Iqbal, Serafin running for Kane County Board seat in District 19

The race for a seat on the Kane County Board in District 19 in the Nov. 3 election is between incumbent Democrat Mohammad Iqbal and Republican challenger Steve Serafin.

Iqbal, 81, of Elgin, has served eight years on the board and said, in talking to voters, that concerns in the county include Randall Road and government spending.

“Randall Road is getting too crowded, and it needs expansion, and we need funds,” Iqbal said. “It’s a strategic road for us and runs north to south in the county and in this section — we have an intersection with the tollway at I-90, and there is a bottleneck. I started a process to get a redesign for eight years, and we have only moved one step forward. Some studies have been done, but we need more funds to do it.”

Regarding county spending, Iqbal said “people are saying that officials still need to cut waste,” adding that “the county share of the tax bill is only 4% of the total.”

If reelected, Iqbal said he wants to work on preserving natural areas, making citizen safety a priority and reining in government spending.

“I would preserve the natural areas and open spaces,” he said.

Regarding safety, Iqbal calls it “the number one priority. You need to keep the citizens safe.”

“We need to do that by funding the Sheriff’s Department properly and reasonably,” he said.

Proper spending in government includes not spending more than the amount of revenue generated, he said.

Serafin, 60, also of Elgin, said the top issues among voters include government accountability and taxes.

“They keep raising taxes to make sure we have a balanced budget in Kane County. That’s not what you do to have a balanced budget,” he said.

The issue of county accountability, Serafin says, comes from “talking to voters and the thing they want the most is a check and balance with everybody.”

If elected, Serafin said he wants to work on safety, holding elected officials accountable and lowering taxes.

“Safety is the first thing, and we need to make sure our sheriff’s department is held accountable,” he said.

Regarding officials’ accountability, Serafin said it is about “everybody who is raising our taxes and the need to give a reason why.”

“Not because they are Republican or Democrat — why do they keep overspending and raising our taxes to fill a budget gap?” he said.

Lowering property taxes is yet another goal, Serafin said, adding that “I want to make sure we have the best services for the county, but, more importantly, (taxes) are way too high,” he said.

David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.