Mary Ann Tully: 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: BensenvilleWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Bensenville Village boardAge: 60Family: Married, 2 childrenOccupation: Customer Service SpecialistEducation: College of Du PageTriton Community CollegeCivic involvement: Leukemia Research FoundationBison Booster - Fenton High SchoolPio Parents - Carroll UniversityElected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NOCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 I will continue to help bring our community back together.We need all taxing bodies to work as one unit to overcomeany obstacles that may develop while we are trying tomake Bensenville prosperous and be proud of our multi-cultural town. Our community has so much to offer and weneed to use every resource available at all times to keepworking together.Key Issue 2 It is imperative that we operate within our budget.We must strive for a balanced budget even in thehard economic times we are faced with each day.Key Issue 3 We must do everyghing in our means to make up for taxbase lost. We must keep our tax base down so that we areable to attract more business, more families and bring our town back to the ""Best kept secret in DaPageCounty.""Questions Answers Now that the village has settled with the city of Chicago over expansion of O'Hare Airport, what more can leaders do to facilitate its comeback from all the adversity the O'Hare fight entailed?Even though the O'hare fight is over and we need all governing bodies to keep working togther at all times. We need everyone to do their part to help us insure a stronger,healthier village and make it known we are community thatworks together to overcome any otstacles that may fallin our path during years to come.Is the $11 million that will be used to improve the industrial park the best use of borrowed funds? What should be a priority?Absolutly, we must follow through with the North IndustrialTIF PROJECT. This is the only possible way to re-furbishthe industrial park. This is a project that is long overdueand we have the means to bring solid growth back to ourcommunity and also help the business owners that have stayed loyal to our community. This is truly a win/winopportunity for our town and the enitre industrial park.This will be a challenge but everyone involved can makethis happen and regain the trust that our village deserves.How do you propose keeping Bensenville a viable residential community with all the industrial growth and expansion of O'Hare airport happening near the village?We must take away the negative spin this project has carriedfor so many years. Now that it is settled we must focuson what we have to offer now, how our future goals can beachieved and spread the word that Bensenville is hereto stay. We must do our best to counter any negativityand focus on the future. We should spread the word that wehave a massive school improvement plan in the works thatwill not require a referendum or tax increase. This shouldbe a major draw for our community and should help usopen all kinds of avenues to help us prosper. Once the $64 million project begins to fix the bottleneck of Irving Park and York roads and the Canadian Pacific Railroad tracks, what is the best way to alleviate the effect construction will have on local businesses?The overall completion of this project will be a greatasset to our community. With the amount of daily trafficthrough this intersection we will need to do whatever ispossible to keep the flow of traffic moving at all times.We must also be totally supportive of all existing business and make it a priority that their entrances and exits are accessible during all hours of operation.We do not want to see any business owners suffer during the construction of this project. Bensenville teamed up with Wood Dale and Elmhurst to create Liberty Fest last year for Fourth of July. What else could the village do to maintain the quality of life in this tough economy while also cutting costs?We should contact all surrounding towns and see ifthey are willing to share any events. As all towns areare working on reduced spending we may find that morevillages and towns are willing to combine efforts thatwill aid everyone from babies to seniors. This would bea positive move to reach out to all towns in close proximity.