Philip Lewis: 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: St. CharlesWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Twitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Kane County board District 13 Age: 69Family: I grew up in St. Charles and graduated from Thompson High School. My first job was delivering newspapers in the neighborhood that is part of my County Board District. I married my High School sweetheart and we have four adult children and nine grandchildren. Our family has lived in St. Charles for five generations. Two of my children are currently raising families in St. Charles, a third in Bartlett and our fourth in Elmhurst. I am ever mindful of the responsibility I have as a County Board Member to safeguard the futures of every citizen in Kane County.Occupation: Professor, School of Applied Technology and Management, Illinois Institute of Technology, ChicagoEducation: * Graduate, George E. Thompson High School, St. Charles, Illinois * Bachelor Degree, Milwaukee School of Engineering, Milwaukee, WisconsinCivic involvement: Currently County liaison St. Charles River Corridor Foundation, Founding member St. Charles Knights of Columbus, Supporter St. Charles America in Bloom, Parishioner St.Patrick Church, Volunteer Salvation Army. Former Little League, Soccer, Football and Basketball Youth Couch and Webelo Scout Leader.Elected offices held: Secretary Kane County Forest Preserve, Chairman Kane County Public Service Committee, Chairman Kane County Human Services Committee,Questions Answers The county commissioned a study to determine which services are mandated and which are not in preparation for a deeper budget cut. Do you believe the county must continue to reduce costs? If so, which non-mandated services would you cut or reduce? Under what circumstances would you support a tax increase?Public demand for County Services increases every year. During my time on the Board the County has had minimal to no increase in taxes and I am comfortable operating in this environment. In order to not increase taxes, leaders must be vigilant to equalize fees collected to the cost of services rendered. In addition all Departments of County Government must continuously improve their effectiveness and efficiency by training employees so they are capable of doing more than one task and by continuing to invest in technology where errors are eliminated, duplication is minimal and quality is improved. As I publicly stated a year ago, because we are doing much of the above, we are positioned to absorb the equivalent attrition of 100 employees which will allow the County to address new circumstances when they occur. In regards to tax increases, I have supported the Kane County Forest Preserves Open Space Land Acquisition referendums.The mandated services study said the law will require a reduction in the number of board seats as the county's population grows. Reducing the number of seats might also save money. What is the right number of board seats? How soon should the reduction occur?Ten years ago following the 2010 census we reduced the Board from 26 to 24 Districts. Reducing the Board further is fine with me. I favor reducing the number of Districts to a maximum of 20 Districts. Reduction of Districts necessitates new maps which should be drawn prior to the first election cycle occurring in 2022.Do you support adding a sunset clause to any toll created to fund the Longmeadow Parkway?I support a sunset clause for tolls collected on Longmeadow Bridge. The toll is being established to pay for the bridge, when the bridge is paid off, there is no further justification for the toll.Was ending the county's GPS and electronic monitoring program the right decision? If not, how would you restore the program?I voted against ending the County's GPS monitoring system. I thought we could have funded the program with forecasted excess revenue from 2017 and from revenue opportunities in 2018, one being Ãâ#128;™Raising Building Permit FeesÃâ#128;œ, which I proposed in October 2017.Do you support keeping the Aurora Election Commission?Keeping or eliminating the Aurora Election Commission is not a decision the County Board can make. As a current member and former Chairman of the County's Public Service Committee I have favored the integration of Aurora Precincts into the County's Election function. Consolidating Kane County's Election Services makes the most sense to me and I believe the Citizens of Aurora will benefit should they approve the referendum.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?1.) Being an original committee member of the County's new Court Case Management System Team, I am dedicated to completing the system rollout in 2018. 2.) Fulfilling the Ãâ#128;™Public Benefit PromiseÃâ#128;œ of the original Settler's Hill Landfill Plan has been a passion of mine and I continue to advocate the opening of the Ãâ#128;™HillÃâ#128;œ for use by local residents. 3.) I support efforts to acquire the abandon Union Pacific right-of-way in St. Charles and convert it to a public trail linking the east and west sides of our community. 4.) Refurbishing the woodland creek area on the south side of Geneva's County Government Center is a priority of mine the site is in need of clean-up and creek bed stabilization.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Nick Saban, Alabama's Coach is a leader willing to try something new like substituting a freshman quarterback in the biggest Game of the year.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Growing up in St. Charles with two brothers and three sisters in a house with only one bathroom taught me patience, tolerance and negotiating skills.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?If I had a do-over, I would have hung onto my childhood baseball cards.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?I liked Mathematics being good at Math helped me become an Engineer and it's knowledge that helps me understand the financial complexities of County Government.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Make Family a Priority in Your Life!