Pierog seeks 2nd term, challenger Bell urges change at League forum

Kane County Board chair candidates – incumbent Democrat Corinne Pierog who is seeking a second term and Republican challenger Lance Bell – shared their backgrounds and platforms at a recent candidates forum.

The forum was co-hosted by several leagues and held Sept. 30 at Batavia City Hall.

Pierog said her family arrived in the U.S. in the 1890s, eventually living in Chicago on the South Side, and her father became a carpenter.

“This legacy that I bring here to Chicago and to the Midwest and ... now to St. Charles is rich. It’s deep,” Pierog said. “I’m a builder. I’m a creator. I support the opportunity for people to build their dreams in a very pragmatic and practical fashion.”

Bell, of South Elgin, said he is a marketing and technology CEO and chief artificial intelligence officer for a software company he and his wife started 15 years ago.

In 2018, Bell said he and his wife started a Christian Leadership Ministries that serves marriages and foster children in the Fox Valley. Bell also is on the board of directors for the Christian Business Fellowship, assisting entrepreneurs in starting small businesses.

Best qualified

To a question about how their backgrounds make them the best qualified candidate for board chair, Pierog said she started out as a teacher in California and then New York.

“I was the first college graduate from my family,” Pierog said.

She earned a master’s degree and was in school for a doctorate but was not able to finish because of a divorce.

“But I continued my career in education, teaching speech, theater, as well as business communication” Pierog said. “Through that I became associate dean.”

She said she moved on to economic development, coming back home to St. Charles where she and her children settled, eventually going for her MBA at age 50.

Bell said his passion is relationships, which is why he and his wife started a marriage ministry.

“In 2018, we published a book called ‘The Marriage You Do Not Deserve,’ ” Bell said. “We have a passion of serving other people.”

Bell said he uses the Socratic method, using questions to help people get answers and select the best one.

“That’s where my skill set would be superior when it comes to leading the board,” Bell said. “We have 24 board members. ... It’s a large organization. There’s a lot of complexities going on and I’m well-suited with my technology and business background to be able to lead Kane County for the next four years.”

Compromise

To a question about how they compromised with someone they disagreed with to accomplish a goal, Pierog said the board has 24 members “each one with their own unique opinions.”

“One of the ways we got through ... was when we started putting together the responsible bidder ordinance,” Pierog said.

She said she worked with board members, business contractors, laborers and lawyers.

The measure was “refined and developed ... and now the county has passed it.”

The action enables businesses “to have responsible opportunity to build it once, to build it under budget and to build it correctly,” Pierog said.

Bell said in software development “we get into conversations about the pros and the cons of the different technology and which one selected would be best for the end user.“

“When working with my software development team leaders, we come together on consensus to find that sweet spot,” Bell said. “Sometimes we fail and then we pivot and pivoting happens a lot in life.”

Sales tax increase

Bell said with data from the Tax Institute and Nerd Wallet, Kane County was ranked 32nd highest in the nation “for total tax burden on its citizens.”

“There are those who think that taxes are fine,” Bell said. “And they’re OK giving up a martini a week for taxes to go higher. And then I think there’s the rest of us who feel the burden of everything that we’ve suffered over the last four years. So I’m against all tax hikes.”

Bell said the county’s revenue goes up every year but expenses are way higher.

Pierog defended seeking a 0.75% sales tax increase, saying the reason the county needs more revenue is because its levy has been frozen for 14 years.

“Kane County has the lowest tax rate – I’m talking just the county, not schools, not municipal – within all of the collar counties, we are the lowest,” Pierog said. “What we’re asking for is three-quarters of a cent on a dollar purchase, meaning $100, you’d pay 75 cents.”

The Leagues of Women Voters of the Aurora Area, Elgin Area, and Central Kane County co-hosted the forum. It is available online at www.youtube.com.