William Belmonte: Candidate profile

Bio

Name: William Belmonte

City: Bloomingdale

Office sought: Village Trustee 4 year term

Age: 50 years old

Family: Married for 24 years to Adrian, twins Will and Alexis 19 years old

Occupation: Attorney

Education: BS Marketing Marquette University, JD DePaul University College of Law

Civic involvement: former Director Eastgate Homeowners Association

Previous elected offices held: Bloomingdale Village Trustee 2015-present,

Incumbent? If yes, when were you first elected? Yes, 2015

Website:

Facebook: Bloomingdale Unity Party

Twitter:

Issue questions

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

My goal is to continue to build on the successful revitalization we have brought to Bloomingdale during the last four years. We continue to face reduced funding from the State of Illinois so it is of utmost importance that our Village Board maximize our funding and budget to continue our revitalization efforts. I want our businesses to continue to thrive, our families to continue to live in safe neighborhoods, our seniors to be supported in our community and to continue to provide the necessary resources to our law enforcement and public works to maintain our safe and vibrant community.

What makes you the best candidate for the job?

I am not just a candidate, I am a lifelong resident of the area who takes great pride in our community and wants to see it thrive. I have lived and raised a family in Bloomingdale for the past 18 years and experienced firsthand the great benefits of this wonderful community. My son and daughter attended high school at Lake Park and participated in sports through the Bloomingdale Park District. I support Bloomingdale businesses and want to see our community welcome and support young families, future growth and opportunity for all. I have also had the privilege of serving our community as a DuPage County State's Attorney and know how dedicated our public workers and law enforcement teams are and truly enjoy the partnership we have with them to serve our 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.

As a Trustee, my job first and foremost is to represent all residents of Bloomingdale. As their advocate, it is my job to listen to the concerns of our community and be their advocate by providing a voice to them. I believe all points of view must be examined to determine the best course of action for the community. These decisions should be made with full transparency and for the betterment of all residents and community.

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?

Despite the budget challenges of the State of Illinois, the Village has worked to achieve a balanced budget each year for the last four years. As a Trustee, I have worked hard to keep my commitment to the residents of Bloomingdale to deliver on fiscal responsibility and will continue to do so over the next four years. We have reduced administrative costs at the Village while still maintaining the services the residents expect and deserve. Knowing that we will continue to face cuts in funding from Springfield, the Village has tightened its belt to reduce administrative costs while continuing to provide high quality services to our residents. We can do more with less if we use the resources we have responsibly and efficiently.

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

My idea is to spotlight and bring more attention to improving the water quality through environmental awareness for our community. One of the relationships I have built as a Trustee is working with County Board Member Sean Noonan and Kay McKeen of SCARCE. SCARCE is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to water quality education and providing cleaner air. It works to build awareness, prevent pollutants from getting into our water as well as to reduce the amount of litter going into our waterways and entangling wildlife. While most people are more environmentally conscious, there is so much education that can be done on this issue for the community and for both present and future generations. This will not happen overnight but this education of the community will help our watershed to remain clean, which is not only a major goal of mine but also the Illinois EPA.