Traffic, taxes concern Dist. 16 hopefuls

Four Lake County board candidates are seeking to represent their parties in the general election in District 16.

Republican incumbent Bob Powers of Round Lake Beach is being challenged by Jeanne Goshgarian in the GOP primary; on the Democratic side, Douglas Raul Williams of Hainesville is facing Terry Wilke of Round Lake Beach.

District 16 includes Round Lake Beach, Round Lake, Hainesville and Round Lake Heights.

The Daily Herald asked candidates to share their views on important issues concerning voters.

Q. Are there additional steps, beside those already under way, that the county board can or should take to provide traffic congestion relief?

Jeanne Goshgarian. As funds are available, either locally or through cooperation with state and federal revenue sources, continued use of road-widening and intersection-widening should be employed. Of course, extension of Route 53 and extension of the divided highway section of Route 120 would be helpful.

Bob Powers. The Lake County board has taken major steps to deal with traffic problems in Lake County, but we have also had two failed referendums. The biggest problem with the congestion is on the state roads and until the issues in Springfield are resolved, this cannot be addressed. The new traffic control system in Libertyville has gone a long way in resolving some of the congestion problems.

Terry Wilke. Road building; synchronization of traffic lights; Reversible lanes; change timings of traffic light cycles for rush-hour traffic.

Douglas Raul Williams. The county needs to start allocating resources to ensure that Pace and Metra are properly funded in Lake County. We need to look for a way to expand mass transit with the increase in ridership we are experiencing. A lot of work has gone to developing plans for a Route 120 bypass at a projected cost of $500 million and nothing into mass transit expansion. I propose the county have a liaison to work with the municipalities to study the impact that their plans for growth have on local traffic patterns. Over-development is the biggest contributor to congested roads in Lake County, with the taxpayers paying for road improvements not the developers.

Q. What is the most pressing issue currently facing the county board?

Goshgarian. I think many people are frustrated with traffic congestion during busy times. This is an issue which continues to get worse as population increases. Even individual intersection improvements can have a great positive impact. Efforts to ease traffic congestion must be aggressively pursued.

Powers. I believe the most pressing issues in Lake County are the courts and jails. The cost of these services are tremendous and will only keep going up as the population climbs.

Wilke. Traffic congestion.

Williams. To me the most pressing issue for the board would be bringing property tax relief to residents in Lake county, especially during the current housing and economic conditions. Implementing a cap on property assessments for the next three years would help slow the rate of foreclosures and the exodus of residents from Lake County. Avon Township, for example, which encompasses the Round Lake area, has one of the highest assessment rates in the county.

Q. Should a new Winchester House focus on a particular health-care specialty? If so, what specialty? If not, why?

Goshgarian. I am not sure that a new county facility is needed. If there are sufficient beds open in private facilities and people have access to public aid benefits for those spaces, and if hospice care can now be provided to people at home, maybe there is no longer a need for the county to operate such a facility. This matter should be researched adequately before funds are applied to construct a new facility.

Powers. I have been one of the main supporters of building a new Winchester House. After reading the consultant's report, it is clear that within the next five years, a new facility will be needed. For one thing, the maintenance on the older building has been very problematic and expensive. According to the consultant's report, within the next five years, there will be a shake-up within the industry that would leave many of our lower-income seniors out in the cold. I believe this is one of the services that the county should provide.

Wilke. Yes, assisted living.

Williams. I think that looking for a new revenue stream for Winchester House, such as a new memory-care unit, is an interesting idea. They will still have to compete with private care facilities for their core constituency of nursing care residents who pay with Medicare and Medicaid. It's been a challenge for them to maintain the current capacity of 326 operational beds full. and have averaged 252 residents at a deficit of $4 million a year to taxpayers. One idea to increase occupancy would be for Winchester House to do a better job of marketing its services to the fast-growing Hispanic community in Lake County. Traditionally, this segment of the population is under-serviced due to a lack of information about available services from all levels of government.