Thea J. Morris: 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: Island LakeWebsite: http://www.RIGHTparty1.comOffice sought: Island Lake Village boardAge: 44Family: Married, three daughtersOccupation: Owner/Consultant of M M Consultants specializing in CPR/First Aid Training and Sustaining Care Case Manager in Psychiatry at Alexian Brothers Center for Mental HealthEducation: BA Psychology Luther College, Decorah IAMA Clinical Psychology, Roosevelt University, Chicago ILCivic involvement: Girl Scout leader for 3 troops, Girl Scout Day Camp committee member, Island Lake Chamber of Commerce member, District 118 school volunteer, PTO member, involved in multiple ministries at Living Waters Lutheran Church, previous member of Island Lake Emergency Management Agency, and one of the community members who led a successful fight against the R15 sludge dump in Island Lake.Elected offices held: NoneHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Increase community safety and cohesiveness. I will work to encourage the residents to feel connected to our community, including assisting in strengthening the relationship with our civil servants. We need to improve the marketing and timing of our community events. We need to find a way to make our residents want to attend these events. In addition, we need to utilize our website to keep the residents informed of upcoming community events, as well as any safety issues/concerns. Just as many of our surrounding communities have already done, we need to investigate the use of social networks to aide in this process. Many villages are also using texting and automated calls to assist in disseminating information.Key Issue 2 Improve Communication. We must utilize our current resources and build upon them. Today#146;s technology allows us free access to information as it happens. We need to set up our website to allow for this type of communication. No longer can we shroud ourselves in secrecy, our community has the RIGHT to free access to community information.Key Issue 3 Cut costs. We need to reduce our legal fees, require competitive bidding for large and small projects, and ensure that all of our expenses are essential to the financial health and well being of our village.Questions Answers Village board meetings are contentious and often filled with anger. If elected, what will you do to ensure the board operates professionally?I believe that each of us on the board needs to hold ourselves to higher standards of professionalism. I will work to maintain this level not only with myself but also amongst my fellow board members. We need to work collaboratively rather than as opposing forces.What do you think the village should do to improve government transparency?We need to utilize the tools that are already available to us-specifically the website. The schedule of meetings, agendas, all meeting minutes and recordings should be posted in a timely manner on the website.What can the village do to fill vacant storefronts and attract new business and development?First and foremost, we need to improve our village image. Businesses are not attracted to a community filled with controversy and unprofessionalism. Once we have taken this step, we must actively recruit new businesses into our community through face-to-face contacts, using our networking resources, and by marketing the many assets of Island Lake.Name one area of the village you#146;d improve, and how would you accomplish that task? If the project requires funding, explain the source.I would like to build a community watch program throughout the village. These programs can be built with little to no funding. They have proven to be an #147;effective means of crime control and neighborhood cohesiveness#148; (www.USAonwatch.org). The benefits of these programs are two-fold; first, this program would aid in developing unity within our community as well as improving the working relationship with our police department, and secondly it would assist in the reduction of crime in our area.What suggestions do you have for increasing revenue and/or decreasing expenses?My primary focus for decreasing our expenses will be to focus first on our legal expenses. We need to closely examine our current legal fees-why are they so extravagant? Our legal fees, for Ancel Glick, have risen from 127.6k in 2008 to 203.4k in 2009. Why the dramatic increase? Why do we have so many on-going investigations? What must we do to eliminate these extreme costs? Although I do not have all of the answers, as I am not yet privy to all of the specifics, I am dedicated to determining a way to reduce these costs. Just like in a family#146;s budget, if you can#146;t afford it #8211; you can#146;t have it. Overspending is not an option.