Martha Hanna: 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: BataviaWebsite: mhanna4countyboard11@gmail.comOffice sought: Kane County board District 11Age: 58Family: Married to Bruce Hanna for 9 years. Have 2 children 30 and 26 years old who live on their own.Occupation: Work part time at Harner's in North AuroraEducation: 60 credit hrs, paraprofessionalCivic involvement: Tutor Kane Co. JJC CASAElected offices held: noneHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 If elected I represent the residents of the 11th district in Geneva and Batavia. The Settlers Hill end use plan would be an issue I would like to tackle. With public hearings and EPA findings I think we can come up with a better plan for the county then the one that is proposed by the task force.Key Issue 2 I will put the communities' needs before spending taxpayers' money. Before we spend money we need to make sure it will be used for the best interests of the county and the people.Key Issue 3 To stay focused on the 2040 plan and implement the plan to fit our needs.Questions Answers Did the county board get it right when they decided to leave an ethics ordinance that is more stringent but more open to a legal challenge in place? Would you support the creation of more detailed economic interest statements?Obviously the ethics ordinance isn't right if there are still issues that cause friction. Yes, I would support a more stringent and detailed economic statement which would avoid futher legal challenges.Would you support the buildout of the shell space in the Kane County jail if it could be shown that the space could/would be used to increase profits from housing federal inmates?I think the county was smart to build the jail with a modular system that has the ability to expand with low costs. The problem with federal inmates being housed is that their numbers fluctuate. That would lead me to assume that we would not have a constant level of income coming from federal inmates. I would like the county to reduce the amount of prisoners we already house and do more electronic monitoring and provide more skills/education programs for people who are in our judicial system.Do you believe the county court system needs a computer system upgrade that might cost as much as $12.6 million? If so, do you support using RTA sales tax money to fund it, or do you have a different plan? If not, what is your alternative plan?The RTA sale tax fund was set up to pay for capital expenses, so yes I would support using a portion of RTA sales tax money. $12.6 million is a lot of money and I am leery of spending such a huge amount when in 2005 we put in a computer system and did not budget funding for upgrades and maintenance. The system failed and it ended up in a legal lawsuit between the circuit court and the county board. If we spend the money on a computer system we must be sure it will facilitate all levels of the circuit clerks office including maintenence and updates.Do you support the call by the state's attorney and public defender for raises for their staffs? Where should that money come from?Yes I would support raises for the state's attorney and public defenders if they are in line with surrounding counties pay scales. The States Attorney's office has an operating budget of $8.8 million a year and I would not want to see any staff cuts for the probation department and public defenders. Their case loads are always full. Therefore, I am not sure where the money would come from at this time, but we do need to attract and retain qualified professionals which in turn will save us money.What aspects of the Fabyan/Settlers Hill campus redevelopment vision created by the task force do you support? What should happen to the old county jail property?I do not support the plan as it is currently designed. The county recieved funds from Waste Management which was to be used for recreational development. The people of the county need to be well aware of what is currently going on with this piece of land. There have been no public hearings regarding this land usage. An environmental impact study needs to be conducted first to see what kind of usage this land with safely support.