Joe Tirio: 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: WoodstockWebsite: iWontHireMywife.comTwitter: iWontHireMyWifeFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/iWontHireMyWife/Office sought: McHenry County Clerk Age: 52Family: Wife (Karen) and two rescue dogs (Sally Lilly).Occupation: McHenry County RecorderEducation: Candidate did not respond.Civic involvement: Co-founder of Voters in Action (Votersinaction.com), co-founder of the Illinois Tax Revolution (ILTaxRevolution.com)Elected offices held: McHenry County RecorderQuestions Answers What are your thoughts on consolidating the county clerk's and recorder's offices? How would this benefit/hurt the county?Minimally, the county will save the salary, benefits and pension for one elected official, forever. Bast case, we'd be able to potentially cross-train the different department's employees and take advantage of seasonal variations in workload. This would also provide our employees an opportunity for a more varied work environment, which I think they would appreciate.If voters approve the referendum to merge the two offices, what steps would you take to ensure that plan is implemented by December 2020? How do you see the consolidation happening logistically?As Recorder, my plan has always been to transform the Recorder's office into an operationally excellent department, designed to report to a department head and the people at large. My intent was to have that done by the end of 2018 and we are well on our way to meet that goal. In the past year we have made dramatic progress including implementing a knowledge management system, new management structure, improved management processes and systems that give us better insight to our work than ever before. The goal to get to this point by end of 2018 was to create an environment ready for the merger of the two offices (assuming the ballot question passes). This would allow the Recorder and new Clerk (and their staff) to focus more time on discovering and developing integration opportunities between the two offices in the 2019-2020 period. At the end of 2020, the position of Recorder will cease to exist and the Clerk should be in a good position to be (minimally) head of two separate departments on the path to greater integration.What are your ideas for improving the voting process?I think we really need to look at why public involvement in government and voter turnout is so low... not just McHenry County specifically, but in general. We need to drive more interest in government. I think that there is huge opportunity with the youth in the community. I applaud Sheriff Prim and other members of law enforcement for their involvement in the Explorer program. I would like to see if there was a way to expand/piggyback on that program to get youth more involved in governmental processes. Beyond youth, I think if we can create more interest in government by making it easier to interact with government and drawing clearer lines between the actions of government and impact on our lives, we will begin to see more public participation in government overall and the voting process in particular.How do you rate the county government on transparency and the public's access to records? Please explain.Overall, I think it is pretty good, but some opportunities still exist. First, let me say that, philosophically, I believe that the public's records should be available to the public with minimal restrictions and at very little to no cost. You will see some changes in the Recorder's office in this regard over the course of the next year and, if practical (and if elected), I'd like to implement some of the same changes in the Clerk's office as well. For example, in both the Recorder and Clerk's office, the public is not allowed to take photos of documents for their use. The reason for this is that there is a revenue stream associated with the provisioning of service to view these documents off site and to print copies. If we front-loaded the costs to provide the service, then we could invite the public to view and take photos as they wished. "Certified" copies would still carry a charge as would costs for other printed materials. This is one way that anyone could avail themselves of our services regardless of their ability to pay.Do you believe same-sex couples should be able to marry? Regardless of that personal belief, will you support the legal right of same-sex couples to marry if elected?My belief around same-sex marriage is really secondary to the core question of whether or not I would comply with the law if/when a law is implemented that I might object to personally. I cannot think of a law that would cause such personal conflict that I would consider not fulfilling my duties. But, if such a law were passed that required my participation and I found it so morally objectionable that I could not abide by it, I think I would have to leave the office rather than impose my authority to impede the execution of the law.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?There has been a cry for greater transparency and accountability in all of our governmental operations. I can think of no place where such things are so critical than in this office with the responsibilities of executing elections and maintaining records. It will be a high priority of mine, when elected, to look at new ways to improve transparency, accountability and security in our office.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Candidate did not respond.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Candidate did not respond.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Candidate did not respond.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Candidate did not respond.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Don't do anything you wouldn't tell your Grandma about.