Brian J. Krajewski: 2022 candidate for DuPage County Board District 3

Bio

Party: Republican

Office sought: DuPage County Board District 3

City: Downers Grove

Age: 60

Occupation: Attorney and CPA, Law Office of Brian J. Krajewski

Previous offices held: Downers Grove Mayor, 1999-2007, and DuPage County Board, 2010-present

Q&A

Q: Describe your position regarding the balance between county spending and revenues as it exists today, then describe the chief threats you see looming in the future and how the county should deal with them.

A: As a result of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling a few years ago requiring companies that make sales through the internet must charge sales tax, the County has seen a substantial increase in its revenue. The revenue has far exceeded the County's spending the last two years. The County is currently in a very fiscally sound position. The two biggest threats looming, is the current high inflation which may lead to a recession and Springfield passing the SAFE-T Act which will require the County to spend millions of additional dollars on State's Attorney's, Public Defender's and additional Sheriff personnel. To deal with these issues the County needs to continue to be very fiscally responsible in its spending and encourage our residents to contact their Springfield representatives and asked them to overturn some of the SAFE-T Act that has placed a tremendous amount of costs on the County as well as local municipalities.

Q: Is there a specific service or amenity that is lacking in the county? If so, how do you propose to provide and fund it?

A: Our food pantries throughout DuPage County have been struggling to obtain enough fresh and healthy produce items for our residents experiencing food insecurity. Grocery stores have begun keeping produce items on their shelves for longer periods of time before setting them aside for donation to the pantries. On top of this, transportation lags between the stores and the organizations, so that by the time it reaches the pantries many of the products have already spoiled. To address this, I will be proposing that DuPage County allocate at least 5 million dollars from our remaining American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to be used to obtain food for our pantries. I will propose money be given to the Northern IL Food Bank, to purchase large quantities of fresh produce at wholesale to distribute to the Pantries and money will be given directly to DuPage pantries, so they have funds to directly support food insecure residents with any items they deem necessary to bolster community wellbeing.

Q: Should the county board continue to start its regular board meetings with an invocation? Please say why or why not.

A: I am in support of continuing the tradition of beginning board meetings with an invocation, similar to how the United States Congress conducts the beginning of their sessions. Given that DuPage County regularly rotates between various denominational leaders for these invocations, I believe beginning our meetings in this way highlights and respects the vast spiritual makeup of our community members before we begin conversing about important issues that impact each and every one of us.

Q: Does there need to be more bipartisanship and cooperation on the county board? If yes, what would you do to help make that happen?

A: You can always use more bipartisan support; however, I have not experienced many issues obtaining bipartisan support or cooperation around initiatives that I've brought to the DuPage County Board. Some of the initiatives that I have brought forward are banning the sales of animals bred from puppy mills, obtaining over 1 million dollars in funding to provide internet services for low-income students during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic for remote learning, equipping the DuPage County Sheriff's officers with more Tasers and thorough mental health training, providing license plate scanners to law enforcement groups, and establishing a mobile command centers to connect 36 Village police departments and the Sheriff's office with resources and information to respond to serious crimes taking place in our county through M.E.R.I.T. All these initiatives that I have led have received bipartisan support.

Q: If your political party has control of the county board after the November election, how would that benefit DuPage residents?

A: With the three most pressing issues in our community currently being inflation, crime and safety, as well as taxes, I believe DuPage residents will benefit from the emphasis my party has made on addressing crime and safety concerns, particularly as it relates to the Illinois SAFE-T Act and how this law will create drastic changes in how crime is addressed in our state beginning in January of next year. One example of these changes is the elimination of cash bail, which will mean that many felony offenders in DuPage will automatically be released back into the community in January, despite the safety risks this may pose for the individuals that have previously been victimized by these criminals. Given this, I believe residents will benefit immensely from having my party influence local county decisions that will support law enforcement with resources so that they can feel protected at the local level despite the reductions in offender consequences coming from Springfield.

Q: The COVID pandemic put a spotlight on the need for mental health services. What role should the county play in this?

A: I think DuPage County should address this topic by implementing more initiatives aimed at increasing access to mental health services for residents as well as providing more effective training and resources to individuals that respond to mental health needs both at DuPage County and throughout our neighborhoods. For example, I led an initiative to provide law enforcement officers with an experiential training that demonstrated how an individual interacts with their surroundings when they have serious mental health conditions such as being on the autism spectrum. By participating in this training, officers can have a better idea of how to effectively respond to individuals in a crisis so as not to further destabilize them. With the explosive revenues we have been experiencing from the legalization of marijuana, I am hopeful that the County can allocate some of this revenue toward funding initiatives like these.

Q: What is the single most important issue facing your district and how should the county address it?

A: Given the rise of criminal activity in DuPage County over the past few years and the various changes to law enforcement responses to crime that will begin going into effect in January of 2023 due to the SAFE-T Act, I believe addressing crime and safety is the most important issue facing District 3. With over half of all felonies in DuPage being committed by nonresidents, and with these nonresidents soon seeing a decline in the amount of consequences they may face for these crimes due to cash bail being eliminated and other changes from of the SAFE-T Act, it is more important than ever that our law enforcement officials can be equipped with adequate resources and community support to continue to patrol and proactively address the amount of crime committed in our neighborhoods moving forward. I believe this support should come in additional County funding of programs that will enhance our Sheriff's ability to respond effectively to crimes both before and after they have been committed.