Steve Lentz: 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: MundeleinWebsite: www.SteveLentzforMayor.comTwitter: @SteveLentzFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/SteveLentzForMayorOffice sought: Mundelein Mayor Age: 54Family: Married to wife, Michelle, for 30 years. Six children, all in their twenties and living out on their own (so far).Occupation: Director of Education and Research at OptionVue Systems International, Inc.Education: Bachelor of Arts in Economics, University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA)Civic involvement: Youth sports coach (baseball and football) for over 20 yearsServed on Board of Mundelein Little League including role as PresidentServed on Board of Mundelein Junior Football LeagueElected offices held: Trustee, Village of Mundelein, 2009-2013Mayor, Village of Mundelein, 2013-PresentQuestions Answers Do you believe residents should be allowed to keep chickens or hens in their backyards? Why or why not? If you do support this, will you make it a priority if elected?No, this would be a bad idea. The Village Board visited this issue five years ago and staff and other trustees investigated and discussed the effects of chickens in residential areas. Our choice to live in the suburbs includes a reasonable expectation that we won't live next door to agricultural production animals like horses, cows, pigs, and yes"circ;brvbar;.chickens. There is a strong likelihood that neighbors would incur an unreasonable nuisance via noises, odors, and likely very special attention by predators indigenous to Mundelein such as foxes, skunks, raccoons and the occasional coyote. Property rights protect homeowners from unreasonable nuisances by neighbors. Currently, a slim majority of the board views chickens as an unreasonable nuisance and I hope this position remains.Do you support video gambling in town? Why or why not?Video gaming was approved in Mundelein in December of 2012 after bowling alleys, restaurants and bars successfully made their case that the extra revenue would benefit them, and in so doing benefit the community as well. The Village Board meant for video gaming to provide supplemental revenue to an establishment's core business.Today, however, companies routinely approach the Village about opening small "casino-ette" establishments. These companies seek to lease a small storefront and stock it with five video gaming machines, and one employee to offer beer and wine service, with the core revenue clearly coming from gambling. The original village ordinance, though, was not intended to welcome public gambling to Mundelein as much as it was intended to provide a supplemental revenue source for area businesses and strengthen their bottom line. These "casino-ettes" would defeat the spirit of that ordinance by introducing undue competition for the gambling dollar. So far, the board has held firm and not allowed these types of establishments. Without this restraint, however, Mundelein could one day be dotted with these places and our town's image could greatly suffer. In this regard, the upcoming election is very important.Has the village's effort to attract new businesses and help the businesses operating here been successful? What programs or initiatives will you propose if elected to help businesses?Yes, we've been successful but much work remains to be done.Since taking office, Mundelein landed the largest law firm in Lake County, Kovitz Shifrin Nesbit (KSN), which moved here from Buffalo Grove. Corporate decisions to expand Sysmex Corporation and Larsen Manufacturing also speak highly about the pro-business reputation Mundelein now has in Lake County.Three initiatives account for this reputation:First, when running for mayor four years ago, I proposed bringing big-business incentive packages down to the level of the small entrepreneur. The Village Board approved the effort in the form of an ordinance that created the Business Incentive Grant (B.I.G.) program. Far from being a government give-away, the program requires significant private investment and continued business presence. Many success stories followed, including: 1.Jewel-Osco moving into the old Dominick's grocery store space2.Luke's of Mundelein moving into the old Kentucky Fried Chicken building3.The opening of a new restaurant, Tina G's4.Renovation of the Hawley Lake Plaza (Old Walgreen's location)Second, our Community Development Department has now cataloged every square foot of commercial space in town, and we know what's vacant and what's occupied. Very few villages track and make this information freely available. If re-elected, I intend on heavily marketing this unique service. Finally, we started tracking building permit turnaround times in an effort to meet aggressive goals. For businesses needing to build, time is money and this issue is critical. Village Hall takes great pride in our service to residents and businesses.Describe your leadership style and explain how you think that will be effective in producing effective actions and decisions with your village board or city council.I am passionate about Mundelein, the great place it is today, and where our community is headed. That vision is clear and getting more defined with every year.I lead by building consensus. This takes more time, but lends itself very well to our council/manager structured municipal government. The Village Administrator and staff are responsible for carrying out priorities established by the Village Board of Trustees, and as Mayor I work as a catalyst to make that occur. To do so, a good working relationship with all parties is critical, and I've worked hard to attain that.In building those relationships, I do so by extending great respect while also communicating my passion and vision for Mundelein. It's a fine balance but I love doing it. The rewards are superb; good friends and a fine village undergoing even more change and improvement.What is one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?Chicago has Buckingham Fountain, Las Vegas has the Bellagio, and I would like to see an appropriately scaled water feature eventually added to the Plaza in front of Village Hall which is currently a green lawn. People like to gather around water, and adding this feature to the Plaza would help make it a true destination within Mundelein and even Lake County.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Police Departments all over America are suffering from declining morale due to the highly-publicized events surrounding departments experiencing low trust levels with the public. But in Mundelein, our Police Department has worked very hard to build community trust by taking advantage of non-conflict opportunities for positive interactions between the police officers and the general public. The trust level is high and the morale in our department is strong. It's important to me that we maintain these priorities for the benefit of our Police Department and our community.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Tom Maddon, Manager of the Cubs, inspires me by his attention to information and analytics while also giving extra focus to team and leadership chemistry.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Honesty and integrity are more important than gains realized through compromise.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I would propose to my wife in a more extravagant and dramatic fashion.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?I liked history. But High School and collegiate debate were instrumental in developing some comfort with public speaking.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Honesty and integrity are more important than gains realized through compromise.