Julie Simpson: Candidate Profile:

Bio

Name: Julie Simpson

City: Vernon Hills

Website:

Twitter:

Facebook: facebook.com/VoteJulieSimpson/

Party: Democrat

Office sought: Lake County Board District 18

Age: 36

Occupation: Mom

Education: Political science major at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Civic involvement: Coordinator/Volunteer of Vernon Hills March for Our Lives

Elected offices held: Hawthorn District 73 CCSD Board Member

Questions & Answers

Question 1: If you are a challenger, what would you bring to the board and what would your priority be?

I bring to the board a commitment to ending corruption and fighting against out of control property taxes.  Just like most of my neighbors, I am not a well-connected insider and I am outraged about the recent revelations that Lake County officials have been misusing our tax dollars. Lake County has the highest taxes in Illinois and has become unaffordable for many current residents. We need to put in place policies and procedures that will stop county officials from misusing our money.  For example, the practice of no bid contracts must end, and we must put in place disclosure requirements that will end the practice of secretly giving contracts to family members and campaign donors of elected officials.

Question 2: What is the single biggest need in your district?

The number one need for my district is property tax relief. The Lake County Board has raised property taxes for seven years in a row, making it more difficult for everyone in our community to make ends meet. Our local governments need to learn to live within their means, and stop spending our tax dollars on wasteful and unnecessary expenses.

We also need to stand against misguided projects like the Route 53 extension, which will result in increased taxes and tolls, increased flooding and environmental hazards, and the potential disruption of life for many communities that live within the proposed highway's path.

Question 3: Should the county government eliminate procurement cards, or p-cards, for county board members? Should county board members even have expense accounts? County board members in some other counties don't, their salaries cover work expenses. Should employees' p-cards be eliminated, too?

P-cards for county board members should be eliminated.  Any personal expenses or expenses purely for self-promotion should not be paid for with taxpayer money. Taxpayers especially should no longer be paying for luxury hotel stays, regular car service to and from Chicago, or lunch meetings with politically-connected insiders. Likewise, there is no need for elected officials to utilize an expense account. If an elected official procures an expense for a legitimate governmental function, he or she should submit a request to the County Board for approval just like any other expenditure of taxpayer money. Additionally, I am greatly concerned by recent news reports that suggest that some county employees were also misusing their p-cards for inappropriate expenses. At a minimum, we need to institute policies and procedures that will increase oversight of these expenditures and eliminate the abuse of taxpayer dollars.

Question 4: Is the county doing enough to control expenses? What additional, specific steps do you recommend?

No, the county is not doing enough to control expenses. In recent years, we have seen nearly $18 million in no-bid contracts awarded to the spouse of a high-ranking county employee. We have seen almost $5 million spent on a case filing system that never materialized for the Clerk of the Circuit Court's office – also through a no-bid contract. Less than a year after voting to raise our property taxes, the county board voted to raise the salaries of elected officials. We need disclosure requirements that will stop contracts from secretly being awarded to well-connected political insiders, we need to drastically reduce the practice of awarding expensive no-bid contracts, and we need to absolutely end the practice of raising taxes for the purpose of funding salary increases for elected officials. The Lake County Board should also re-institute the practice of videotaping its finance committee meetings. It should be as easy as possible for the public to understand how decisions are made about how taxpayer money is spent, and the County Board was wrong to try to obscure these meetings from public scrutiny.

Question 5: Historically, county board meetings have been free of partisanship and political antics - but party-line fighting has become more noticeable in recent years. How do you feel about that?

Elected officials from both parties should always venture to compromise, and work together to find common ground that will be in the best interest of our community. However, it is important to not compromise on some core values, and we need to stand up against forces that seek to divide us. Right now, the campaigns of the politicians controlling Lake County's government are supported by billionaire Dick Uihlein, the same person who thought it was appropriate to elect a child molester to serve as Alabama's United States Senator. Some current and potential Lake County Board members are supporters of State Rep. Helene Miller-Walsh, who attacked survivors of sex abuse, spread junk science about birth control, and promoted un-American ideas such as banning members of a certain religion from running for office. I will always fight against extremism, discrimination and forces that oppose the wonderful diversity of our community.