Jeanine C. Chyna: Candidate profile
Bio
Name: Jeanine C. Chyna
City: Libertyville
Office sought: Village of Libertyville Trustee
Age:
Family: Married to Mark, daughter is a sophomore in college, son is a senior at LHS
Occupation: Former corporate marketing and sales professional, now employed by Condell Hospital and a community volunteer
Education: BA from NIU
Civic involvement: Condell Auxiliary, St. Joe's Mothers of Young Children, election judge, voter registrar, MainStreet Libertyville, District 70 volunteer
Previous elected offices held: N/A
Incumbent? If yes, when were you first elected? N/A
Website: N/A
Facebook: N/A
Twitter: N/A
Issue questions
What are the most important issues facing your community and how do you intend to address them?
Stormwater management is a critical issue facing our community, and we need to find a fair way to remedy this for homeowners both inside and outside the flood zones. I want to make sure young families can afford to move here and young seniors will want to stay here. We should be aware of new laws and ordinances coming out of Springfield and Lake County government to make sure the best interests of residents are being well represented. I'll work to maintain a strong community, safe neighborhoods and a vibrant business district.
What makes you the best candidate for the job?
My background and experience will bring a fresh perspective that will make a difference to our Village. I'm an independent thinker who will be a strong advocate for what matters to our community.
Describe your leadership style and explain how you think that will be effective in producing actions and decisions with your village board or city council.
I enjoy working with people and listening to the various viewpoints in our community. People have said I'm approachable and I believe that is an important quality for a board member.
How would you describe the condition of your community's budget, and what are the most important specific actions the town should take to assure providing the level of services people want?
Fiscal responsibility is important to me and we have work to do with the shortfall in the current budget. Residents have told me they do not want their electric and gas bills taxed to raise new revenue. The board should only approve necessary projects that have high usage and benefit the entire community. For open positions, look at hiring from within and attach an early termination clause to the employment contract to prevent paying excessive severance packages. The lawsuit against the Village regarding the Archdiocese owned property on Butterfield Road is an ongoing drain of resources. The money could have been better spent providing services to residents If the project was handled correctly in its initial stage.
What's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?
Civic engagement is important to me and I believe people interact with government in many different ways. To help with transparency, some board meetings could be broadcast live with real time questions during open discussions of issues. This may encourage resident input. Some people are comfortable attending and speaking at meetings but more are comfortable getting their information from online sources. The board could be proactive and encourage email and text questions that could be answered at the board meetings.