Gary G Stanton: 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: Hoffman EstatesWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Hoffman Estates Village boardAge: 60Family: Married, three children, three grandchildrenOccupation: AttorneyEducation: J.D. degree from Loyola University School of Law, Chicago 1975; B.A. degree from Loyola University, Chicago 1972; Graduated from Loyola Academy High School, Wilmette 1968Civic involvement: Trustee for the Village of Hoffman Estates since 12/6/10; Chairman of the Plan Commission for the Village of Hoffman Estates 2001-12/6/10; Member of the Plan Commission from 10/88 -12/6/10; Member of the ad hoc Sears Advisory Committee from its beginning to end; Member of the Comprehensive Plan Committee from 2005 to its end; Member of the Sign Code Advisoory Committee from 2005-present; Member of the Youth Commission from 6/88-10/88; Member of the Environmental Commission from 1985-1988. All Commissions were with the Village of Hoffman Estates. Coached Little League Baseball for Hoffman Estates Community Baseball Association from 1990-1998. Served as an Arbitrator for the National Futures Association from 1985-1997Elected offices held: Appointed as Trustee for the Village of Hoffman Estates on 12/6/10Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Maintain a Balanced BudgetKey Issue 2 Maintain and work to get business vacancies filled both in the 59/90 corridor and the shopping centers throughout the VillageKey Issue 3 Lobby to get road improvements such as the tollway interchange exiting from I90 to Barrington Road.Questions Answers Are you satisfied with the village's progress in luring business development? Has the village's willingness to offer incentives set a bad precedent, or is that just the cost of doing business?Yes. The Village has a business liason who is constantly monitoring and attempting to attract new businesses to Hoffman Estates as well as keep those business that are considering leaving to stay. The Village's willingness to offer incentives for businesses to build in Hoffman Estates is part of the cost of doing business. It is not unlike the State of Illinois or any other municipality that offers a sweetner for a business to stay or move into its boundaries.Assess the number of village employees: just right; too many; too few? If some departments are over- or under-staffed, which ones? What should be done? How did the village handle its latest negotiations with police, fire and public works unions?In order to balance the Village's budget, the Village of Hoffman Estates has had to lay off several of its employees during the last few years. It has not been something the Village has wanted to do, but had to do in order to maintain a balanced budget over the last few years in a down economy. The staff the Village carries is sufficient to maintain all department needs. When the economy picks up, and the budget allows, the Village will assess the needs of each department and hire new staff. I was not involved with the last negotiations with the police, fire, and public works unions, but from what I have learned it was imperative for the Village to ask the unions for concessions in order to keep the budget balanced.Is the village doing the right thing with the Sears Centre? Evaluate the changes the board made in the past year and tell us what still needs to happen.Several years ago the Village made a determination to have an entertainment district. To that end, the Sears Centre was proposed to fill a void that was left when the outdoor Poplar Creek Music Theatre was closed. When Ryan Companies and MadKatStep felt it no longer wanted to run the Sears Centre it was imperative that the Village take over the building or risk not only having a vacant facility on its hands but also losing or attracting other businesses to the entertainment district. In the past year, the Village has negotiated a contract with Global Spectrum to manage the Sears Centre as well as negotiated a new contract with Levy to handle the food needs. Each contract was beneficial to the Village and lasts for three years. Just recently, Levy has decided to introduce new foods to the Centre which should attract more business and as a result a greater share of the profit for the Village. The addition of the Chicago Express to the Centre will also attract more customers on a regular basis and add to the bottom line. The biggest need for the Sears Centre was to get a team that could give us an opportunity to fill the building on a regular basis. We now have that with the Chicago Express, however, it would be nice to get a few more big name acts to the Centre as well as a Circus. Global Spectrum is working on that.How should the village develop its west side? Are the complaints that some residents living in that area feel neglected legitimate?When I first started as a Plan Commissioner in 1988 with the Village of Hoffman Estates, I became aware that the Village's Comprehensive Plan for the west side was to have an Industrial Complex south of the tollroad. When the first devolper approached us for a residential development in that area we rejected the plans as did the Village Board. That deveolper then went to the Cook County Board and won approval to build on land south of the tollroad. Once those houses were built , the Village had to change its plans for the west side and we now have many residential community's on the west side including a 55 and over community. From the time residences have been built on the west side, the Village has actively been approaching developers to build sites for commercial needs. The answer the Village has always gotten from these developers is there are not enough people on the west side to warrant a supermarket or a hardware store or a gas station in that area. The Village continues to attract businesses south of the tollroad, but with the current economy it will take a bit longer to get new business deveopment.The village has placed employee salaries online, but is the village doing enough to be transparent? If not, what else should be available online for public viewing?Not only are the Village's employee salaries online but the minutes of each board meeting are on line as well as the Village Board Meeting Packets. Additionally, the Village's insurance costs and comp times are listed online. The Village , in an attempt to keep its citizens up to date on current events within the Village publishes a monthly newsletter. Lastly, the Village Board meetings are televised live on the cable access channel.