Dr. Craig S Bernacki DC: 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: HoffmanWebsite: schaumburgchiro.comOffice sought: Hoffman Estates Village boardAge: 52Family: Married two daughtersOccupation: ChiropractorEducation: BS, DCCivic involvement: Hoffman Estates Chamber of Commerce, Hoffman Estates Park District and Park District FoundationElected offices held: Hoffman Estates Park Commisioner including president, vice-president, treasurer assistant secretary (2001 to present)Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: No, unless criticizing the poor leadership in town is a crime. I think what Village Board has done lately is a crime.Candidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Missed oportunities: Meijer Store, Costco, Menards. They have left or not moved into Hoffman Estates because of difficulties in dealing with Village staff and Village Board. Hoffman Estates is the most business unfriendly town out of the 12 nearest communities. My dear late friend, Scott Triphahn, did a study and found Hoffman Estates was by far the worst town to locate a new business in because of its regulations and red tape. This needs to change. The entire process from start to finish needs to be corrected or we will continue to lose business to Schaumburg, Hanover Park etc. No new business - no new tax revenue. This is why Hoffman Estates property taxes keep going up.Key Issue 2 The $100,000 club (THE $100 GRAND CLUB):Hoffman Estates employs just over 500 people. Of these, 232 make between 100K and 200K in salary and benefits. Schaumburg is 1.5 times larger; has about 600 employees and only 100 are in the $100K club. Something is definitely wrong here.Key Issue 3 Uncontrolled spending: Sears Centre - $88 million; new police station - $28 million; new fire station - $7 million; village hall renovation - $4.8 million; new westside water tower - $2 million. Whether or not we needed these projects is debatable. Doing them all at once during a bad economy was a terrible mistake. They could have been spread out over a 10 year period. Most were under contruction at the same time. How do we pay for them? Red light cameras? Increased property taxes? Other village fees like water, cell phone taxes and or cut services like police, tree trimming etc.?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?The village has made zero progress attracting new business. Its policies, processes and red tape are the worst in the area. It took nearly 2 years to get a gas station approved at Higgins and Barrington Roads near the tollway on a vacant piece of land that was perfect for a gas station. Recently a funeral home wanted to locate in town (we currently do not have one). They were given a very cold shoulder, and sent to an early grave (pun intended) by the mayor and most of the village board. They would have brought $30 to $40K in sales tax plus increased local restaurant revenues and taxes. Only trustee Kincaid, voted to give them a chance. Why? He gets it; he is the only businessman on the board. The others board members are either retired, collect a paycheck or are government employees. With the limited business experience on the board, the taxpayers continue to suffer. They gave a dying Cabelas millions in incentives. I would rather see a small business get help. Small business is the growth engine of our Village. New leadership with business skills is desperately needed!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?That it takes over 500 employees to run this town of just 50,000 residents is ridiculous. All departments are over staffed. Why do we have part-time human resources staff making $50K? There are part-time nurses making $60K when St. Alexius is in town. Where can we apply for these jobs?All of the economic developement staff should be fired. They haven't done anything to attract new business. The planning and zoning departments need major cuts. Some of these duties could be outsourced since there is no new growth do to the village burdensome policies. Zoning and inspection can be done by retired or laid off tradesmen on a part-time or as needed basis. No reasonable offers were made with the police, fire and public works during their negotiations. The village's position was take our offer or we lay you off. Police were let go with little regret. I wouldn't have cut police in this economic climate when crime is on the rise. Cut the $100 Grand club first!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.They're doing great if they expect the residents' property tax increases to pay for it. But seriously, the Sears Centre will never pay for its loans. Mr. Norris, the village manager, stated this in an article written in the Daily Herald before the Sears Centre was approved. Former trustee, now state representive, Crespo did as well. But the board had other pipe dreams that have become a nightmare to the taxpayers. How is the board handling it? They hired a village liason to report from the centre to the village. Throwing more good taxpayer money to a bleeding white elephant. We should sell the Sears Centre and take a loss instead of feeding the White Elephant for another 20 years. Get it back into the private sector - the sooner; the better. Local government should not be involved in private sector businesses. Less is more,government should have limited responsibilities. Look at Washington, DC, our state and county. They're too big and spending is out of control. Hoffman Estates is heading in the same direction. We can't afford it anymore. The buck needs to stop here!How should the village develop its west side? Are the complaints that some residents living in that area feel neglected legitimate?I live on the west side. Many residents may or may not know or even care about the west side of town and that is understandable. The residents there are desperate for a grocery store. We go to Elgin to grocery shop. Our money and tax revenues are going to another town and county. Last time the west side residents met with the village, the village wanted to put in a senior housing development in our area. Whether that's a good or bad idea, where would the seniors grocery shop? As stated before, Hoffman Estates can't attract new business with its current cumbersome policies. Have you been to some of the NEW restaraunts in South Barrington and Schaumburg lately? How come Hoffman Estates hasn't gotten any. Red tape? Let's stop blaming the economy. Stop telling us what we can't do and let's start making the changes needed. New leaders are a good start. April 5th can be Liberation Day!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?The Village's website says it all: It lists over 500 employees, 232 making $100K to $200K. It's transparent, but as blatant as Todd Stroger and his administration. It's very easy to spend other people's money. This village is out of control. They need to live within its means. The current staff and elected officials don't see it, don't care, or don't want to buck the system. The system is broken and needs to be fixed. Can we trust the current officials to make the needed changes? Can we afford them anymore?