and productivity, eliminate duplication and leverage our resources to lower costs. To do so however, requires vigilance on the part of the Alderman and leadership from the Mayor.Do you support a plan to commit city dollars, along with Rivers Casino, to acquire and renovate the shuttered Des Plaines Theatre, then hire an event planner to book concerts and shows?My residents, as they made clear to me in a recent 6th ward meeting, do not support city ownership of the theatre. They are concerned that the city will end up spending $16 mm, as Arlington Heights did, in redoing its theatre, far beyond the $2 mm Des Plaines would spend matched by Rivers Casino's $2 mm. If the Rivers plan leads to a marketable property and a private plan to redevelop the entire area to the Sugar Bowl, I would be supportive, but at this point I would not be supportive of long-term city ownership. A developer proposed an aggressive theatre to Sugar Bowl plan to the city in a meeting I attended but the city ignored it. Rivers has made it clear to me that they do not want to own or operate the theatre. As a City, we should not commit to this until we have a complete financial picture.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?We need to have an aggressive economic development plan that attracts jobs and investment to our City.We need to prioritize our spending. We also need to focus more clearly on development issues. Just prior to our council meetings a major development or expenditure such as the logo is presented to us but without an assessment as to how this fits into our comprehensive plan. For this reason, I oppose some of these issues when I might otherwise be supportive. We have too many rental tower proposals when the downtown already has occupancy issues. We must concentrate on attracting commercial and industrial companies, which give back more money to the community than the community has to spend on them.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Martin Luther King even though he is not a current leader.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?To respect people and their opinions no matter their station in life.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I would pursue a career in elective politics at the beginning of my career as opposed to the end.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Government History. Our past cautions and guide us into making better choices in the challenges that lie ahead.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Learn and grow from your defeats as well as your successes and never give up.