Thomas Hood: 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: GurneeWebsite: hoodfortrustee.comTwitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Gurnee Village Board Age: 56Family: My wife of 35 years, Pam and my two sons, Zak and Dan.Occupation: AttorneyEducation: Bachelor in Science in Management from University of Illinois at Chicago and Juris Doctor from The John Marshall Law School in ChicagoCivic involvement: Member of Gurnee Exchange ClubMember of Gurnee Community ChurchElected offices held: Gurnee Village TrusteeQuestions Answers Urban Land Institute makes several long- and short-term suggestions on how to improve the East Grand Avenue business corridor in a report issued in 2016. What ideas do you see as realistic and can be done as soon as possible to help boost the area?I agree with the observation that we should "embrace" the East Grand Avenue business corridor as it stands. That does not mean that we ignore it but rather we encourage what is already there. It is no accident that a third resale shop is locating in the East Grand Avenue area. The Village is not called to lead the way in private market development. Rather we are called to see where the market is going and to provide an environment in which that market can flourish. That is what I see as embracing the East Grand Avenue business corridor.Gurnee is one of the few Illinois municipalities without a property tax. Do you have any concerns this will need to change at some point or is this a commitment the village must continue? Please explain.The issue of whether the property tax in Gurnee needs to be reinstated arises at every election over the last decade. However, the focus on the reinstatement of the real estate tax is looking at an outcome rather than the true issue of how the Village addresses revenue streams and expenditures. Our commitment needs to continue to be to maximize the current revenue streams and to minimize Village expenditures while not sacrificing Village services. After being part of a team that hired Ellen Dean, the Economic Development director, the Village has increased its focus on the success of business in town. The Village has become more aggressive in being vigilant at retaining our existing businesses and encouraging businesses that are needed to locate here. As the businesses become more successful the byproduct is an increase in sales tax revenue for the Village. I have initiated a program along with the Economic Development Commission to recognize successful businesses in town. Forging relationships with businesses pays dividends for the businesses and the Village.The reduction of expenditures in the Village plays just as important of a role. I am part of a committee that examines all of the functions in the Village and determines where additional savings can be obtained.The bottom line is that when the Village is maximizing its revenue streams and minimizing its expenses the Village real estate tax is unnecessary. My focus is to minimize the financial burden on the citizen while providing first class Village services.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?After spending time with police officers, police administration, firemen and fire administration I can confidently state that we have excellent staff that make up a police and fire department without equal in Lake County. We still need to continue to plan and improve for the future in times that are marked by change. It is part of my job to see to it that our residents are provided an environment in which to enjoy an excellent quality of life in part through the safety offered by the police and fire department. It is also important to provide a safe environment for the more than 20 million visitors that the Village hosts every year. This is critical to our fiscal sustainability.It is not as much a matter of what needs to be changed but rather to keep up with what is being changed. The fire department has been aggressively updating equipment to properly serve the citizens of Gurnee. The latest addition is a new ladder truck. Additionally, the police department is adding body cams and tasers in updating their equipment. We need to continue to support and encourage a police and fire department that continues the lead the way in providing a safe environment for our citizen.Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?The Village budget can always be trimmed but the question is at what cost to the services provided by the Village. The Village staff and the Board does an excellent job of balancing the spending of the funds entrusted to it by the citizens of the Village in providing necessary servicesEvery year and throughout the year the different processes of the Village are examined to see if the most efficient use of time and money are being employed. Everything is on the table. I belong to a committee at the Village that engages every area of the Village searching for cost savings. For instance, one of the areas that is currently being examined is the janitorial services used through the Village. Where can better processes be used or consolidated. Methods discussed, decisions made and money and time saved.No doubt every year parts of the budget need more financial support. As the Village works at maintaining the roads, replacing old underground water and sewer systems are a must but a costly endeavor. Every year funds are dedicated to those projects but it seems to be enough. Yet, just in the past budget year the largest road repair/replacement projects were completed in the Village.What is one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?Currently, I am working with Village staff to make business development in our Village more attractive along with increasing the connectivity the Village has with each of our businesses in town.Sometimes the Village systems do not move fast enough in the world in which we live. The Village government tries hard to make sure that development is safe and done according to Village codes. Yet, sometimes the processes do not move as quickly or as efficiently as the business community would like. We are reaching out to the business community for their input so that we can make our processes more business friendly. We then are looking to then incorporate this input into the daily operation of the Village where appropriate.The second and related idea is to establish a user friendly database that allows the Village to better track the needs of our businesses in town. This allows the Village to be more proactive instead of reactive.These are big projects that will take several years to accomplish. But I believe the end result will pay great dividends.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?The questions posed have drawn out some of my main interests in the Village that I believe are important. I have found that in the past four years the Mayor,the Board and Staff have done an excellent job in serving the Village. This is difficult to see as a citizen sometimes but when given the opportunity to work with staff and other members of the Village government on a regular basis the quality and dedication of each individual becomes obvious. The Village has a group of talented dedicated people working on behalf of the citizens making Gurnee a better place to live. I would like to continue work with these excellent group of individuals, in the capacity of Trustee if the voters of the Village afford me that opportunity to serve a second term.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Congressman Randy HultgrenWhat is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?That family is important.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I would enjoy the moment instead of being results oriented.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Trial Advocacy was my favorite subject in law school. This prepared me to perform the trial work that I do in court today.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God