Raúl Lemus: Candidate Profile

Back to Pingree Grove Village Board

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: Pingree GroveWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Twitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Pingree Grove Village Board Age: Candidate did not respond.Family: Candidate did not respond.Occupation: Academic Administration ManagerEducation: Bachelor of Arts in EducationMaster of Science in Higher EducationCivic involvement: Have volunteered at my children's school, the Northern Illinois Food bank, and other places.Elected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Questions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?Besides being honest, of good judgment, and being committed to helping the community (such as I have been doing by volunteering at my children's school,at a northern Illinois food pantry, and other places), I also have over seven years of management experience, with successful practice and training in the areas of managing and leading a team, project management, budgeting, and other areas. I have earned a bachelors degree in education and a master's of science degree in higher education.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.In my opinion, the sales tax is not a factor in Pingree Grove, which is a good thing, because this encourages (rather than discourages) consumer spending in the village, which is great for the local businesses. In my opinion, the property tax in Pingree Grove is just about right, but there is always room for improvement. It is relatively close in comparison to other villages in the local area. The property tax rate may seem high because of the special service area fee that is also paid.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?Pingree Grove's police and fire coverage is great. It appears that the two departments are well prepared, considering the relatively new police and fire stations. The police department won first place in the Illinois traffic safety challenge in 2014/2015, in part due to their traffic safety efforts with the public. A concern I have anecdotally heard about is how in isolated cases the police can improve on their interaction with the public. However, last year a friend of mine participated in the police department's citizen academy and she has a ton of respect for the department.Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?In regard to the fiscal year 2016-2017 annual budget, yes, I would like to better understand a couple of items in the budget. Why the public works budget for right of way repair maintenance has averaged about $22,700 each of the last three years, but $0 in the current budget. Also, why the expected revenue for building permits has averaged about $249,000 for each of the last three years, but for the current budget the expected revenue from building permits is $448,500.What is one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?A good idea that I have to better the community, which I have not heard anybody talk about yet is to improve the transparency/communication regarding village business. For example, I believe more of an explanation effort about the water bill increase and the thought process behind it would have helped to at least give residents more of an understanding of why it was implemented and about the way it was implemented. More transparency/communication is needed, such as by using more routinely the village and police department's Facebook pages.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Another issue that is important to me as candidate for village trustee of Pingree Grove has to do with how we grow as a village. In my opinion, there is the challenge of keeping the small town/natural feeling while creating more convenience for retail.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.One of the neighbors, a leader by example, has been battling cancer throughout the years, but he still manages to keep a positive attitude. Inspiring!What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Sometimes you have to create your own opportunities. Not everything worthwhile will seek you. You have to seek it.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I would visit my maternal grandmother. May she rest in peace. I didn't see her as much as I would have liked to.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Psychology. It helped me to be able to understand more about human behavior and why people demonstrate certain behaviors.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Keep trying! Even failures are valuable in helping us grow and develop.