Joanne Johnson: 2021 candidate for Buffalo Grove village trustee

Bio

City: Buffalo Grove

Age: 60

Occupation: Retired from a career in nonprofit marketing communication and public relations

Civic involvement: Currently, I am on at the board of directors for GiveNKind; Captain of the Village's Relay For Life Team with the American Cancer Society; Chair of the Mutual Ministry Committee at Hope Lutheran Church; and I volunteer at a myriad other organizations.

Q&A

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: The role of a municipality like Buffalo Grove is somewhat limited in a pandemic. The village must follow federal and state emergency orders. What the village can do is provide guidance, reassurance and assistance to its residents and businesses as we all work through the various stages of the pandemic and the mitigations that are imposed.

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: Not only did Buffalo Grove continue to serve its residents during the early stages of the pandemic, but we improved the delivery of our services to our residents and companies that are doing business within our boundaries. As an example, we built a walk-up window, complete with a doorbell and awning, for people to conduct business without entering the building. This has protected countless people, as well as our staff, from potential COVID exposure. Of course, if someone would prefer to do their business indoors, we have installed plexiglass at our front counter as a barrier to prevent the transmission of COVID. We also retrofitted our council chambers with plexiglass and an improved sound system so that we could safely hold board meetings in person and on social media platforms. I have never been prouder of our staff than in the early days of the pandemic. Other municipalities were coming to Buffalo Grove for advice and guidance, because we had control of the situation, and that's because so many people worked very hard to get there.

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: There are several things we learned from the current pandemic. First, the lines of authority and communication between all units of government must further be delineated in matters of public health. We need to clearly know who is responsible for what, and when and how are they going to get it there. Second, there are laws that need to be cleaned up to avoid time-consuming and costly litigation in the event of a future health crisis. Two laws that come to mind are the statute supporting the Governor's Executive Order, and the HIPPA Law as it relates to first responders and their right to know a patient's diagnosis.

Q: What cuts can local government make to reduce the burden of the pandemic on taxpayers?

A: Buffalo Grove has already made cuts to reduce the burden on taxpayers during the pandemic. That's why property taxes in our village did NOT increase at all this year. How did we get there? We asked eligible employees if they would take an early, voluntary retirement and 17 took us up on that offer. Buffalo Grove now has the leanest staff per capita in the Northwest suburbs. After the staffing cuts, we looked at services. For example, with less staff in Public Works, we decided to lengthen our snow routes. Streets that normally were plowed every 8 hours are now plowed every 10. This is a sacrifice, but it's the type of belt-tightening we needed to do as guardians of the taxpayers' dollar.

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: The most important project in Buffalo Grove is replacing and upgrading our entire infrastructure, some of which is 60+ years old. The current board was able to pass a $145 million multilayered debt plan that financed the complete replacement of sewer, water and streets without using one property tax dollar. The Infrastructure Modernization Plan sets Buffalo Grove up for cyclical improvements over decades. No longer are we kicking the can down the road or putting the burden on future generations. We are tackling these issues now and have set up a financial plan for the future. This plan will help to avoid costly and inconvenient repairs down the road. As far as what to put on the back burner, I believe that we can delay some smaller capital projects, such as sidewalk repairs. In deciding which projects to move ahead with and which to hold back, one has to balance the costs versus the overall benefit to the residents.

Q: Do you plan to address businesses that don't adhere to the governor's order to close or restrict business?

A: An executive order given under statutory authority has the force of law, hence municipalities are required to enforce it. That being said, the Village of Buffalo Grove is not actively looking for businesses that are not adhering to the order. However, if a complaint is registered against a business, the village has a process for working with the business to first educate the owner regarding mitigations. The last thing we want to do is pull a business license and we have so far been able to avoid that.

Q: Do you agree or disagree with the stance your board/council has taken on permitting recreational marijuana sales in the community? What would you change about that stance, if you could?

A: My position on recreational cannabis has not changed since we voted to allow it in Buffalo Grove. Our board approved a solid ordinance that covered all bases. We limited the number of dispensaries and we limited the locations to a select few areas away from residential areas, schools and other sensitive locations. We prohibited on-site consumption of the product. We prohibited growers, cultivation centers and craft growers within our boundaries. We even made it a special use to operate a medical dispensary and a recreational dispensary in one location, which means that such a dispensary must seek permission from the board to open. In the end, I believe we listened to the people and gave them what they wanted. Cannabis is here in Illinois. Buffalo Grove might as well earn some revenue off of it.

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

A: Everyone is talking about the Lake Cook Corridor, but I have a long-term vision for that corridor and the surrounding areas that I'd like to share. Lake-Cook Road could become Buffalo Grove's "Main Street" or "Magnificent Mile" once construction is complete and redevelopment begins. I envision easy connections between greenspaces, such as the Buffalo Creek Forest Preserve, village properties and Willow Stream Park. We could beautify the streetscape with lush landscaping and sculpture art. Open green space could offer ponds with kayak rentals next to bike paths and near restaurants and other experiential retail. Imagine going out to dinner with the kids, renting a kayak and doing a little shopping. Sounds fun. Right? That's what I'm thinking. Property values along Lake-Cook Road have been declining. With improvements like these, values will increase and will bring neighboring properties along with them. That means we all gain - more to enjoy in our town, pride in our village and increased property values.