Donna Johnson: 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: LibertyvilleWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Libertyville Village boardAge: Candidate did not respond.Family: Divorced, two childrenOccupation: Corporate AttorneyEducation: Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Michigan State UniversityCivic involvement: Member of Libertyville Planning and Zoning CommissionChaired the Zoning Board of AppealsLiturgical Minister at Saint Joseph Church in Libertyville for over 30 years.Elected offices held: Libertyville Trustee, 2008-2011Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: No.Candidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Help retain and attract revenue generating businesses in Libertyville to assist with the declining sales tax from car sales. Continue to support the development of our Main Street downtown area.Key Issue 2 Prioritize the repair of streets that are aging considering our budget constraints and the lack of an alternative revenue source to help pay down bonds that were issued to fund road repair work.Key Issue 3 Continue to provide quality services to Village residents, and find options in the budget to increase the number of Police and Fire personnel.Questions Answers Should the village consider economic incentives to attract new business/development? Explain your answer.Yes, we should consider economic incentives to attract new business development that will provide us with an opportunity to increase our sales tax revenue, which is consistently declining. We should also continue to focus on retention of existing businesses through our existing Business District Plan that has helped retain car dealerships in the Village. Attracting new business and retaining existing business, will also help maintain the stability of the Main Street section of downtown which is an important feature in this community.How can the village work with IDOT to ensure the Milwaukee/Peterson intersection work minimizes disruptions for commuters?We can make sure that the signage is visible and marked so that commuters can clearly understand when an access point has changed during construction. Develop a website that is linked to the Village website that gives frequent updates on lane changes and route changes with estimated time for length of closure and suggested alternative routes. We can also facilitate discussions with the business owners and commuters regarding the proposed timelines for each phase of the project and ensure there is a complaint channel when the construction timelines are not adhered to. During construction we should ensure their is a process in place to modify entry points of access to the businesses for the commuters if safety becomes an issue. We must help make sure that commuters can still gain safe access during construction.If red-light camera revenue continues to be well below projections, will you support removing them? Explain your answer.I think that the benefit of the red-light camera is that they have increased safety at intersections where safety was a concern. The decrease in accidents at certain intersections because of the red-light camera and sign posting, is evidence that they are working and a benefit to the community.To what extent should a historic preservation ordinance affect individual property owners?By preserving historic buildings we hope that it will help improve the quality of the neighboring property owners and the value of their property.How best can the village maintain its deteriorating streets as the damage worsens without investment?We do need to make an investment in the maintenance of our streets. We have developed a Road program that has been updated since 1989 based on the conditions of the roads. However, because of budget constraints and the lack of an alternative source of revenue to pay down the bonds that were issued to address road improvements, we are faced with limited alternatives. We need to prioritize whether we conduct patch repairs so that we can improve more streets or we budget for large projects on projected timelines leaving some streets to further deterioration while improving the condition of others. Dymond Road repair project is an example of a large road project, requiring large funding.