Charles Wachs: 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: Long GroveWebsite: investinginlg.orgOffice sought: Long Grove Village Board Age: 72Family: Son Chad age 41 Golden, CO Son Chris age 38 Long Beach, CA Daughter Michelle age 20 Long Grove, IL Wife ElaOccupation: Owner and director of Wachs Water Services a national water distribution consulting and field servicEducation: Cornell University. BACivic involvement: Village Trustee Park District board of directors Director Thresholds assistance to the mentally handicapped President condominium association Lake County McHenty Rd review groupElected offices held: Park District Board Village TrusteeQuestions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?Grew up in Long Grove, raised child in Long Grove, Family involved in formation of Village and school district. I am a successful Business man with a long history of effectively managing and accepting responsibility with honesty and transparency. I am very interested in helping bring Long Grove back to a Village centric atmosphere in addition to the subdivision centric place we find ourselves today. Most residents I think along with me would like to see our Village become a place where residents meet and socialize with each other and to get there the downtown must become revitalized and offer more opportunities for socialization to take place like bars, restaurants entertainment venues etc. I want to continue to help provide the leadership that our board should take in accomplishing this. A vibrant downtown will not only improve our home values but will just as importantly provide us all more opportunity to socialize with one another and thus help build community as it existed when I grew up here.What is your opinion of video gambling in Long Grove? As a trustee would you actively seek to repeal gambling, expand it, or leave it alone for now? Explain your thinking.At first I was skeptical about the look and feel of video gambling in downtown Long Grove but at the same time I want to see our businesses thrive especially in the bleak winter months. It appears that it is providing a very nice revenue stream to help the businesses that have it and at the same time I can see no negative impact on the downtown. It draws little attention, it has increased business so I think it is all positive and I would vote to allow it to continue under our present ordinance structure which gives us control over how and where it is utilized.Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?I think our consultant fees could be reduced through more prudent use. I think we are currently understaffed with only four employees. We could use better financial planning, economic development management and code enforcement all which will have a cost associated with them.Is the historic district on the right track? Explain how, in your opinion, Long Grove gets its "downtown" roaring again.I do believe we are on the right track. We are encouraging development which is helping attract investors to pull many of our properties out of default, we are putting infrastructure, especially water in place to help attract restaurants, we are beginning to lose the reputation that this Village is hard to do business with, we have a viable business and property owners organization now, we are getting much closer to seeing the four pads we invested in in Archer lot sold which will get built on and attract new businesses as well as start to fund our TIFF district and we are getting many more inquiries into new developments which is the best indicator that things are beginning to turn around. I predict that within three years our downtown will be very lively and we will see many more of our residents socializing there.What's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?Provide what people want. To do that we need to know what people want and the only way to do that is ask. Not just the few that come to meeting or show up when there is an issue like roads but ask everyone like we did in the 1997 Gallup poll so we get a the opinion of almost everyone. This is what we need to update our comprehensive plan, to resolve issues like preferential treatment of roads, saving our bridge or replacing it, utilizing our open space adding more open space, providing more or less or different services. We should be guided by a thorough understanding of the collective response of our residents.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Improve our long range planning so that we can identify both the capital outlays that will be needed to properly maintain and add to our infrastructure as well as the additional revenue sources that will fund these outlays. This will include but not be limited to roads, drinking water, waste water, signage, streetscape and open space.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Ted CruzWhat's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Do what you know is right not what someone else thinks you should do.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Work out my disagreements with my brother in business in much more amenable manor.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Philosophy it taught me how to reason, think through a problem, approach things logicallyIf you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?understand who you are and be yourself.