Mark Hellner: 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: Arlington HeightsWebsite: http://markhellner4mayor.comOffice sought: Arlington Heights Village President (4-year Term)Age: 61Family: Married 23 years(Tracy); son (David, age 11)Occupation: Lawyer: Director of the Senior Tax Opportunity Program for The Center For Disability and Elder Law; Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Illinois College of Law (I teach the State and Local Tax Course).Education: BS (English and Political Science), Illinois State Univ.,1973 JD, University of Illinois College of Law, 1977Civic involvement: Arlington Heights Housing Commission; Friends of the AHML; Volunteer Attorney for the Center for Disability and Elder Law;Volunteer Attorney for Prairie States Legal Services (and former Board Member); Chair of Alliance of Bar Associations for Judicial Evaluation; 3 term member of the Illinois State Bar Association; Chair of Illinois State Bar Association's Civil Practice Section Council, Supreme Court Rules Committee and Continuing Legal Education CommitteesElected offices held: NoneHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Fiscal responsibility. As we discussed in my interview, I am concerned about two very costly items on the Village's plate. One is the fact that our Police and Firefighters Pension Funds have a combined unfunded liability of over $76,000,000. Particularly alarming is the fact that the unfunded liability just four years ago was $44,000,000. When combined with our other unfunded pension liabilities, we face a total of over $100,000,000 in unfunded liability. Of equal concern is the fact that so little notice has been given to this problem. We need to reverse this trend by aggressively providing more appropriate levels of funding. I would suggest an amortization plan which brings both plans up to the 80% funding level within 10 or 15 years rather than the scheduled 27 years. A second fiscal concern is the fact that the Village seems committed to spending $40,000,000 on a new police station. The specific proposal allocates almost $30,000,000 to construction and over $10,000,000 to design and relocation costs. These amounts seem extravagant when considering the fact that our current police station is only about 35 years old. While some maintenance on the building has been deferred, about $1,500,000 has been spent annually on it during the last few years for such items as new windows and tuck pointing. By all appearances, it can have, with proper attention, significant remaining useful life. A more prudent option would appear to be to approach the issue with an open and creative mind. In reviewing this issue some months ago I found a video narrated by the Village Police Chief. In it he states that space is needed for storage, lockers, forensics and more secure and sound jail cells. I recommend that we deal with the space requirement by simply purchasing a second building so that we can spread out the police force and reduce any overcrowding. Because Arlington Heights has a long north to south footprint, we certainly should consider putting a second facility toward the north end of town. That should be economically efficient and also much appreciated by the residents in an area which arguably is under served and under appreciated. I see a real likelihood that we could fully meet the important needs of our Police Department at a cost far less than $40,000,000. The savings might best be used to reduce the unfunded pension liability.Key Issue 2 The stagnant business climate is my second largest concern. One of the incredibly recurrent themes expressed by local business owners is the fact that they perceive the Village to be too rigid and too slow in dealing with permitting for business expansion, new business permits and construction permits. A second consistent theme is that the Village is too restrictive on signage. As a result of these complaints, potential businesses shun Arlington Heights and existing businesses are reluctant to spend the time and money for expansion. These are problems which quickly can be solved. We need to adopt an attitude of partnership with business. This does not mean the Village should accede to any and every whim of a business owner or prospective business. But it does mean that the Village should view its role as both helping the business community to flourish while ensuring that we don't fail to protect our residents from shoddy construction, other unsafe conditions, and avoidable irritants such as traffic congestion and parking inadequacies which result from poor planning. I suggest that we have a single business portal available both through the internet and in person at Village Hall. All permitting requirements from A to Z would be identified in a single visit to either the website or Village Hall. The permit applicant thus could be developing the necessary plans and permit requests on parallel tracks and thereby reducing the time until completion of a project and the resultant cost. This approach is particularly important during a stagnant economy. Our motto should be: We?re from the Village of Arlington Heights and we are here to help you get your business going.? That means we can't have unreasonably inhibitive review and permitting processes. Another way we can help grow business is to look at business or economic magnets. For example, we talked about how car dealers tend to aggregate in a compact area. They would not do that unless the data justifies such large investments. We are about to see the opening of Napleton Chrysler/Jeep in an area already featuring Ford, Buick, GMC, Nissan, and Lexus dealerships. The Napleton store projects that it will generate $10,000,000 in sales tax revenues for Arlington Heights over the next 10 years. To induce Napleton to come to Arlington Heights, the Village agreed to rebate $2,225,000 over 10 years, which if those projections are met will mean a net sales tax revenue increase of $7,750,000. Because there was no cash cost to this concession, it was wise and should be a model for incenting other dealerships to move here. A second example of a magnet district would be the creation of an arts district anchored by Metropolis. I am hopeful, for example, that we could bring in book store together with an art gallery which would exhibit the work of local artists. Local restaurants could operate a coffee shop and create an atmosphere like the Anderson Bookshop in Naperville or Square Books in Oxford, MS. Sales tax revenue hits our coffers immediately. In addition, both the auto dealers? customers and their employees are likely to, at minimum, spend additional money in the community further increasing our sales tax revenues. There will be an increase in property tax collections both directly from the dealership and indirectly from the probable relocation of employees to Arlington Heights. This is a win-win proposition for the Village and the car dealer. And it is a win for the other property owners whose taxes are stabilized by reducing the dependency on residential property taxes.Key Issue 3 I believe we need to inject energy, creativity and more coordinated planning into all of our local governmental units. By doing this we should be able to create efficiencies, cost savings and synergy that will benefit our entire community. Among the government bodies I envision could be more mutually synergistic are the Village Board, Parks, Library, and the three School Districts. Shared facilities and employees are obvious areas for discussions. Coordinated planning for long-term financial needs is another simple proposition.Questions Answers After 20 years of one person leading Arlington Heights, how do you see yourself as the new mayor? Will you primarily continue the or do you see yourself as an agent of change? If so, describe in what ways.I absolutely do. One of my primary motivations for entering this race is the fact that there has been so little turnover on the Village Board that there is a wide-spread perception that the Village has become stagnant. There is also a general concern about insularity among those in leadership roles. If elected, I would bring a balance of creativity, energy and respect to the Village. This is important even for processes that work well in order to achieve or maintain a competitive edge. New energy and creativity also derive from wider inclusiveness of community members, particularly younger members with fresh ideas and skills, and transparency through the use of new communication tools. If all transactions and proposals are widely disseminated, subject matter experts can be expected to participate more and make meaningful contributions which should lead to better prioritization and more economical fiscal practices. It is clear that the Village needs to more aggressively address recurrent flooding issues. We also need to take a careful and deep look at environmentally friendly practices. For example, where can we use permeable pavement? Where can we create green spaces for parks and gardens? Are we doing enough to address the Emerald Ash Borer issues? Can we install free or very low-cost Wi-Fi for the entire Village? Can the Village use vehicles less and can we use bio-fuel and electric vehicles? We should analyze our garbage and recycling routes and practices. Are they efficient? Are they the best we can do? Should we take another look at leaf pick up? Why is it wise to continue to reject this option? These are a few examples of some of the ideas I would like to see widely discussed.Talk about your position on term limits for municipal elected officials, and explain why you support or do not support them.Back in September, well before I entered the Mayoral race, I signed the proposed term-limit referendum because I believe the voters should have a say on this challenging issue. Therefore, I was chagrined that the Election Board chose to deny this choice to the voters. It was equally disappointing that Mr. Hayes did not recuse himself from his role on the Election Board because the basic standard of ethical conduct for lawyers is to avoid the appearance of impropriety. If I am elected, I promise that I will unhesitatingly recuse myself from voting on any issue which would appear to create a conflict of interest and I will encourage my fellow Board members to do the same.What is your position on housing for the mentally ill in Arlington Heights? Would you ever support it in a residential area, or only in an industrial or commercial area?I would never support isolating disabled or disadvantaged members of our community to a specific area much less an isolated area. My wife works for Clearbrook as the Director of its Family and Community Autism Resources Room. I am employed by the Center for Disability and Elder Law. We have a son who is on the autism spectrum. So we have a reasonably well informed understanding of some forms of disabilities. We also know that all too often people assume that mental illness makes people dangerous. The statistics tell us otherwise. Indeed, people with mental illness are frequent victims of financial and physical abuse because they are perceived as easy targets. The termmental illness? covers a large range of conditions. I will assume that you are not asking about convicted and dangerous felons who have exhibited some form of mental illness because your question makes no such reference. But one of the unfortunate ramifications of such non-specific terminology is that it can create avoidable concern and tension because so many people have an inadequate understanding of, and apprehensions about, mental illness. We know from the many successes of Clearbrook and other entities which sponsor group homes of many different sizes that people with handicaps, including mental illness, can live and indeed often thrive in an integrated community setting. Because many with disabilities do not drive, and may have trouble walking, it is imperative in my view to place such homes in convenient locations with access to educational opportunities, shopping, recreation, jobs and mass transit options. When I last checked, I found that Arlington Heights has 23 group homes. These are on scattered sites and seem to function in a highly integrative fashion in our community. The fact that these homes appear to generate little controversy strongly suggests that small group homes are a very appropriate and successful model. Current zoning laws also tend to limit occupancy of single family residences by unrelated people. This provides a measure of protection, perhaps unneeded, to those who are concerned about either safety or property values. You recently ran an article in celebration of the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. One of the things he said resonates. If my memory serves, (and I am doing this from memory), he said?we need to transform the discord of the nation into the beautiful symphony of brotherhood.? That is how I feel about the less fortunate in our community. That is how I want my son to be treated when we can no longer care for him. Why should our community accept anything less?Given the delicate balance between the need for revenue and over-taxing local businesses, what is your opinion of your community's present level of local sales taxes? Is the tax just right, too low or too high? Explain.I have heard no complaints about the current sales tax burden. We know however, from the experiment by Cook County, that raising sales taxes in Cook County caused some shopping to move to other counties. Happily that increase has been rescinded. If Arlington Park does not obtain the right to place slots at the track, then I fear that continued loss of revenue at the track will cause either a loss of Village services or a search for new revenue. As a community, therefore, we should do all we can to recognize the centrality of the track and offer broad support for slots. By reallocating funds and reprioritizing our spending, I think the Village can live comfortably on its current revenue base.What are the village's biggest public safety concerns? Explain the concern as you see it, and discuss how you think it should be addressed.Public safety together with education are the most important obligations of local government. There should be a close relationship between the two activities, as was all too tragically illustrated at Newtown, Connecticut. One of my first initiatives would be to set up regular meetings among our schools - public and other - principals, police and fire officials and regional public safety agencies. We need to formalize these relationships because we cannot do enough to make sure our schools and public places are safe. Our Police and Fire Departments must be provided the necessary tools to perform their jobs. This includes recruitment, training and technology. The training needs to address how to best but safely deal with people who have cognitive or emotional challenges. A second safety concern is to ensure that the heavy traffic areas of the Village be more pedestrian and bike friendly for commuters, seniors, and young people. For example, can we install a pedestrian and bike overpass on Northwest Highway in order to help students cross this very busy road to get to South School? Could we try to secure federal funding for a project like this? This would also help the many commuters who walk to the Metra station from the north. Similarly, pedestrians and bikers who wish to cross Arlington Heights Road from the Village parking lots by Village Hall have some serious challenges. The current crosswalk on Sigwalt is not in a particularly convenient location for those using the parking ramp, so I often see people dashing across Arlington Heights Road near the train tracks. Because of Southward turning traffic, this poses a real hazard. An overpass from the parking ramp to the west side of Arlington Heights Road should be considered. Additional items I would advocate include: (1) Requiring Com Ed to bury as many power lines as possible to prevent recurrent and lengthy power outages; (2) Asking Metra to slow its trains earlier as they approach the train platforms; (3) Asking Metra to prohibit its trains from starting to move when pedestrians are offloading from other trains. Metra has a particularly hazardous practice of starting East bound trains while a Westbound train is stopped on the center track; (4) Reducing the speed limit in downtown Arlington Heights to accommodate the safety of the large number of pedestrians. I have witnessed several close calls with pedestrians under the current rules.