Augie Filippone: 2021 candidate for Mount Prospect Village Trustee
Mount Prospect Village Trustee
Four Candidates - Three 4-year terms
Bio
Hometown: Mount Prospect
Age: 36
Occupation: Attorney
Employer: Filippone Law, Mount Prospect
Civic involvement: Mount Prospect Planning and Zoning Commissioner; Junior Achievement of Chicago; Chicago Volunteer Legal Services; Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights; Mount Prospect Women's Club; city of Chicago Business Affairs and Consumer Protection; Women's Business Development Center, Mount Prospect Chamber of Commerce, Mount Prospect Downtown Merchants Association
Q&A
Q. What is the primary reason you're running for office? What is the most important issue?
A. Ever since I moved to Mount Prospect, I have enjoyed engaging with my community and giving back. My wife and I operate our law firm in town and we are raising two wonderful young kids. As a Mount Prospect business owner and resident, I am committed to seeing this community grow for our children and want our community to be a welcoming place for all families and businesses. This has been a challenging year for our community given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but Mount Prospect has shown great resolve, resilience, and fellowship this past year. The pandemic has had an impact on our fiscal footing and we still have a way to go to fully recover from the impacts of this pandemic. If residents allow me the opportunity, I want to be a voice at the table that advocates for them. I'm not interested in playing politics. I'm rolling up my sleeves and getting to work, providing real solutions to things that have direct impact on resident lives.
Q. How do you view your role in confronting the pandemic: provide leadership even if unpopular, give a voice to constituents - even ones with whom you disagree - or defer to state and federal authorities?
A. Local elections are referendums. Leadership means making a decision that represents all constituents and moves the ball forward to improve quality of life for Mount Prospect residents. We shouldn't be electing people that are afraid to take a position and advocate for how it will help our community turn the page. There are going to be many issues outside of local control which are dictated by county, state, or federal government or require coordination with these entities, but I'm ready to get to work and advocate for Mount Prospect constituents. As a practicing trial attorney, I spend my days providing clients with digesting voluminous and often technical information, investigating solutions, and creating road maps to solve problems. There is no cookie cutter answer to every question. Being an attorney and being a public leader means understanding where you're going, figuring out how you're going to get there, and knowing when you've arrived.
Q. Did your town continue to adequately serve its constituents during the disruptions caused by the pandemic? If so, please cite an example of how it successfully adjusted to providing services. If not, please cite a specific example of what could have been done better.
A. We need to make sure there is adequate communication and that information is delivered to residents in a clear, streamlined, user-friendly manner to businesses and residents and adapt our delivery to account for how residents access information. As a local business owner myself, it seemed like many of my colleagues were inundated with varying information about guidelines and procedures without a central source to address their concerns or seek clarification. Likewise, in speaking with residents, there was understandable frustration with elected officials for inactivity, conflicting reasoning, and direction. Simplicity is the best solution. In the event of a future crisis the Village should consider building its information delivery system and look into an alert system or app so that residents can access timely information at their fingertips.
Q. In light of our experiences with COVID-19, what safeguards/guidelines should you put in place to address any future public health crises?
A. The pandemic has shown us, in a rather devastating manner, the importance of adequately funding and supporting our human services programs. The Mount Prospect residents certainly came together to support their neighbors during this pandemic, but we must ensure that programs that provide our residents with much needed security, such as our food pantry, utility assistance, and rental assistance, are adequately funded and that the availability of such services are adequately communicated to our residents. Barriers to services, such as language access or inability to connect to resources due to technology access, should also be examined to make sure that residents aren't falling through the cracks.
Q. What cuts can local government make to reduce the burden of the pandemic on taxpayers?
A. Local government should always strive to maintain lean budgets that deliver services to residents in a cost-effective manner. Mount Prospect's methodology on how it implements its tax levy has been fairly consistent and seeks to address our largest obligations, such as pensions and debt service. Local government should strive to create an environment for success and seek opportunities to expand its commercial tax base so that residential taxes and service costs don't increase dramatically or even remain flat. I've spoken to many residents about this. People understand it takes money to deliver vital services like public safety and public works. But the more we as a Village can do to secure that capital through commercial enterprise and economic development, the less burden we put on residents.
Q. What do you see as the most important infrastructure project you must address? Why and how should it be paid for? Conversely, during these uncertain economic times, what infrastructure project can be put on the back burner?
A. Our public works team has already identified multiple projects that can be delayed without accelerated detrimental impact. One important infrastructure improvement includes the Levee 37 project. Project construction and installation of the additional Pumping Station was just recently put out to bid by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The project is a joint partnership between multiple stakeholders to assist in limiting flooding on the north side of the Village. The joint project also means funding sources came from sources outside of Mount Prospect. That project along with the additional reserve systems recently installed should help with flooding on the north side. The South MP plan is an opportunity to comprehensively address infrastructure in this village by collaborating with a variety of community stakeholders - residents, schools, park districts, state and local entities, and businesses. The plan requires strategic vision, creativity and ingenuity, and commitment to see it through to full implementation. I have been a consistent proponent of south side development and see a real opportunity to take action that benefits the entire Village in the process.
Q. Do you agree or disagree with the stance your municipality has taken on permitting recreational marijuana sales in the community? What would you change about that stance, if you could?
A. Mount Prospect eventually got to the right place, which is to allow the sale of recreational marijuana. How our Village Board got here, however, was misguided. It was unfortunate but predictable given the often parochial and reactive decision-making by some trustees on the current board. Despite having the results of a Cook County referendum in support of legalization and three unanimous recommendations by Village Commissions on the question of sales within MP, four trustees relied on personal moral determinations or archaic arguments in lieu of facts to vote the measure down. Even as the Village was facing a multimillion dollar deficit in light of COVID-19, the Board still sought to delay reconsideration and instead placed another referendum on the November 2020 ballot. Our local dispensary even publicly addressed the Board that the sale of recreational cannabis was needed in order for their operation to remain viable and remain in Mount Prospect. The trustees ended up flip-flopping and switching their vote, but the loss on potential revenue already occurred. The marijuana vote exemplified how the majority of current trustees took a short sighted and reactive approach to decision-making despite being entrusted to act on behalf of the community as a whole.
Q. What's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?
A. Within just a few years, we will likely reach the point of cost parity between electric and gas vehicles. I believe we as a Village must conduct an in-depth re-evaluation of the costs associated with internal combustion versus the increasing number of electric vehicles currently available or soon to available on the market. The new administration has vowed to switch the federal vehicle fleet to all electric and a number of municipalities across the country have made the change. The transition is not going to be immediate. We are probably still looking at least a decade to fully wean off gas vehicles used by the Village, but if we do it methodically, and economically, we will be able to save money, not interrupt any services, and provide a cleaner community. Clarifying a Village implementation plan for charging stations should also be part of this review.