John Dyslin: 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: Mt. ProspectWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Mount Prospect Village Board Age: 52Family: Candidate did not respond.Occupation: Analyst, Cook County Board of ReviewEducation: Master's in Journalism, Bachelor of Science in JournalismCivic involvement: St. John Lutheran Church, Mt. Prospect JayceesElected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Questions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?I have a strong combination of community work, government employment and private sector employment. I understand the complexities of government as well as the pressures increasingly felt by homeowners with their property taxes.The settlement between Mount Prospect and Ye Olde Town Inn remains a hot-button topic. What is your opinion of the settlement, the years of disputes and what lessons, if any, have been learned.For approximately six years, village officials (elected and otherwise) kept telling Mt. Prospect residents that the lawsuit was baseless; that the village either would win it or it would be tossed out. The day before trial was to begin the village settled for $6.5 million. You do not settle a case you've been fighting legally for six years and believe you will win, and certainly not for $6.5 million. And with the settlement, the village apparently wants a gag order on the agreement. Between the $1.5 million in legal fees and the village portion of the settlement not covered by insurance, this lawsuit cost Mt. Prospect taxpayers about $2 million. Sorry, but that is a lot of money in which village officials can give nothing but a "no comment." There needs to be full disclosure of what happened with YOTI and the eventual settlement. That is a right that every taxpayer in Mt. Prospect should have.Talk about the current performance of downtown Mount Prospect and Randhurst Village, and which retail district you consider the priority (and why). How can each one be improved, and how can the village help them along?Downtown Mt. Prospect is an unmitigated disaster. Some of it is the fault of the village, some of it is just bad luck with a fire and building collapse. There are many vacant storefronts and no big draw to bring people into the city center. The plan begun in the 1990s was a failure, which included the unimaginative condo buildings west of Rt. 83. Randhurst Village, while not a disaster, is not as successful as it could have been. There are still many vacant storefronts and already at least 3 restaurants have failed there. The shops in the center are struggling. There is limited parking close by for them. The drive and parking are a disaster, with countless folks stating how they hate the drive around the mall and because of it they stay away from it. The village needs a better plan for its business development. For years now, the village has sat on a development plan for the triangle from Tod Curtis, apparently letting the lawsuit get in the way of doing something positive with that area. Seemingly, Mr. Curtis has given up and will now enjoy retirement with the money he won from the village. Downtown Mt. Prospect needs some draws to bring people to it, just like Arlington Hts., Palatine, Park Ridge and Crystal Lake have in their downtown areas. More and better restaurants and bars; more mixed use development. As it stands now, downtown Mt. Prospect is languishing.Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?For starters, apparently $135,000 was budgeted to fill a position that has been held by interns in recent years. I would continue to do that. The village does not need a village manager and an assistant village manager. The savings there would exceed $200,000 a year in salary and benefits. While nice, I would even consider discontinuing the Celestial Dinner, especially now that it is not held at a banquet facility in town. While not as glamorous, it is something that could be held at Lions Memorial Park. Mt. Prospect also is blessed to have two strong township governments that have strong senior programs and assistance; they both also have strong food assistance programs. Using these two township government programs more can help ease whatever pressures there might be on the village. Because of legislation passed by the Illinois legislature, the village may be forced tom hire additional firefighting and police staff. If so, cuts will need to be made elsewhere to offset the added costs in those departments.What's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?Many villages are looking at budget problems and it might be time for local communities to see where they might be able to share services in an effort to cut costs. Whether it's assisting the elderly, the poor, or even police and fire services, towns may need to see where they can work together and help each other out in order to keep costs under control. For bigger emergency events, many communities already help each other out for fires and other problems that may arise, perhaps it is time to broaden that cooperation even more.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Budgeting and taxing are the major issues. The growth in property taxes across the board in Illinois is not sustainable. Already people are selling their homes and moving away because of the high property taxes. With that, Mt. Prospect must stop buying cars for at least a dozen village officials. These folks make in excess of $100,000 a year and can afford to purchase their own cars. The same goes for village employees filling up their tanks at the public works station. Mayor Juracek had responded that it's not as if they are going to Canada on vacation. Sorry, but everyone else pays their way to and from work and to do errands. I think Mt. Prospect employees also can buy their own gas. There also needs to be greater accountability and transparency in Mt. Prospect. I believe Mt. Prospect needs to join other governmental bodies and have an Open Book policy in which every dollar that comes in and goes out is put on the website for all to see. Nearly 300 governmental bodies in Illinois do this -- and growing. Mt. Prospect can join the crowd.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Purdue University President Mitch Daniels. He is bringing true reform and practicality to the university just as he brought it to the state.What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?The importance of personal responsibility.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Going back to school to become a teacher.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?History. Understanding history provides a keen understanding of how to handle present day life.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Shoot for your dreams, but always keep something more grounded as a backup plan.