Jeanne Ives: 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: WheatonWebsite: http://www.wheaton411.com/Office sought: Wheaton City councilAge: 46Family: Married, five childrenOccupation: Full-time Mother, Part-time Tax AdvisorEducation: Bachelor of Science in Economics, United States Military Academy at West Point, 1987.Civic involvement: Head Cross Country Coach, St. Michael SchoolSchool volunteer at St. Miichael's and WWSCommunity Volunteer for various charitiesChurch volunteerRepublican Precinct CommitteemanElected offices held: Republican Precinct Committeeman#160;2003-PresentHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NOCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 My number one priority will be to make independent and informed decisions for the benefit of all Wheaton taxpayers and the community. Allocating tax money for appropriate uses such as infrastructure, property protection, and city services is responsible use of tax dollars. Keeping those expenses at a reasonable level is just as important.Key Issue 2 Making Wheaton more business friendly. This includes lowering taxes for businesses, limiting property tax increases to the rate of inflation, upgrading our infrastructure, ensuring no unnecessary ordinances are passed (such as the recent graffiti ordinance change), and looking for ways to change regulations that limit development. Specifically, revoke the resolution that would put the old Hubble property into any future SSA.Key Issue 3 Focus city council discussions on a long term budgeting plan in which both taxpayers and recipients of tax dollars have stable expectations on what will be funded and how it will be funded.Questions Answers Should the city take an active role in the restoration of the Wheaton Grand Theater? Please explain why or why not.When you ask if the city should have a role, you really mean to ask if the taxpayers should have a role in funding the WGT. It is not the responsibility of taxpayers to subsidize a specialty business in a select part of the city for the benefit of a few. We have already subsidized luxury homes and offices in the downtown area and they have underperformed, creating a potentially large fiscal liability for taxpayers beginning in 2013. I have attended the last two budget discussions and know we have no money available to fund this project. Any one asking to fund this, is requesting use of general fund revenues of one sort or another - all other options have already been rejected by banks, local property owners, and even charitable givers.The bank who owns the WGT should sell it to whomever would like the property. Any buyer is eligible for some city assistance, as is any other developer in this TIF district. Wheaton already provides a warm, safe, family environment, for our businesses. We can also help by not renewing the special services tax on downtown property. This would lower taxes by around 17% on these properties.Should the city restore annual funding Wheaton's Center for History? Please explain why or why not.Wheaton has a rich history and many famous and accomplished individuals live or have lived here, of most recent significance, SSG Robbie Miller. My own experience has been steeped in historical backdrops, as a member of the Long Grey Line from West Point and in the eighth class to graduate women, having served in the US Army in Germany during the fall of the Berlin wall, and having served during Gulf War I. I give Veteran's Day presentations at schools and prepared a battle analysis for a US History class. I value history and understand its importance. However, as recently reported in the Daily Herald, both Lombard and Glen Ellyn are struggling to support their history societies and the small, local model of historical preservation using tax dollars is unsustainable. In Wheaton, we need a viable plan to support history and it includes the following: new management at the Wheaton Center for History, more access to our history through rotated displays in public buildings, e.g. the library, golf course, schools, and use of the City Hall Annex for storage of excess historical items. Our current budget can not support large tax payments to the Wheaton Center for History, and we gave them over $3 million in the past. Nor should we ever give tax money to any entity and not have oversight on how the money is used, as was previously the model for funding preservation of Wheaton history.How would you like to see the former Hubble Middle School property in downtown Wheaton redeveloped?The redevelopment of Hubble is the primary responsibility of CUSD 200. It is their land to sell, give away, or keep. My position is to not disregard any project before it is presented to the council and looked at by our planning and zoning board. By stating now what I would object to without first seeing the plan works against letting the market decide what is viable there. It is a disservice to CUSD200 taxpayers to speak negatively about the property when their intent is to sell it.That said, if any developer is reading this, please note that as a busy mother in Wheaton, anytime you put together sports, family, food and convenience, you will most likely be successful.How should the city deal with issues related to flooding?We need to invest as much time and energy into solving the flooding in the downtown area and South Main Street as we have spent with the North Main/Northside Park flood control project. The conversation needs to continue with all government entities to mitigate to the fullest extent possible the disruption caused by flooding in the central Wheaton area. These are not 100-year floods anymore and are costing businesses lost revenue and property owners costly repairs. Specifically the council should consistently apply our storm water requirements on all development projects, share the cost of improvements across all users of the system, and commit to upgrading the sanitary system until there is no sewage overflow during storms.What effort should the city make to encourage the sale and redevelopment of the former Jewel site in downtown Wheaton?Do not renew the special services area tax on downtown owners. It makes it less attractive to development and more expensive to operate a business in the downtown area. That property is privately held and I am a big advocate of property rights. The only incentive we can offer any buyer is allowing the limited use of TIF funds for building upgrades. These funds are designated by law to be used in that TIF area for development and are available for most development projects already.