Steve Newton: 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: AntiochWebsite: http://www.newtonforcoroner.comOffice sought: Lake CoronerAge: 38Family: Married, 3 ChildrenOccupation: Lake County Sheriff's Office - Officer, Court Security DivisionEducation: College Education in Criminal Justice and Fire Science. Over 400 Hours specialized training in the field of Medicolegal death investigations, various categories (Evidence, Crime Scene investigations, Crash reconstruction, etc.)Civic involvement: Lake County Young RepublicansElected offices held: Republican Precinct Committeeman, Antioch Township, 2011 to presentHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: No.Candidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 One issue that I am passionate about is the level of service the office provides to the citizens of the county. The death of a loved one is the worst possible time in a person's life, and should be handled in a compassionate, professional and timely manner to minimize the hardship placed on the deceased's family members.Key Issue 2 The office has obtained a poor track record over the past few years as to not working cooperatively with area police or fire departments, hospitals and funeral homes. It is crucial that we focus on developing and strengthening those relationships, and that the Coroner's Staff works together with other agencies to provide the best possible service the community deserves.Key Issue 3 With the state of the economy it is imperative frivolous spending be eliminated and cost saving measures be put in place. The economy is a concern, not only at the national level, but on a local level as well. Other county departments have cut back, undergone hiring and pay freezes and instituted other cost saving measures, while the Coroner's Office continues to expand and overspend on its budget.Questions Answers The last two coroners (Keller and Wipper) ended their service in controversy. How will you professionalize the office to prevent scandal and boost public service? Be specific.Much like other public service agencies in the county, I will institute thorough pre-employment evaluations to assure the highest caliber staff serve our citizens. Furthermore, I will not be distracted by other business interests, as I will serve the people on a full time basis as the Lake County Coroner, allowing me to devote my full attention to the performance of the office and its staff.What is the most important aspect of the coroner's job? How will you handle that task better than your opponents' Please explain in detail.The most important aspect of the coroner's job is to provide compassionate timely service with the very best value to the taxpayers. It is equally important to provide this service with the utmost dignity and care for the deceased and their family. I bring to this position something no other candidate does, experience and familiarity with all levels of the Coroner's Office. From field work conducting death investigations, through assisting the Forensic Pathologist with post mortem examinations, all the way to bereavement counseling; I have been there "in the trenches." I have also worked on every administrative aspect within the office from ordering supplies to the full budget preparation.What aspects of the office do you believe needs improvement? Be specific.There are many areas that could use improvement. I have heard from numerous area police officers, firefighter/paramedics, funeral directors and hospital staff that the Coroner's office has become less responsive and less cooperative over the last few years, and how that has not changed this past year. Again, the Coroner's office should be a service driven office, providing thorough, complete and comprehensive death investigations in a timely manner. Police and Fire personnel should not have to wait hours for a response from the coroner's office, funeral homes should not have to wait days (and in some cases over a week) for a deceased to be released to their care, and family members should not have to wait months to obtain the death certificate of a loved one.Compassion is a key role of the coroner. It should be, and will be my moral, ethical and personal responsibility as your Coroner to assure interactions with families are conducted with the highest level of compassion and dignity. There is great room for improvement to the "public awareness" aspect of the office as well. The Coroner, although mostly a response driven office, should monitor/maintain and provide routine public awareness information.Budget. The Coroner's office must work with the County Government, as well as other agencies, to assure efficiency of the office is upheld.Does the office do much in the way of comforting crime victims' families' Please explain. If not, should that be a role of the coroner's office?The Coroner's office should be focused on comforting families of all deceased, not only crime victims. But, to focus on the crime victims families specifically, I feel the investigator who is assigned the case should work closely with the Crime Victim Advocate from the State's Attorneys office, as I personally have done in the past. I believe families would be better served through the cooperation of these offices, and I plan to reimplement their involvement.Does the coroner need to be a medical doctor? Why or why not? Please explain in detail.This is a big misconception as a large number of people think the Coroner has to be a doctor. Per Illinois complied statute, the coroner does NOT need to be a medical doctor. Only a Forensic Pathologist can perform a forensic autopsy, and cannot do so in their county if serving as the coroner. The coroner is an administrative role, one that supervises investigators and works with other officials throughout the county. As we have seen in the past, having a doctor elected to office opens the door for impropriety. The coroner is, and should be treated as, a full time position and not a supplemental income.