John Reinert: 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: Crystal LakeWebsite: John Reinert for McHenry county board/ facebookTwitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: McHenry County Board District 2 Age: 56Family: My wife Cassy and I raised our two Daughters Jennifer and Allie Reinert here in Crystal Lake.Occupation: Home Builder/ Real Estate BrokerEducation: I studied Real Estate at Harper CollegeCivic involvement: Board of Realtors government affairs committeeMcHenry County Fair in the late 1990sLocal volunteer salvation armyElected offices held: McHenry County Fair BoardQuestions Answers There were significant voting problems in the March primary. Are you confident sufficient steps have been taken to avoid a repeat in November? What role, if any, should the county board have in such matters?I'm confident the Clerks office has the bugs worked out. The Board must step in to assist if this problem persists.Why are you running for this office, whether for re-election or election for the first time? Is there a particular issue that motivates you? If so, what?I am concerned for our families young and old as I have witnessed home values decline and taxes soar. I've worked with people who have seen their home values plummet and property bills go up, fighting to come up with solutions. it's my civic duty help McHenry county recover from this terrible trend. I am the business candidate, I own a successful home building business. I understand budgets for large projects. I'llfocus on assisting economic development recovery in McHenry county.If elected, I assure every voter no tax levy is safe and above all, I won't waste your money!Describe your position regarding the balance between county spending and revenues as it exists today, then describe the chief threats you see looming in the future and how the county should deal with them.McHenry county operates on a budget of $240,000,000 (Two Hundred and Fourty Million Dollars) Residents are substantially supporting the county through sales and property taxes, while home values are falling behind our neighboring collar counties. We need to improve our business and manufacturing tax base to ease the pressure of the over-taxed home owners. Currently McHenry county has no direct access to the interstate highway system. We need to prioritize our transportation projects.How do you rate the county government on transparency and the public's access to records? If you consider it adequate, please explain why. If you think improvements are needed, please describe them and why they are important.The county budget and strategic plan is available on line. The spending is pubic and the meetings are all available through streaming online.The administration office is very helpful to anyone interested in learning of the inner workings of the government. I always encourage everyone to to get involved. Effective change will only happen with more public input.Please list any elected office you've ever run for and what the result of that election was. Have you ever been appointed to fill an unexpired term?I have publicly ran in the primary for this election and won.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Taxes are my biggest concern, McHenry county pays the highest Real Estate taxes in the land. This has to change. I want to bring attention to the smaller branches of government in McHenry county. Too often the only attendees at the school board meetings are the school boards.The fire district meetings, the township meetings are poorly attended, the library spending goes unchecked. Currently the deck is stacked against the local taxpayer, by the time the levy is published its a forgone conclusion they've already approved their budgets and contracts for capital spending. simply put, public attendance must improve.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Warren Buffet, he has a keen outlook.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Family is everything. Mom and Dad will always be there for you, they were.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I have few regrets. I'm very happy where I am.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?History, I enjoy following people that have changed the world. I find history inspirational.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?They're great people. I think what my wife and I instilled in them is confidence, and to leave this place better than you found it.