Gary Stanton: Candidate Profile

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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:BioQA Bio City: Hoffman EstatesWebsite: NoneOffice sought: Hoffman Estates Village Board Age: 64Family: I have a wife, three children and three grandchildren. Two of my children are married.Occupation: AttorneyEducation: Graduated High School from Loyola Academy in 1968; Graduated College from Loyola University in Chicago in1972 with a BA in History; Graduated Law School from Loyola University's School of Law in 1975 with a JD degree.Civic involvement: In 1985 I was appointed to the Environmental Commission of Hoffman Estates. In 1988 I was appointed to the Youth Commission and also the Plan Commission, resigning my post on the Youth Commission when I was appointed to the Plan Commission. I served on the Plan Commission for 22 years, the last 9 as Chairman. In December of 2010 I was appointed a Trustee of Hoffman Estates, later to win a full term in April of 2011. From 1990-1998, I coached baseball for the Hoffman Estates Community Baseball Association.Elected offices held: Hoffman Estates Village TrusteeQuestions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?It would be pretentious for me to claim I was the best candidate for the job. I do believe I should be one of three candidates who should be re-elected to the position of trustee for the following reasons. I was involved with the meetings between Sears and the Village of Hoffman Estates regarding the extension of the EDA. I traveled to Springfield on numerous occasions with the Mayor to lobby on behalf of the House Bill that was crafted to keep Sears within Hoffman Estates and a guaranteed 4200 jobs. After being appointed Chairman of the Transportation and Road Improvement Committee, I worked with the Village staff to ensure that the streets within the Village would once again be repaired on a consistent basis. In the Village's attempts to secure finances for the Village's share of the cost in having a full interchange at Barrington and I-90, I traveled with the Mayor both to Washington D.C. and Springfield to speak with both our Federal and State legislators, as well as the heads of both the Federal and State Departments of Transportation. Eventually, as a result of the hard work of State Representative Fred Crespo and the Mayor, Governor Quinn signed off on the Village's share of the costs for the full interchange to be 5 million dollars, 10 million dollars less than we originally expected to pay. Over the past 4 years, I have lobbied for the Village, worked the ICSC convention,and helped fill two vacant parcels of land.What is your opinion of your community's present level of local sales and property taxes? Is the tax just right, too low or too high? Explain.Every November, the Village Manager and Finance Director, in conjunction with the various Department Heads, prepare a working budget for the upcoming year. This budget is reviewed in an open meeting chaired by the Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Village Board. This year it was recommended to the Village Board that no increase in property taxes would be requested. The Village would request the exact same amount of money requested last year. I supported and approved this years budget. The sales tax has never increased while I have been a trustee and the property taxes, while not increasing for the last two years, have increased only as needed to balance our Village budget. To that end, our taxes are where they need to be.Rate the efficiency of your town's police and fire coverage. Are the departments well prepared for the next decade? What, if anything, should be changed? Do you have specific public safety concerns?I would rate both our police and fire coverage as excellent. As I have been informed, the response time by our fire department is under 6 minutes. Both departments have new leaders who seem to instill confidence in the rank and file. With contracts signed with the unions for the near future both departments appear well prepared for the next decade. In the last police contract, the Union requested shift changes for the officers that initially concerned the Village staff, but after putting it into practice, all parties seem to be pleased. At this time I can think of nothing within the departments that need to be changed. The biggest public safety concern I had was when, due to a financial consideration, we allowed ambulance 22 to be out of service for extended periods of time. With our new fire union contract and more money coming into the Village, ambulance 22 is now back to full time service. The only other public safety concern is with our older rolling stock. With additional money coming in from the improved economy we are now beginning to replace the older pieces.Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?From 2008 to 2013 the Village of Hoffman Estates had to trim its budget so that costs would not overcome income. Several staff members were laid off. Only within the last year has the Village felt more confident with its financial numbers to allow it to hire some additional personnel. The Village budget has been running very lean and at this point I wouldn't look to trim. One area that has increasingly stressed our budget is the Village's subsidizing of our water. With Chicago increasing the rates we pay for Lake Michigan water we, as a Village, have not increased the rates we charge our residents for that water. At some point, the Village is going to have to raise it's rates more in line with what the water actually costs.What's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?The Village of Hoffman Estates has created a new commission entitled the Transit Improvement TASC Force. I was appointed Chairman and the goals of the committee are to organize, assess, and assist in the implementation of transit services. One such service is the future PACE Park and Ride facility along the Barrington, I-90 interchange. In the near future our residents will be able to avail themselves of using the PACE service to get to O'hare or downtown Chicago without having to use a cab or their own cars. One additional idea we will soon discuss will be the possibility of creating new transit services along parts of Bode and Hassell roads. As always, ideas must be balanced by costs.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Hoffman Estates still has several vacant parcels of land. Filling those empty parcels with either businesses or homes is an important issue to me. The ATT complex off Lakewood Blvd. will soon be empty unless we as a Village can find one or more tenants for the site. The Village is currently working with Inland Properties to remedy the situation.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Mayor William McLeodWhat's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Be honest and kind to others.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I wouldn't have bought our first house in Chicago that caused unwanted stress.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?History. The memorization skills learned came in handy when I went to law school and later practiced law.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Live your lives with love for others.