Dr. Bob Tiballi: 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: ElginWebsite: http://www.drbob4kane.comOffice sought: Kane CoronerAge: 53Family: Divorced, one daughter, 15 you Two doggies; Bubba CupcakeOccupation: Physician, Administrator Founder, GERMBUSTERS Infectious Diseases of Adults ChildrenEducation: -Associate in Applied Science, Mechanical Engineering Technology; Air Conditioning. SUNY @ Alfred Ag Tech, Alfred, NY -B.A. Summa Cum Laude, Franciscan University, Steubenville, OH. Chemistry, Theology, Biology -Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, NYITCivic involvement: Continuing above Residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Medical Center of Delaware, A.I. duPont Children's Hospital Jefferson Medical College, 1993 Fellowship in Adult Infectious Diseases, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor 1995 Board Member, Ecker Center for Mental Health, 2005 to current Cosmopolitan Club Founding Board Member, National Shrine of the Innocents Regional Child Death Review TeamElected offices held: Chairman Department of Medicine, Sherman HospitalHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Putting in place a broadly trained medical professional who is a skilled medical investigator and epidemiologist as leader would transform the Coroner's office into a de facto Office of Medical Examiner.My training in Internal Medicine, Pediatrics and Infectious Disease and my professional status of being a medical detective;the doctor other doctors call when they are unable to make a diagnosis, makes me exceptionally well qualified to lead the office of Kane County Coroner.I have recognized, diagnosed and managed community outbreaks of Group A streptococcal disease (flesh eating bacteria) whooping cough (pertussis), hospital sourced outbreaks of legionnaire's disease, and serve as a local bioterrorism expert.I diagnosed the first case of a class B bioterrorism illness that Illinois had seen in 25 years (Q fever).I would work closely with the department of health and hospitals to recognize and control community outbreaks of deadly communicable diseases.I would use the office to work towards decreasing accidental deaths in children which can occur when parents are unaware of risks that might place their children in danger.Swimming pool safety, sudden infant death and parental roll-overs in co-sleeping arrangements, and accidental hangings by toddlers are not uncommon in our county.Key Issue 2 Restoration of Ethics, high professional standards and creation of a center of excellence and integrity will be my passion in the office.The reputation of the office has been severely corrupted if not destroyed by Mr. West.Cooperative working partnerships with local law enforcement, fire control and health professionals have been strained severely.Within the first month of taking office I will meet personally with leaders in each jurisdiction of law enforcement and fire control in every part of the county to re-establish good working relationships.I will reach out to heal the strains that have occurred with first responders.My opponent proposes that the Coroner's office is a law enforcement office, a view that not many people share.While the Coroner is given some powers shared by law enforcement, my office will not compete or be confused with its mission; to determine cause of death, not to replace law enforcement.I will use my time as elected official to work as a full time Coroner, not as part time Coroner and part time candidate for Sheriff.I seek no other office.I plan to serve two terms as Coroner and will not run for other office until my term is completed.Key Issue 3 It is important for the office of Coroner, given the recent difficulties of leaderless administration it has experienced, to have an experienced administrator in charge.My opponent has no administrative experience.I on the other hand have founded a company, signed both sides of a paycheck, managed employment law issues, overseen a staff greater in number than the Coroner's office, and managed a budget many times that of the Kane County Coroner's office.I will bring 15 years' experience as a proactive, customer focused, compassionate and empathetic manager.I will review the policies and procedures manual of the office and make it relevant to current challenges in the office, including handling of personal property and expectations of high moral and ethical standards.I should point out that all serious allegations of misconduct in the office surround the elected Coroner and his family members, not the non-familial members of the staff.On the first day in office I will be at work being the most qualified and prepared Coroner Kane County has ever had, while my opponent will be calling consultants asking how to be a manager.Questions Answers What would your policy be on the handling and storage of evidence and materials from death scenes' Specifically, should employees be allowed to take items from death scenes home with them under any circumstances'At no time should any material evidence or property be taken from a death scene and stored in any employee's residence.This obvious violation of every standard of professional ethics was tolerated, promoted and perpetrated by the current Coroner, Chuck West.Since he was indicted two years ago, I have called upon Mr. West to resign.My opponent has been asked repeatedly if Mr. West should resign, and he has repeatedly declined to call for his resignation.When I take office, I will review the policies and procedures manual as an urgentpriority and revise it to reflect standards of behavior that demand respect of the deceased, treatment of the survivingfamily members with dignity and respect, and the absolute, total and complete unacceptability of stealing from the deceased.I abhor corruption and will never tolerate such actions in persons who work under my authority.In all situations, care and compassion will be provided the survivors of the deceased, and the trust that society grants to the members of this office will not be broken.That trust is a sacred trust and the office ministers to families in a difficult and vulnerable time.I will seek always to earn the trust of the residents of Kane County.I believe that the public's trust and confidence needs to be earned every single day in every single case the Coroner's office is involved with.The county board has considered converting the coroner's office into more of a medical examiner position several times now. What is your view on the differences in those setups and what is best for Kane County's needs'In the State of Illinois, we do not have high requirements as to who can be Coroner.One needs to be a registered voter, and cannot be a felon.A coroner does not need to be a high school graduate as long as they run a successful campaign.When a transformation is undertaken to create an office of Medical Examiner, one of the most important changes that occurs is that the Medical Examiner must be a fully licensed physician.I am a licensed physician.My opponent is not.I can serve as a Medical Examiner.My opponent cannot.My swearing in as Coroner would transform the office into a de facto Medical Examiner's office.State's Attorneys need to be attorneys, Auditors should be accountants, and in a recent telephone poll, 93% of Kane residents polled said the Coroner should have a medical background, not a law enforcement background.Kane County would save some four hundred thousand dollars a year by having a physician serve as Coroner instead of appointing a Medical Examiner(ME).If an ME is appointed, that ME would answer to the person who appointed them.An elected physician Coroner would answer to the people of the county, who would hold him accountable for his/her actions.I favor an elected position and favor a fully trained physician over a non-medically trained individual.How do you resolve the ongoing debate over the county board setting budgets for departments run by other elected officials whom the county board has no control over? How should the county board enforce the budgets it sets'Unfortunately Kane County budget disputes have headed towards a courtroom more often than a mutual agreement.Kane County cannot freeze budgets if the county undergoes dramatic growth as it has the past decade.Unfortunately a 'my way or the highway? attitude has guided negotiations by the outgoing board chair.One can only hope that the new leadership will be more receptive to finding solutions to difficult problems instead of throwing money out the window in lawsuits that only make the attorneys happy.If elected officials can find alternate sources of revenue, such as the solution that Joe McMahon and Judge Brown were able to propose to fund salaries in the State's Attorney office through fees on those who create the need for services, that would be preferable to challenging my commitment to not raising taxes.Do you believe the county board members and chairman should receive health insurance and pension benefits'I believe the full time employees of the Coroner's office should receive health care benefits and should have a mechanism for a retirement program.Part time employees should not receive full time benefits.Board members are given a generous salary for attending several meetings a month.While we are all grateful for their service to the county, a pension and healthcare benefits are hard to justify for such minimal service.If they are in full time service, then they should receive full time benefits, if they are part time, they should not receive full time benefits. My opponent will soon retire from the DuPage County Sherriff's office and carry with him a full pension.Should he receive a pension from DuPage and a salary from Kane County if he is elected to county wide office?Do you support a more stringent ethics ordinance for Kane County governing the conduct of elected officials and county employees' Why or why not? If so, what should the ordinance contain?I do support a more stringent ethics ordinance for Kane County elected officials and county employees.If one had been in place during the past 8 years, we may have avoided much of the calamity that is ongoing in the Coroner's office.The Ethics Panel should consist of three members, each having one vote.They should be appointed by the Kane County Chairman with the advice and consent of the County Board.Two members should represent the majority party, and one member representing the minority party.These members should be senior members of the community and have had established careers wherein they were vetted and held to high standards of objective judgment and moral character such as retired attorneys, judges or mediators.Elected officials need also to be held to standards of prompt and clear disclosure of campaign contributions and gifts of value from vendors who have contracts or are applying for contracts with the county, persons who are employees of county or local government or are applying for government positions, or if the elected official receives a gift of value from any governmental or non-governmental organization.Elected officials who are indicted on a felony count should be suspended and their positions of responsibility should be temporarily completed by a candidate appointed by the Chairman with advice and consent of the County Board.This appointment should be for no more than 30 days and should be brought before the Board for renewal as necessary.My concerns for serious allegations of misconduct in the Coroner's office did lead to investigation of the office, but no action was ever taken.If the County Board Chair had taken an interest in the matters that were discussed by myself with her on multiple occasions, or if there was a functional ethics review team with teeth, serious allegations of ongoing misconduct in the Coroner's office may have been interrupted many years ago instead of the paralyzed dysfunction we now observe in an elected office that has lost all credibility.