Kane Dist. 2 challenger sees mass transit as key issue
Residents of Kane County Board District 2 can choose from an Aurora incumbent appointed to the board last year, or a man who lives in one of the two Batavia Township precincts in the 12-precinct district.
Board member Donnell Collins, a Democrat, was selected to replace Linda Holmes when she became a state senator in 2007. Collins, a 52-year-old Army veteran and freelance photographer, is married with three grown children.
He faces Republican Doug Sullivan, 32, a marketing department manager for Pace Suburban Bus agency. He is married and has no children. Sullivan has been a Batavia Library trustee since 2004.
Sullivan is a proponent of improving mass transit in the area and says spending should be balanced between roadwork and mass transit.
"Our (Kane County) density does not support traditional mass transit such as a subway under Randall Road," Sullivan said, but he would like to see north-south corridors, such as Kirk Road in his area, have more bus service.
"Where we need to, increase frequency, increase the availability, so people who do have a choice will use it," he said, suggesting that the county's new quarter-cent sales tax hike be split between roads and mass transit.
He would like to see the county more active politically at persuading municipal governments - who have control over most development projects in the county - to design with transit impact in mind. That could mean, he said, reducing impact fees for those who build houses and stores near existing mass transit.
Sullivan opposes moving the county government center from its home on Route 31 in Geneva to the county public safety campus on Route 38 in St. Charles. The county's long-range plan calls for putting nearly every office there.
The economy is the main reason. The county froze hiring this fall, and has laid off health department workers.
"I just don't think there is any way to do it without going into a significant amount of debt," Sullivan said. "The efficiencies to be gained are minimal at best."
"I think it is a good idea, but not right now," Collins said. "We have to show people in our county we are considerate of spending our dollars."
Collins said he spent his first year on the board quietly observing how things were accomplished.
The board is more about "nuts and bolts," he said - fixing streets, public safety, building bridges. "My thing is more about education - a voice in the community," he said.
"I take information I'm getting on the board and sharing it with the community, such as helping people figure out what they can do about blighted properties in their neighborhoods."
He said he loves his post on the public safety committee, because the Regional Office of Education reports to it.
"I think I'm a teacher," said Collins, who intends to go to graduate school to study education.