Mark A. Symonds: 2024 candidate for Lake County coroner

Bio

Party: Republican

Office Sought: Lake County Coroner

City: Highland Park

Age: 58

Occupation: Funeral director

Previous offices held:

Why are you running for this office, whether for re-election or election for the first time? Is there a particular issue that motivates you? If so, what?

I did not look for a political position. A political position came and found me.

If you are an incumbent, describe your main contributions. Tell us of any important initiatives you've led. If you are a challenger, what would you bring to the board and what would your priority be?

33 years of funeral director experience; lifetime of funeral industry experience. My priority will be thorough and accurate death investigations, sympathy and compassion to the families, and community education to prevent avoidable deaths.

What special experience and professional qualifications does a person need to be an effective coroner? What experiences and qualifications do you possess that will provide a foundation for your success in the office?

Experience of dealing with death and dying and to help the families experiencing an unexpected loss. Communication, education, compassion and professionally handling death certificates and etc. is critical and yes, I have the experience and qualifications to do those things.

Describe your position regarding the allocation of resources in the coroner's office. Are personnel allocated as they should be? Are there capital expenses or other budgetary items that the office must address, and, if so, how do you propose to address them?

Allocation is done by the county board so this will require a positive working relationship with the board. I will make a list of priorities of resources (funds, personnel, cadaver dogs, cutting edge equipment, etc.) and professionally present to the board the needs of office.

Describe your position on transparency and public service in the coroner's office and the ease of access to records by the public. If you believe improvements are needed, what are they and how would you go about achieving them?

Records are not easily accessed by the public until the annual report is released. I am committed to transparency and take the role of public service seriously. There are many things that cannot be given out to the public, it has to go through the next of kin first, and if it were a crime, the police have to close out the case before records can be obtained.

Please describe your philosophy about working with the media to get information to the public.

Working with the media is critically important to me. The media will help us get community education out to Lake County and this will help us prevent avoidable deaths.