Joe Tirio: 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: WodstockWebsite: iWontHireMyWife.comTwitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: McHenry County Recorder of Deeds Age: 50Family: Wife: Karen TirioOccupation: Owner, Monarch Senior Care, Woodstock, IllinoisEducation: Candidate did not respond.Civic involvement: - Co-Founder of Voters In Action (VotersInAction.com)- Member McHenry County Senior Services Grant Commission- Steering Committee Member: Illinois Tax RevolutionElected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Questions Answers How well has the Recorder of Deeds performed, and what qualifications would you bring to the office?I think, Ms. Walters, the current Recorder, has done a fine job. She is well respected among those that use the department's services and among her peers. Digitizing over 200 years of records was quite an accomplishment and one that continues to pay dividends today.Qualifications: I have a long history of innovation, process improvement and leadership through change. The opportunity to consolidate the Recorder's office into the Clerk's office has either been overlooked or ignored. Doing so has cost the taxpayers hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of dollars. I will pursue merging the two offices in my first term.If you expect to ask for an increase in appropriations during the next four years, what areas would you want to put more money into?My intent is to reduce cost, so I would not expect to spend more than is already being spent. Having said that, it would be prudent to spend if there were concerns over quality or security, or if the expense could be justified by a long-term reduction in cost.List any of your relatives (including those related to you by marriage, and nieces/nephews) who are on the public payroll in Illinois, their jobs and who they work for.My Wife, Karen Tirio is a Trustee for McHenry County College. The role is unpaid, but I thought it best to declare it, in the spirit of full disclosure.Describe your position on transparency in the 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?Most constituent's concerns regarding transparency are more focused on the operation of the department. I've not had or heard any concerns regarding the department's operational transparency.To see beyond my perception and to better understand our service from our consumer's perspectives, one of my earliest tasks as Recorder would be to assemble representative focus groups so that I could better understand the specific challenges they've experienced when interacting with the department. This would help me identify and prioritize opportunities to drive change that was meaningful to those we serve.Please list any elected office you've ever run for and what the result of that election was. Have you ever been appointed to fill an unexpired term?Prior to the Recorder's campaign, I've never run for office. I have been appointed to, and currently sit on the McHenry County Senior Services Grant Commission.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Every office in our community, needs to take a very close look at expenses and do what they can to reduce them. My intention is to run for this office and pursue the elimination of the Recorder's position before the end of my first term, putting the functions and staff under the control of the Clerk. A vast majority of the counties in Illinois already have the Recorder and Clerk functions consolidated. Cook County is even considering consolidation, for the same reasons. If it can be done, without any negative impact to quality of service, it should be done.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Ron Paul. While some of his views might have been called extreme, There was little question as to where he stood on issues.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Have a plan, but don't be surprised when the plan changes.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I would spend more time with my Grandparents. They were such good people with so much to teach. They were so capable and courageous.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Science. Newton's third law (For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction) can be applied to more than physics.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Life is short. Don't give up. Every day is a gift, and another chance to get it right.