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Name:
Dawn Hicks
What office are you seeking?
Second Ward Alderman
What is your political party?
Independant
What is your current age?
45
Occupation and employer:
Supervisor at Save A Lot
What offices, if any, have you previously held?
None
City:
Campaign Website:
Dawn Hicks for City of La Salle Alderwoman Facebook page
Education:
I have a high school diploma and I have taken classes at IVCC, such as ASL and Basic EMT.
Community Involvement:
My proudest volunteer work is when I was a CASA volunteer. As someone who has been in the foster care system, this program hit home for me. I believe it was a 6 week course, along with an extensive background check and finally, being sworn in as an officer of the court. CASA volunteers are there for the child(ren). We give these children a voice in what they want in court. That is a very powerful thing for a child because a lot of times, they don’t get a say.
I have also been a Mystery Reader at Northwest grade school many times over the years.
Marital status/Immediate family:
I am married, going on 20 years, to my incredible husband Justin. We have raised our 4 beautiful children here in La Salle.
Questions:
What do you believe is the greatest issue facing the city of La Salle at this time and how do you plan to address it?
Our biggest issue in La Salle is the people’s voice is not being heard or respected. I have been going to the city meetings for over 2 years. I continue to observe people asking questions, everything from our environmental concerns to fixing things like sidewalks, curbs and alleys, to asking for transparency on city spending. I myself have been one of those people asking these questions and we continue to be ignored and/or misled. A big part of the reason I am running for alderman is to bring back communication between the public and the city officials.
How would you attract new business to La Salle?
The city needs to fix the sewer systems because no one likes shopping or eating downtown when is smells like sewage. Secondly, we need the mayor and aldermen to take better care of all the businesses that are in La Salle. We keep losing businesses in part because some of the city council members are not supporting or listening to business owners’ concerns and needs. Once we are doing right by the current business owners, I believe word will spread and other businesses will want to join in La Salle.
What ideas do you have to grow La Salle? How should the city look at expansion?
For the city to expand and grow, we need families that want to move into the area. Having a superfund site in La Salle is not a desirable quality for people who want to raise a family. We need to get these yards properly cleaned up so people can feel safe being outdoors. Right now, the EPA is approximately 3 years behind in clean ups. I would love to see more families outdoors at the parks, taking walks, and having outdoor activities that cost little to nothing to attend, such as Movie in the Park. I would love for us to have more stores downtown that are budget friendly for the people of La Salle. Many of the clothing shops, as lovely as they are, are not within the budget of many of the La Salle residents.
How can La Salle work with local businesses to provide a strong relationship between the city and business community?
The city needs to listen better to the business community. For example, business owners are complaining about the lack of parking for their customers during the La Salle Fest. The city really needs to come up with a solution, not ignore them. Another thing that the city can do is hold certain business owners accountable for dilapidated buildings. They have ordinances in place to deal with this issue, but they choose when to enforce it.
Constituents, city staff and elected officials often have differing opinions and political leanings. How would you balance your personal ideology if your constituency, staff and elected officials differ from your personal beliefs
I truly believe that if I am voting on something with the constituents’ best interest at heart, then I am doing my job properly. However, I am always open to different perspectives.
How would you address the need for affordable housing?
I don’t have enough information at this time to give my opinion on this.
Should local law enforcement cooperate with ICE to identify and deport immigrants who do not have legal status to be in the United States?
I believe the local law enforcement should cooperate with any federal law enforcement agency, provided that federal agency has the appropriate warrants.
How do you intend to balance economic development with environmental sustainability in the community?
I would like to look into more grants that will encourage and help businesses go green.
What are your plans for enhancing public transportation and infrastructure in the city?
I plan on supporting NCAT and similar businesses that cater to helping people get around the area in an affordable way. As far as enhancing infrastructure, I would like to be able to review the building inspector’s reports to help determine which buildings can be improved upon both efficiently and cost effectively, so as to not cause a financial burden to the taxpayers of La Salle.
What are your top public safety concerns for our community and how would you propose addressing them?
One of the top public safety concerns I and many in our community have is, there is no safety plan if Carus Chemical has another disaster. Several hours went by before our city leaders had any idea on what to do for the people of La Salle the first time Carus had a disaster. Even then. people were not told how to properly shelter in place. I want to work with Emergency Management in coming up with a safety plan if this were to ever happen again. I also would want this safety plan posted on the city’s website for all to have access to.
How will you ensure that city policies promote inclusion for all residents?
By having a diverse group of people on committees while drafting policies or revising them.
Do you support requiring government officials to publicly disclose potential conflicts of interest, and how would you enforce this?
Yes, I support publicly disclosing potential conflicts of interest. I would call for a re vote if there is a conflict of interest where the person with the conflict was the vote that decided the outcome.
How will you make sure you are accessible to your constituents?
I have already written a letter introducing myself to the people in the second ward. In that letter I included my phone number and email address. I also have a facebook page dedicated to my running for alderman.