Virginia Peschke: Candidate Profile

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:BioKey IssuesQA Bio City: Bull ValleyWebsite: http://NoneOffice sought: McHenry County board District 5Age: 74Family: Widow, 6 children, 16 grandchildrenOccupation: Executive Director of Consumer Credit Counseling Service of McHenry County, Inc.Education: B.A. Physics, Manhattanville College Woodrow Wilson Fellow, Nuclear Physics, U of ChicagoCivic involvement: Board Member: The Land Conservancy of McHenry County, Arts Alliance Illinois and St Mary of Woodstock School Foundation, Treasurer of Woodstock Food PantryElected offices held: ZBA member of Bull Valley, Trustee of Village of Bull Valley, County Board Member first elected 1990.Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 The most important County issue is the protection of the quantity and quality of our groundwater by utilizing preservation techniques and creating protective ordinances, such as the Ice and Snow Removal policy.The County seeks cooperation from the other units of government and the public to be successful in this endeavor.Key Issue 2 An equally important issue is to equalize assessments throughout the County, so that everyone pays a fair share of the burden of supporting their governmental units and to change the way schools are funded by the State of Illinois so that families are able to maintain their homeownership.Key Issue 3 Thirdly, the County needs to successfully rehabilitate Fleming Road and others using the Context Sensitive Solutions protocol. Including public input is essential while maintaining the safety, efficiency and beauty of our roadways.Questions Answers McHenry County has managed the recession without a budgetary crisis like those in other counties. How do you ensure the county continues on that path and that reserves aren't depleted? Are there specific budget areas that need more attention?The finances of the County have been handled through a process which includes 5 months reserves.By keeping departmental budgets restrained, the County has managed to preserve those savings and achieve a good bond rating, leading to favorable interest rates for capital bonding.We need to ensure that our employees make a living wage and one that keeps in line with inflation.Does the McHenry County Board have a good transportation improvement plan? Please be specific and suggest whether you think anything is missing or should be scrapped.The recent Transportation Plan is well thought-out and includes extensive input from the Board and the public.Given the time and expense required to address transportation, the list of improvements is already constrained by the budget.The McRide program has been successful in allowing persons with disabilities and those unable to drive to access medical help and social needs.Does the county need to address its ethics policies' Why or why not? If so, how?This is an old issue.We already have given a lot of consideration to avoiding conflicts of interest and are constantly receiving advice from the State's Attorney on Open Meeetings and other issues adressing tranparency.I would support passing an ethics code which would serve as a guideline for appropriate behavior.Assess McHenry County's efforts thus far in terms of groundwater preservation and protection. What needs to be done now and in the future?This is a key issue and one on which the County has invested a great deal of time and money.As a leader in protecting the quality and quantity of water in the County, we seek to establish cooperation with municipalities and instruct the public how to save and protect their water. Since we are not able to access Lake Michigan water, we have only groundwater on which to depend.Assess how the county health department approached the whooping cough outbreak. What should have been done differently?The County Health Department keeps abreast of all issues, including outbreaks of communicable diseases. By providing education and preventive measures to school districts and the public at-large, many persons who might otherwise not have treated this outbreak with care were exposed to a great deal of information and prevention techniques.Usually education is the key element in preventing disease and the Health Department places a priority on accurate and dependable information.