John Maguire: Candidate Profile

Back to DuPage County board District 6

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: West ChicagoWebsite: MaguireForDuPage.comTwitter: @John_A_MaguireFacebook: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: DuPage County board District 6 Age: 22Family: Married parents, two older siblings.Occupation: StudentEducation: Part of college (and still attending), studying biology with a focus on genetics.Civic involvement: Eagle Scout, DuPage Young Democrats organizer, Democratic Precinct Committeeman in Wayne township precinct 39Elected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Questions Answers Why are you running for this office, whether for re-election or election for the first time? Is there a particular issue that motivates you? If so, what?Flood prevention, stopping fiscal waste, and increasing accessibility to the County Board are the cornerstones of my campaign. Each of these are urgent, requiring immediate attention if our county is to thrive, but each problem remains. I attended several County Board meetings over the summer. At those meetings, I saw $11.5 million spent in half an hour without a single question asked, and I knew something was wrong. As I looked deeper and deeper at the records, a pattern emerged. Little attention was paid to where funds go and why so much was needed. A five-hundred foot bike path-to-nowhere had a price tag of $2 million. Funding needed to consolidate a fire district doubled with no explanation for the change. A pair of County workers were getting sent to Florida, all expenses paid, for training, including shows from comedians and musicians. All of this while our county has fallen $30 million behind on flood prevention projects in the last decade, while the DuPage Housing Authority ran out of vouchers in June, while the County struggles to pay its bills without raising taxes. This made me angry. The careless waste of money while people lose their homes and businesses to flooding angered me. So I decided to work toward change. I am running for the DuPage County Board to fix the rampant waste, to stop the floods, and to make sure this government works for those that need it.What is your stance on county board members' pay? Too high, too low, just right? Would you propose any changes?Pay of $50,000 a year when members only have to work for a minimum of 12 hours a week is ridiculous. Add to that the mountain of benefits on top of the pay and we begin to see a massive source of waste in DuPage. Money should not be the motivator behind going into politics. A desire to serve the community and represent the people should be what motivates County Board members. Slashing that bloated paycheck is important. Compensation for County Board members should be fair for the amount of work they do. If they are only required to work 12 hours, they should only be paid what that time is worth. Either our representatives need to see this as a full-time job (which it really should be) or they need to be okay with taking home less money.With DuPage County's budget being squeezed by the state funding reductions, what initiatives would you support to increase revenue and/or save money?I would push for a comprehensive audit of the County's finances. Plugging holes in the pockets of DuPage must be the first step. It is a disservice to the public to raise taxes when waste is so extreme. Only once the budget is tightened should we consider tax increases. DuPage does have a relatively low budget for a county of its size, and more money could go a long way to supporting citizens, but changes to the property tax rate might not need to be that large. Other initiatives can raise money for the county while fixing other problems. Introducing a plastic bag tax of a few pennies reduced the number of single-use bags by almost 50 percent in Chicago, while generating several million dollars of revenue. Smart policies like this need to be researched so we can kill two birds with one stone. The county also needs to be smarter about water. Selling water to municipalities at steep discounts robs the county of funds needed for projects ranging from flood prevention to water testing. Residents do not even receive any of the savings from such discounts -- the municipalities charge normal rates. Getting rid of this flagrant waste would help plug some of the holes in the county without hurting the people of DuPage. Essentially, I think we can be smart about how we spend and raise money. If we look for initiatives like these, we might be able to avoid steep property tax hikes.What are your thoughts about the county's Accountability, Consolidation and Transparency Initiative? What role should DuPage play in efforts to streamline and consolidate local government?DuPage County has too many small divisions of government. Consolidation of things like mosquito remediation districts can reduce bureaucracy and reduce waste. That said, certain pieces of the government should remain independent. DuPage has some of the most beautiful forests and prairies in the state, maintained by our robust Forest Preserve system. Some consolidations can also simply waste money. If a project requires $250,000 to consolidate two districts that each cost only a few thousand a year, then the savings seen from that consolidation will be tiny and distant.What initiatives, if any, do you have in mind for your specific county board district?Warrenville has suffered from two severe floods in the last decade. Work needs to be done along the west branch of the DuPage river to prevent future floods. I want to set up and fund a series of studies to determine what measures can be taken to prevent such horrible flooding in the future. West Chicago and Carol Stream host a large amount of industry. Good jobs are offered, jobs which can last a lifetime and pay well -- something in short supply nowadays. I want to begin a relationship of cooperation between the County Board and the College of DuPage Board with these industries. Offering training for these specific jobs can allow both the residents and businesses of DuPage to flourish, and this should be a long term goal in the county.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?My goal as a County Board member would be to secure a bright future for DuPage. That will require a lot of work and a broad range of projects. I think fixing our flooding problems, reducing government waste, and increasing accessibility to the county government are the most important issues for securing that future. They must be done first, so that people can know DuPage county is a good place to live and work. Beyond that, I want to encourage more business, industry, and research to move to DuPage. Realistically achieving that will take focus on public transport, affordable housing, and support of small business. While on the County Board, I will make sure we acknowledge the changing needs of companies new and old. I will also always remember that small companies do not need the same regulation as large corporations, so that we do not stifle entrepreneurial growth. Even beyond encouraging growth, better supporting the Housing Authority and projects to reduce the cost of living for those in need are crucial. Everyone needs a place to live, and we do not want to drive people out of the county simply because the economy does well and houses have become expensive. Supporting the sheriff's department is also important. Rather than cutting their budget, we should focus on boosting their ability to continually train their deputies and keep the county safe. This includes everything from making sure they have naloxone to encouraging community policing.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Emmanuel Macron has shown the power of the democratic process in France by rising up in under a year to transform a failing system.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?People usually want the same things. Most disagreements come from not understanding each other. Taking the time to talk can show that we actually agree.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I would not use it. Of course I've made mistakes in my life, but each of them brought me to where and who I am.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?I loved history in elementary school. It showed me that a lot of what we try has already been done, letting us avoid mistakes.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Everyone has bad days. We need to forgive people when they wrong us, since it's likely they just had a bad day.