Greg Hart: Candidate profile

Bio

Name: Greg Hart

City: Hinsdale

Website: www.greghart.com

Twitter: @citizensforhart

Facebook: Greg Hart / @citizensforhart

Office sought: DuPage County Board Member, District 3

Age: 31

Family: Alexandra (wife); Madeleine (daughter, age 9 months)

Occupation: Management consultant

Education: MBA, University of Chicago Booth School of Business (expected 2019); B.A. in Political Science, Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Civic involvement: DuPage County Board member (September 2017-present); DuPage County Health & Human Services Committee chairman (May 2018-present); Giving DuPage, member of the board of directors (August 2018-present); Fenwick High School board of directors, Institutional Advancement Committee Member (February 2016-present); Chicago Lighthouse Charter School, member of the board of directors (December 2011-June 2017); Illinois Senate District 24 Legislative Advisory Council, Energy Committee chairman (March 2015-August 2016)

Elected offices held: DuPage County Board member (September 2017-present)

Questions & Answers

1. Why are you running for this office? Is there a particular issue that motivates you?

As a management consultant, I help some of the country's largest companies find innovative ways to boost productivity, identify efficiencies, and operate more cost-effectively. Due largely to decisions made in Springfield, DuPage is in a position where it must make difficult organizational choices in order to provide services without raising taxes. I believe my professional expertise not only qualifies me for continued service on the county board, but also uniquely positions me as the best candidate for this moment given the challenges DuPage will continue to face in the future. Since my appointment to the board last year, I successfully worked with Chairman Cronin and my colleagues to help government make difficult decisions about efficiency, head count, and program funding. If given the honor to serve District 3 for another four years, I will continue to identify opportunities to streamline government operations, reduce waste, and save money for taxpayers.

Aside from my professional qualifications, I believe my election would offer much needed generational diversity to the county board. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than a quarter of DuPage residents are under the age of 40. Yet, those under 40 currently represent just 5 percent of the board's makeup. As DuPage's revenue streams become more dependent on millennial taxpayers, I believe it's important for our elected bodies to reflect the makeup of our community. I am ready and willing to continue serving as a voice that will credibly articulate the concerns of all District 3 citizens on the county board.

2. If you are an incumbent, describe two important initiatives you've led. If you're not an incumbent, describe two ways you would contribute to the board.

In my year of service on the DuPage County Board, I led many important initiatives that yielded tangible benefits to the citizens of DuPage County. While I believe all my contributions have been important, two stand out in particular. First, in my role as Health & Human Services (HHS) Committee chairman, I oversaw the successful organizational redesign of DuPage County's Psychiatric Services division. Previously, Psychiatric Services was structured under the Department of Community Services with 100 percent of its funding coming from the county's general fund. Last year, it became apparent that the county health department has much greater access to supplemental revenue streams, such as Medicaid reimbursement, grants, and local funding sources. After thinking creatively, our county HHS team determined these supplemental revenue streams could absorb the full cost of Psychiatric Services if the division were moved under the Health Department. The Psychological Services integration proceeded, was completed without any job losses, and resulted in nearly $1 million of savings to the taxpayer. I am proud of the role the HHS Committee played in this effort under my leadership. I also believe the integration is a prime example of how my experience as a management consultant will enable me to identify additional organizational redesign opportunities that can make DuPage County government more efficient and less costly.

Second, I took on an expanded leadership role in DuPage County's response to the opioid epidemic. I reached across the aisle to partner with Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi to identify opportunities for DuPage County to coordinate with the federal government. I was personally invited by the congressman to offer testimony to the United States Congress about DuPage's approach to expanding naloxone availability, eradicating the supply of heroin, fentanyl, and unused prescription narcotics, expanding treatment and education programs, and establishing innovative rehabilitation and workforce development support. As a result of my testimony, DuPage is positioned as a national leader that can share best practices with governments across the country about how to develop a holistic strategy to address opioid addiction.

I also used my platform as HHS Chairman to identify new initiatives to support opioid patients. Knowing the epidemic is on track to have long-term human capital implications for the American workforce, I collaborated with workNet DuPage to create a job training and placement pilot program for rehabilitated opioid patients. I also was a vocal supporter of the county's efforts to hold prescription drug manufacturers accountable for their role in creating the opioid crisis. In December, I joined officials from DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties in announcing a lawsuit against prescription opioid manufacturers that falsely advertised the addictive qualities of their drugs and ravaged millions of families. While we have made progress on this issue, our work is not yet done. As a county board member, I will continue to advocate for policies that leverage the expertise of DuPage's medical community, law enforcement, judicial system, social services, educators, and faith communities. I am committed to doing everything I can to ensure this effort succeeds.

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

DuPage County's workforce development staff is second to none. However, I believe we can and must do more to expand our vocational training program capabilities. The US is currently facing a skilled labor shortage, particularly in the fields of health care, advanced manufacturing, and information technology. As a county board member, I have had fruitful discussions with academic, government, and business community stakeholders about the need to increase awareness about alternative educational paths and build vocational job placement programs. We have made some progress at expanding our vocational training capabilities. For example, I am currently working with workNet DuPage, the College of DuPage, and Choose DuPage to launch Project Hire-Ed, which is an apprenticeship program that is customizable based on the needs of participating businesses. However, funding continues to be the biggest hurdle to any job training and placement program. I believe the acquisition of federal and state workforce development grants is the best funding source available. However, we should also seek opportunities to form public-private partnerships where participating employers would invest in program startup and management costs with an educated and skilled labor pipeline serving as the incentive.

4. With DuPage County's budget being squeezed by state funding cuts and other factors, what initiatives would you support to increase revenue and/or save money?

According to a recent study, Illinois is currently losing one resident every 4.6 minutes. With that scale of outward migration, the residual impacts of Illinois' fiscal woes will only get worse for local governments across the state. While it was difficult, I am proud my fellow board members and I were able to pass a balanced FY18 budget that achieved significant cost reductions without raising property taxes. I am working with my colleagues to build a FY19 budget that also keeps the property tax levy flat. However, it is clear we must begin viewing cost cutting not necessarily as an achievement, but as a requirement for doing business.

As we look to the future, I support exploring opportunities to further model county operations after those in the private sector. As a management consultant, I regularly see businesses opting to leverage efficiencies within shared services such as payroll, IT, human resources, and other back office functions. We should explore opportunities to apply this method to departments financed by the county's general fund, where a combination of implementing planned attrition, exploring organizational redesign opportunities, deploying cloud-based technology services, and outsourcing certain administrative services has the potential to result in significant cost savings for the taxpayer.

While identifying inefficiencies should take precedence, I am also aware that cost savings alone won't solve the problems caused by our counterparts in Springfield. I am against the passage of any additional property tax levy to increase revenue. However, I am open to exploring other initiatives for DuPage to generate new funds, such as renting out county meeting space or land for public and private use. I would also be open to exploring whether a hotel/motel fee, which would not directly impact DuPage County taxpayers, could be used to generate revenue for the general fund.

5. The county has been focused on consolidation of services and government agencies. How effective has that effort been and how could it be improved?

I believe the Accountability, Consolidation, and Transparency (ACT) Initiative has been incredibly effective. I am proud that one of my first votes as a county board member was to approve the consolidation of Highland Hills Sanitary District under the ACT Initiative, which saved thousands of DuPage residents from burdensome rate increases on their water bills. I also am a strong supporter of consolidating the Election Commission into the County Clerk's Office, an effort which I look forward to officially commencing through a county board vote in January 2019.

DuPage must remain a leader on this topic moving forward. As a result, I believe the ACT Initiative can and must expand in scope. I support the chairman's view that the county board should explore whether consolidation of other countywide offices, particularly the Recorder's Office, would yield benefits to the taxpayer both in terms of cost savings and quality of service. I also firmly believe the principles of the ACT Initiative should be applied to departments financed by the county's general fund. As chairman of the Health & Human Services Committee, I successfully worked with the director of Community Services to consolidate its Psychiatric Services division into the county health department. This effort saved taxpayers $1 million this year. I believe there are similar consolidation opportunities across county government that could yield sizable benefits for DuPage County residents.

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

I believe the prevalence of environmental hazards is the most important issue currently facing District 3. I share the concern and frustration expressed by residents in my district over the recent revelation that carcinogenic emissions were released by Sterigenics International in Willowbrook. Although the response needed to be led by federal authorities, I felt strongly that the county should make available all appropriate resources from the DuPage Health Department to provide support and expertise to the municipal, state, and federal response teams. I am proud our county health department immediately rose to the occasion and continues to provide support to District 3 residents in the impacted area. Chairman Cronin and I were also two county officials who signed a letter demanding that Sterigenics immediately cease operations until it is certain there is no danger to the public. I believe those of us in county government have an obligation to speak out publicly and hold Sterigenics, or any other future contaminator, accountable. The health and safety of our community must always be our top priority.

Flooding is another environmental hazard affecting thousands of District 3 residents. Having experienced flooding in my own home, I know what it feels like to watch each weather report with a sense of impending fear about the potential for property damage, depreciation, and other adverse financial impacts. As a member of the Stormwater Management Committee, I have voted for intergovernmental agreements enabling DuPage County to better support District 3 municipalities with flood planning and infrastructure enhancements. I will continue to champion such agreements so that officials and residents of flood-prone communities, notably Timberlake in unincorporated Willowbrook, Westmont, and Bruce Lake in unincorporated Downers Grove, have the support they need to plan for and respond to incidents.

7. Please name one current leader who most inspires you.

Senator John McCain continues to inspire me as much in death as he did in life. He always focused on serving a cause higher than himself - whether it was the emphasis he placed on the importance of bipartisanship during his long career in the Senate, his willingness to stand up against intolerance and misinformation during his presidential run, or his graceful goodbye message urging the country to focus on our shared experience as Americans rather than our factional differences. To me, nobody living or dead better embodies the values of honor, dignity, civility, patriotism, and heroism than John McCain. I am thankful those of us called to public service have him as an example to which we can aspire.

8. What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?

My Mom and Dad taught me to always respect others, but also respect and have confidence in myself.

9. If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?

I would spend more time with my grandparents to learn from them and let them know how much they have influenced my life.

10. What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?

U.S. History because it instilled in me at a relatively young age a deep understanding of how fortunate I am to be an American.

11. If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?

It would be the same advice my parents gave me - always respect others, but also respect and have confidence in yourself.