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Louis Iacovelli: Candidate profile

Bio

Name: Louis Iacovelli

City: Barrington Hills

Office sought: Village Trustee

Age (on election day): 54

Family: Beautiful wife of 25 years

Occupation: I am a Success Manager at Salesforce and a part-time Emergency Medical Technician.

Education: Loyola University of Chicago, BS Math/Computer Science; DePaul University of Chicago, MS Computer Science; Harper College, EMT

Civic involvement: volunteering Friday nights in the Emergency Department at Good Shepherd Hospital. In the last three years, he has done volunteer work for the

Hooved Animal Humane Society in Woodstock, Greater Chicago Food Depository and the Fox River Valley Pony Club Horse Trials.

Previous elected offices held:

Incumbent? No

Website: http://www.votelouis.com

Facebook: Vote Louis

Twitter:

Issue questions

What are the most important issues facing your community and how do you intend to address them?

Property Values.

Barrington Hills is community of 1,500 properties on 31 square miles with 12,000 acres of protected property. We are a rural oasis only 25 minutes to O'Hare, an hour from Chicago, and 15 minutes from great restaurants, grocery stores and shopping. And yet, our home values remain stagnant. The average home that sold was on the market for more that 450 days. Why? First, our Village's image has suffered at the hands of people who either harbor ulterior motives, or simply, have no idea how to manage and market our brand. Because of this, our publicity in local and national newspapers has been largely negative over the last several years. We poorly communicate the value of our Village and outsiders and potential buyers rely on nefarious, bitter websites and blogs for their information.

Honesty and Transparency.

This is not new issue, but one that the current administration continually resists. The Village government needs to have greater transparency and

• Include an ethics policy so that board members are aware of potential conflicts of interest that might arise as they make decisions for the Village. I believe many residents would have more confidence in the board if a strong ethics policy were to be put into place.

• Live stream all meetings so residents can more easily be informed and involved in decisions impacting them and their neighbors.

Community.

As new families enter our community, they quickly discover that there is nowhere to turn for information, events, and activities. There is a feeling of isolation that we need to overcome; we need to develop a better sense of community. This in turn will foster the positive image our Village deserves.

What makes you the best candidate for the job?

I have lived in the village for nineteen years. I am very passionate about our community, our environment, and government transparency. I have spent my career helping businesses find solutions to business problems by listening and thinking creatively and collaboratively. I would bring that same approach to the position of Village Trustee. I pledge to listen to the residents, and work together to ensure Barrington Hills remains a unique and valuable community.

Describe your leadership style and explain how you think that will be effective in producing actions and decisions with your village board or city council.

I lead by example. I lead from the front by taking action, demonstrating what needs to be done, and keeping my team organized to make sure we're all on the same page and contributing equally.

How would you describe the condition of your community's budget, and what are the most important specific actions the town should take to assure providing the level of services people want?

The Village's road paving efforts have benefited from lower petroleum prices allowing for modest reductions in the levy while maintaining planned road paving goals in recent years. However, fiscal responsibility, doing more with less, includes a balance of providing needed services as well as addressing underfunded pensions. While it's nice to say that the Village lowered the tax levy a few dollars for each resident, I would like to see the Village focus on ensuring the residents of Barrington Hills are provided with quality services, ensuring safety and fiscal health.

What's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?

In Barrington Hills, property taxes are the main source of revenue. The Village itself only receives about 13% of the total amount homeowners pay in property taxes. College District 512 and School District 220 on the other hand, receive about 61% of our taxes. The question we ought to be asking is whether the residents are paying their unfair share of the school taxes. We should be fairly taxed on our home, but we should not be taxed on our land. Our open spaces contribute to the betterment of the environment, and warrant credit. Arguably, open space helps to protect schools from overcrowding, and reduced open land taxes would encourage people to hold more open land.

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