Todd Wallace: 2022 candidate for Kane County Board District 13
Bio
Party: Republican
Office sought: Kane County Board District 13
City: St. Charles
Age: 47
Occupation: attorney
Previous offices held: Township Trustee, Plan Commission Chair
Q&A
Q: Do you support an increase in the countywide retail sales tax to help pay for expenses related to the SAFE T legislation? Yes/No? If yes, which SAFE T-related expenses, specifically, should be covered with the additional tax? If no, how do you suggest paying for the increased expenses related to the SAFE T legislation?
A: No. The SAFE-T Act that was passed in Springfield by extremist progressives is, in effect, legislation meant to defund police. The law implements requirements that counties must pay for with no source of funding coming from the state. The result is that county boards have three choices: cut services, raise taxes or fight implementation. Since implementation dates are already being pushed back and legal challenges will certainly be coming, I don't see the sense in bloating our county government in preparation for something that (if cooler heads prevail) will never come to fruition.
Q: What should be done to retain county staff? If you propose increases in salaries or benefits, how should those added costs be covered?
A: I support identification of county staff who provide the greatest value to their departments and elevating those individuals through promotion and salary increases. Departmental focus on efficiency will, over time, decrease the number of staff and result in an organization that can more competitively recruit staff who can perform effectively and efficiently, without increasing cost.
Q: Do you believe the county auditor should be an elected or appointed position? Why? Are there any other countywide offices that are currently elected positions that you believe should be appointed instead? If so, please explain.
A: Any person whose job is to be answerable to the people should be elected by the people. The auditor is in the unique position of reviewing every aspect of county government, and to make it an appointed post would mean that there could be incentive to be unequal in treatment to whoever handles that appointment.
Q: The county has seen an increase in truck traffic. How do you propose to address the infrastructure needs that come with this increase in traffic? Do you support a moratorium on warehouse developments in unincorporated areas of the county? Yes/No? Please explain.
A: Preserving and improving the infrastructure (i.e., roads and bridges) of our county needs to take top priority. I support placing focus on specific routes for truck traffic and making improvements to those routes to encourage redirection of trucks along those specific routes. That would result in decreased need to repair other routes and an overall decrease in costs of maintenance. I do not support a moratorium on any industrial or commercial development - we have an outstanding planning department and they should not be saddled with any type of overreaching ban on development. Our county is very diverse in terms of land types and uses and we should allow the experts to do their job to determine the best way for different types of development to proceed.
Q: What direction do you think the county should move as it relates to its aging buildings? Build new or rehab existing buildings? Why and how would you propose the county pay for any new buildings or improvements?
A: As much as the county can, they should utilize the assets that they have to the greatest extent possible. That being said, in today's construction environment, retrofitting existing buildings can often cost more than building from the ground up. I support making facilities modern and effective, but if we are going to build new buildings, there needs to be a plan to profitably dispose of the old ones.
Q: How do you think the county should spend the remaining COVID19 relief funds?
A: In the words of President Ronald Reagan, the nine most terrifying words in the English language are "I'm from the government and I'm here to help." COVID funds are intended to ease the burden on taxpayers and that's how they should be used. Too many people see governmental funds as a windfall and try to create new things to spend them on. With limited exceptions (see below), easing the burden does not mean providing more services - it means giving us our money back so we can spend it as we see fit.
Q: The COVID pandemic also put a spotlight on the need for mental health services. What role should the county play in this?
A: Mental health is an exception to the previous answer. The State of Illinois has so horribly failed those among us who have mental health issues and to the extent that the county can step in and address needs, we should be looking for ways to do so. But this does not mean creating new bureaucracy - in Kane County we have so many excellent non-profit organizations which, if given a little assistance or support, could help those in need so much more effectively than any government ever can.