Asif Yusuf: 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: Oak BrookWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Oak Brook Village boardAge: 48Family: Married to Azra Yusuf (23 years this March), 4 children Zain (20), Farah (17), Neha (15), Ali (11)Occupation: Real Estate Investment, primarily office space and farmland, including all phases of property management and constructionEducation: Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Economics, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1987. Additional coursework for professional licenses (Real Estate Broker, Real Estate Appraiser, Insurance Producer)Civic involvement: Oak Brook Civic Association Board MemberOak Brook Autumnfest Committee 2001-2004Elks Club, Elmhurst Lodge MemberBrook Forest School Exploremore Day VolunteerFormer Oak Brook Village Trustee 2003-2007Elected offices held: Oak Brook Village Trustee 2003-2007Republican Committeeman York Township Pct 106 2004-presentHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 To enact safeguards necessary to ensure conduct of any future administration's ethical conduct is beyond reproach. We cannot afford to have Oak Brook's name tarnished as it recently has by recent embarassing information that has come to light. The reccommendations of the Better Government Association provide a good starting pointKey Issue 2 To ensure the delivery of village services we all enjoy in a professional and cost-effective manner. This is essential in order to maintain Oak Brook as a sought after choice for people to live and work. Given financial constraints created by the economy, we will have to consider new approaches as long as they do not compromise the quality of life in our village.Key Issue 3 To position the Oak Brook so that we maximize our attractiveness in the commercial and residential marketplace. Our viability, given our revenue structure is dependent on our continiung to attract additional revenue producing businesses as well as retaining the ones we currently have. We need to be known as a community that welcomes newcomers and works closely with them to meet there needs. Most importantly no member of our commercial community should ever feel any pressure to make a ""gesture"" in the form of a campaign contribution.Questions Answers What impact do you think staff and budget cutbacks have had on village services? Are there any cuts you would restore? If more cutbacks need to be made, what would your priorities be?I would restore liquor license functions to the village clerk's office and restore staffing to an adequate level to perform those services. All other restoration of past cuts would depend on the level of village revenues, I would not rush into anything that is not fiscally responsibleShould Oak Brook consider levying a property tax if sales tax revenues continue to be sluggish?I don't feel that our current situation warrants even considering levying a property tax, it is not that bad. It is easy to say I would never consider it, however the reality is that if the State of Illinois were to change the way sales taxes are distributed, then we would really have no choice. I don't expect this to happen, but you never knowOak Brook's firefighters have been without a contract for more than two years. Before that, the police worked without a contract for an extended time. How would you approach negotiations with public employee unions?It is my hope that reasonable people can work out something fair in a reasonable time. Ultimately the police contract got done. I don't know why we couldn't have come to the same agreement sooner. I believe in laying our cards on the table and engaging in serious negotiations, if it can't get resolved, take it to interest arbitration and get it done, we owe it to the people of Oak Brook as well as to our employees. There is more to this than just economic terms, our employees need to have confidence that they will be treated fairly by the administration, with a complete absence of political interference.What is your opinion on privatization of city services to save money (for example, hiring more contract firefighters and dispatchers)?I am willing to cautiously consider alternative means of delivering services to our residences. Like everything in life, privatization has it's plusses and minuses. I will not support any action which is detrimental to our residents as a result of diminished quality of services our residents enjoyWhat should the village do about rising pension costs?I think the state legislature (who sets pension plan specifics) took a good first step towards pension reform. We can continue to lobby our elected officials in Springfield to continue making further adjustments to make our pension plans comparable to what the private sector offers. As well as considering a variable rate of employee contributions on police and fire pensions where both the village and the employees bear the consequence of the level of financial risk they choose to take. Nobody likes to say it, nobody likes to hear it, but it is what it is. The fact is investment returns are currently quite low, and people are living longer, and some adjustments have to be made.