John Zalak: Candidate profile

Bio

Name: John A. Zalak

City: Carol Stream

Office sought: Carol Stream Village Trustee

Age: 50

Family: 12 and 10 year old sons

Occupation: Retired Carol Stream Police Officer

Education: College graduate

Civic involvement: 4th degree member of the Knights of Columbus at Corpus Christi Church

Previous elected offices held: Trustee with the Carol Stream Police Pension Board

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?

Overall, Carol Stream is a great place to live. According to CNN's Money Magazine, Carol Stream was ranked 49th out of the best 100 places to live in the USA. I understand there are businesses that are leaving Carol Stream for various reasons so I feel it is important to attract new businesses. I believe advertising to market Carol Stream would be a start in a positive direction. Another very important issue is balancing the budget without levying a property tax on the residents. I'm impressed with the past and current trustees and mayors on how they made this possible. I have been attending the budget workshop meetings with the village board members to experience and learn to continue this practice. Since I have been in the police business for over 25 years in Carol Stream and have responded to emergency calls involving the opioid epidemic, I feel it would be advantageous with my background to get involved with committees regarding this issue.

What makes you the best candidate for the job?

Working in the Village of Carol Stream for the past 25 years as a police officer, I have become close with community leaders, business owners and their employees, and the residents. I have taken pride in this community because it was my community. While on business checks in the morning, I was approachable and spoke to residents about their concerns or just to say hello and learn their name. When the residents expressed their concerns, I strived to provide them with a solution or steer them in the right direction. There was no residency requirement as a police officer but I decided to live in Carol Stream since 2004 and raise a family. I feel that the skills that I have learned as a police officer can help me continue making Carol Stream a wonderful place to live, work, and play.

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 feel my leadership style is democratic as I believe a group of minds working together to find the best solution is the most productive. Different people think differently due to multiple reasons including their respective backgrounds but if everyone is willing to contribute and work to reach a goal, I believe this style is most effective. I feel I have great communication skills and will work with the village board and listen to residents so that the best outcome can be achieved.

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?

I have attended budget workshops and learned that a couple businesses are moving to other towns mostly because they wanted larger properties or buildings. I also am aware that some businesses are located in town but pay taxes to other municipalities. I truly believe that Carol Stream has been fiscally responsible and the Carol Stream mayor and board of trustees have done a wonderful job not levying a property tax on their residents. This practice should and needs to continue! I understand the village did not have to borrow money and pay interest to pay for the village hall and police department building renovations which shows fiscal responsibility. I believe all departments are looking to limit spending while still providing excellent service to the community which is the overall goal.

What's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?

Now this question is a tough one for me because this is asking me to reinvent the wheel. Because I have been involved and worked within the village as a police officer for over 25 years, I have personally witnessed how well this village is operated. The village is involved with Meals on Wheels, Christmas Sharing, and the Outreach Community Center as well as the DARE Program. I have spent days on this question and the only response that keeps entering my mind is that I would love to continue being involved in these great programs but to make them better whether that means to contribute more money or to volunteer my time.