Alan Larson: Candidate Profile

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:BioKey IssuesQA Bio City: SchaumburgWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Schaumburg Village presidentAge: 72Family: Married, wife Nancy. 5 children (Michael, Cathy, Beth, David and Jennifer) 10 grandchildren (with one more to arrive in March) Alex, Adam, Jake, Vince, Dominick, Lily, Rachel, Arthur, Samantha and Lauren.Occupation: Retired (Mayor)Education: Attended Wright Jr. College, IIT. Associate in Science from Harper.Civic involvement: Past YMCA Board 1993-2008 Associate member Schaumburg Jaycees. Spring Valley Nature Club member. Editor Spring Valley Newsleaf. Member School District 54 Foundation. Board member Illinois Arts AllianceElected offices held: Schaumburg Village Trustee, 1975 to 1987.Schaumburg Village President, 1987 to 2011.Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Grow Schaumburg's economy sufficient to reduce the property tax with a goal of its complete elimination.Key Issue 2 Maintain Schaumburg's unique characteristics that make it the crown jewel of the northwest suburbs. Airport, Alexian Field, Town Square, Bikeway System, Hotel/Convention Center, Regional Center, Prairie Center for the Arts, Youth Symphony Orchestra, Dance Ensemble, Prairie Arts Festival, Septemberfest, Schweikher House,Key Issue 3 Continue to develop and improve transportation options for Schaumburg such as working with IDOT and the Tollway to add a ramp to provide access to Meacham Road from Route 53. And to continue to work to bring the STAR line to fruition, a high capacity transit system utlizing Diesel Motorized Units (DMUs) along the median of the Jane Adams Tollway.Questions Answers What is your opinion of Schaumburg's municipal property tax? Do you support immediate repeal, an increase in the tax or something in between?It was the only source of revenue sufficient to close a 17 million dollar hole in 2009/2010's budget brought about by the greatest economic decline since the Great Depression. Sales tax numbers tanked, business travel ground to a halt and people stopped spending. As the economy turns up, the goal is to use increasing revenues to reduce the tax with the goal of its complete elimination.How is the village's decades-old model of reliance on commercial development and retail sales taxes for revenue weathering the current economic downturn? Do the vulnerabilities revealed by the recession justify a major overhaul of that model?Making Schaumburg a more desirable community for residents and business is still a worthy goal. The ""model"" has evolved over the years and is not static. Improved transportation is a key element in sustaining Schaumburg's economic vitality and requires increased cooperation with regional agencies and neighboring communities.What is your attitude towards the village's ownership of the Schaumburg Renaissance Hotel Convention Center, Alexian Field and the Schaumburg Regional Airport? Should these properties be privatized? Why or why not?All three are important components of Schaumburg's landscape, albeit for different reasons.The Hotel/Convention Center, because it is municipally owned, can capture revenue that private ownership can not. Sales taxes, food and beverage taxes and room taxes, all add to a publically owned Hotel/Convention Center's bottom line, revenue that the private sector would not have access to. The cost of capital for its construction can not be matched by the private sector, plus property taxes are not levied on governmental property, making private sector ownership cost prohibitive. See Rosemont, McCormick Place, Navy Pier, Lombard, Springfield. Schaumburg's Hotel/Convention Center is an economic engine for the Village and for neighboring communities, bringing jobs and tourist revenue to the region. Visitors to Schaumburg shop in our shps, eat in our restaurants, visit our attractions (Alexian Field, comedy clubs, Gameworks, Medieval Times, Lego Land, Woodfield, IKEA etc.) and stay at one of our 25 hotels. And no General Fund revenues are used for its operations or construction bond costs, despite baseless claims to the contrary.Alexian Field is a wonderful example of intergovenmental cooperation between the Village of Schaumburg and the Schauburg Park District to provide a recreational venue for moms and dads, kids and grandparents. It adds an attraction for visistors to Schaumburg that is unmatched by neighboring communities. It helps promote Schaumburg as a wonderful place to live, visit, do business and raise a family. Plus, I don't think the Park District would agree to its sale.The Schamburg Regional Airport is important as a catalyst for long term economic development. It's an asset few towns can match, Half the airport is in DuPage County, so any redevelopment of that portion of the property would add property tax revenue to DuPage and not to taxing bodies in Schaumburg. Pilot Pete's would be impacted by such a sale. The Feeral Government would require a refund of the 90% of its purchase price. The airport is paid for and revenues from its operation cover its expenses. The airport provides valuable services to the community: Medivac flights, Young Eagles, traffic copter locations, business charters flying parts, customers, sales people to and from. Besides, who's buying airports these days?Should Schaumburg continue to run Septemberfest and other special events? Do you support the work of the cultural services department and the village#146;s continued operation of the Prairie Center for the Arts and the Trickster Gallery?Septemberfest has been a fixture in the community for over 40 years. It is designed to break even. This past year there was a small four thousand dollar surplus. Events like Septemberfest and our Prairie Arts Festival (which also pays for itself) help buuld community. They bring people together and are essential in enhancing Schaumburg's quallity of life.The Prairie Center for the Arts with its Maggie Atcher theatre is something that was envisioned by Bob and Maggie some 50 years ago. It was a basic tenet since Schaumburg's founding, to develop Schaumburg as a ""complete community,"" not just a bedroom town to Chicago. The master plan for the municipal campus included a cultural facility and the Prairie Center for the Arts fills that role. The facility does more than present shows. It is home to Schaumburg's Youth Symphony Orchestra, 200 skilled musicians at fourplaying levels (at break even cost), Schaumburg's Dance Ensemble (also break even), Summer Youth Musical and the Spring Valley Band. There are meeting rooms and a lecture hall that, along with the theatre, can be rented out for businss meetings and/or seminars. In addition, some village meetings are also held there. The Prairie Center also provides staff support for events held by the Library and Park District at the Village's Town Square Amphitheatre. Last year the Prairie Center hosted over 800 events.The Trickster Gallery provides a cultural component to what is designed and planned to be a ""Village Downtown."" To quote from the Mayor's Institute of Design: Excellence in City Design publication: ""Revitalization advocates in more successful cities have promoted a multifunctional downtown of great diversity. Downtown should be a center for business, government, arts and culture, medicine, and education. It should be a place where people live and shop and explore their various heritages, a place that attracts tourists and locls, convention goers, special events attendees, and sports fans."" As a graduate of the Mayor's Institute of Design, I heartily concur. (the Trickster Gallery is not operated by the Village but is operated by the native Americans of the American Indian Center out of Chicago.)So yes, Schaumburg should continue Septemberfest and other special event, cintinue to suport the work of the Cultural Services Department and continue to operate the Prairie Center for the Arts and continue our relationship with the Amreican Indian Center in their operation of the Trickster Gallery.What significant infrastructure improvements, if any, should the village be pursuing? Why?An off ramp from Rte 53 to Meacham Road would benefit Motorola, the Hotel/Convention Center, Rosevelt University and alleviate some of the traffic around Woodfield,IKEA and the Regional Center. We have had dialog with IDOT and the Tollway towards this end.We should continue our efforts to bring the STAR line to fruition. I serve as a co-chair of the STAR line steering committee. It's completion would be a boon to business and traffic mitigation all along the I90 corridor while providing a convenient access to O'Hare.Continue the work extending the Elgin/O'Hare from Hanover Park to the Airport, reducing congestion and spurrig economic development Schaumburg has had an active role in its planning.