Tao Martinez: 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: North AuroraWebsite: http://www.martinez4coroner.comOffice sought: Kane CoronerAge: 31Family: Happily married to my wife, Rene, for 10 years. We have 3 children together, 5 year old twins, a 3 year old, and our beloved cat and dog.Occupation: President and founder of Archangels BioRecovery, Inc. dedicated to the assistance of families suffering from a tragic loss of a loved one, including infection control of hazardous environments -homicides,suicides,unattended deaths,mass casualty incidents.Education: -Int'l Business and Administration -Int'l/Illinois Association of Property and Evidence Managers Training -Int'l Blood Stain and Spatter Analysis -Medicolegal Death Investigation Certifications in Illinois,Indiana,Wisconsin, Kentucky and Missouri.Civic involvement: Active Member of the International Coroner's and Medical Examiners Association Actively promoting programs for suicide awareness and suicide prevention Active participant as a sponsor for Special Olympics Active Member of Aurora Turner ClubElected offices held: NoneHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 ?Bringing back integrity and restoring trust to the Coroner's office. ?Providing compassionate and professional attention to the citizens of Kane County. "People should rely on the coroner's office during their most vulnerable time without concern of the deputies integrity" "Compassion is essential to this office and is something that is carried within"Key Issue 2 ?Streamline, administer, and scrutinize the budget in an efficient manner for today's times. Today's economy is challenging for everyone, including all administrative budgets. "Adjustments may need to be made to meet current needs" "I have built relationships with many other Federal, State, and County agencies. By networking with these agencies I have learned that there are many ways to bring additional funding to this office without relying exclusively on county funds"Key Issue 3 ?As an elected official, not only is there an obligation to the office, but an obligation to the community. "Make a consistent effort to reduce the number of deaths by actively networking with agencies to effectively promote awareness and resources to the citizens of Kane County should be a Coroner's duty"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?Under no circumstances should employees be allowed to take items from death scenes home with them! It's a top priority to develop strict guidelines to maintain the integrity of evidence collected at each scene by incorporating a proper chain of custody. Absolute policy needs to be that no items are to be removed from any scene, except those directly involved as evidence for the purposes of an investigation. A criminal investigation would be initiated for any illegal activity. Photographs and documentation are critical for all evidence recovered from the scene; from handling to transport and ultimately storage. A complete log would be kept detailing the trail of evidence from collection, to transport, to storage, and ultimately to release. For example, log who and why someone is in the storage room as part of the chain of custody; there has to be a paper trail. Develop a triplicate log system; one goes to the police department, one to the family, and one remaining in the Coroner's office, with a witness to sign off for logging. Maintain separate evidence logging and inventory of fire arms, controlled substances, jewelry, and personal belongings.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?There is only one county in Illinois that has an appointed Medical Examiner, and that is Cook County. For any other county, it is not a cost-effective measure to have a Medical Examiner on full time staff. As with other unique requirements on a case-by case basis, specialized personnel in specific fields can be called in dependent upon the requirements of any given case. One of the purposes of using an independent board certified forensic pathologist is to avoid any conflict of interest between the administration of the Coroner's office and an accurate determination of the cause of death. "The Coroner's role as an administrator is vital to the community and is elected by the citizens" "There is no academy to train one to become a coroner, it takes several different qualities combined to perform the duties of a coroner" Administrative leadership skills, Medicolegal Death Investigations, Forensic Background, and most important of all, the ability to work with families during the toughest times in their lives in a compassionate and sympathetic manner are essential pillars of an aspiring coroner. "Not every law enforcement division involves ongoing Forensic Investigations and few law enforcement personnel are certified in Medicolegal Death Investigations" The vast majority of the Coroners in the state of Illinois are either funeral directors or previous employees of the coroners office followed by firefighters, EMT's, nurses, and doctors.How do you resolve the ongoing debate over the county board setting budgets for departments run by other elected officials over whom the county board has no control? How should the county board enforce the budgets it sets?As it is today, the Coroner has to go to the County Board in order to determine budget. It should not affect the Coroner's office who determines the budget, as long as whomever is determining the budget understands the needs of the office. However, the Coroner determines and allocates the funds accordingly. The elected coroner has the responsibility to effectively manage the budget. Any discrepancies in the budget should be identifiable in order to justify any increase or decrease in budget based upon detailed records of those activities. One would expect to present, on a periodic basis and in a business typical format, just as any other operating business. The coroner cannot control the number of people that have passed away or the number of those who require an autopsy per year. The coroner can control and effectively manage how the budget is applied and administered in the office. The Coroner becomes a steward of the funds dedicated to the investigations to accurately determine the cause of death. "Anyone that has been an independent and successful business owner has experience understanding and working within a budget"Would you voluntarily adopt the county's more stringent ethics ordinance for yourself, your office and your employees?Absolutely, there should be a stringent code of ethics, trust is fundamental in any public office serving people needs.How will you repair the image of the coroner's office in the wake of the former coroner's indictment and ongoing lawsuit with a current employee?The reputation of the coroner's office has been tarnished and it will take a lot of hard work to re-establish trust. The only way to start the healing process and repairing the image of this office is by being an active Coroner focusing on all of those topics that many people don't want to hear about. Bringing attention and spotlighting many educational and awareness programs to the community so we can have a chance of reducing the number of lost lives. I have learned as an emergency responder myself, that we are a team and should be able to rely on each other to perform as one, so we can better serve those in need! It's no secret to anyone that the Coroner's office has gone through some staff issues, but regardless of the situation it is too early to determine what needs to be done without having a direct insight of the internal operations of the working office. An evaluation of all staff members would need to be conducted, and based on individual performances decisions will then have to be made. It has been a struggle of mine to try to promote the right message. Just as this office should not be seen as a Republican or a Democrat position, the goal should be finding the right person to take care of our families. One can not make any distinctions between Ethnicity, Religious views, or Political affiliation! "Everyone deserves to be treated with Integrity, Dignity and Respect" "There is no Republican or Democrat way to run the Coroner's office, only the Professional Way"