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DuPage County Board District 5 candidate Janice Anderson answered Shaw Local’s election questionnaire for the DuPage County Board primary election.
Voting ends for the primary election on the evening of June 28.
Full Name: Janice Anderson
What office are you seeking? Member, DuPage County Board, District 5
What offices, if any, have you previously held? Member, DuPage County Board
Trustee, Naperville Township
Member, Regional Board of Schools - Will County
City: Naperville, IL
Occupation: Executive Assistant, Global Consulting Company
Education: Bachelor of Arts, Political Science, North Central College
Masters, Leadership Studies, North Central College
Campaign Website: https://janicecares4dupage.com
What steps should DuPage County health and sheriff’s departments take to prevent opioid addiction and overdose?
The DuPage County HOPE Taskforce, established by Chairman Dan Cronin is an interagency advisory task force focusing on developing policies and programs to prevent opioid use as well as deadly over doses.
Their stated goals address their mission:
1. Professionally and comprehensively assess opioid use within DuPage County
2. Recommend effective and actionable policies, initiatives and programs
3. Measure success from desired program and initiative benchmarks and deliverables
The Taskforce has been successful in making DuPage County elected leaders aware of on-going needed program development, so they may make appropriate policy and program recommendations. The information and recommendation shared from the Taskforce can also guide budgeting decisions so that proper resources can be allocated to this crisis.
The key to the success of this Taskforce, as with many of the County’s critical initiatives, is collaboration. Progress in any government program must include collaboration, cooperation and communication. I would like to see the Taskforce to be expanded to include the voices of educators, parents and former users. The insight of these greatly effected stakeholders will give us a deeper understanding of the crisis and help us develop a pathway to address these challenges.
What is your opinion of the county board’s actions and initiatives since Democrats assumed control of the board two years ago?
The role of a public servant is to represent their constituents regardless of party. The priorities of any County Board member must be the health and safety of our residents. The strength of our County is undermined when party bickering replaces bi-partisan debate.
I will work with all members of the Board, despite their political party, to lessen the burden on our taxpayers, keep our families safe and our neighborhoods secure and to operate an efficient and responsible County.
Crime, public health, infrastructure, stormwater; these are not partisan issues, these are issues that are critical to all of us.
Do you support the merger of additional county offices/departments?
In these challenging times, it is our duty as Board members to always seek increased efficiencies.
I will support mergers of county offices/departments if it is proven that they can continue to offer quality service, or improved services, and save taxpayer dollars.
What are your overall thoughts of the sheriff’s department’s job performance?
I believe Sheriff Mendrick and his team have done an outstanding job. The Sheriff has created a new dynamic for this office, being deeply involved in the community and working closely with all other law enforcement agencies throughout our County.
They have put a focus on reducing recidivism and developed programs that make it easier for former offenders to assimilate into productive lives.
They created MERIT which combined every law enforcement tool County wide to enhance police response. They fed nearly 50,000 families in need per year with their food distribution program. They created a continuum of care in our correctional facility. They provide drug detox and recovery programs as well as full psychiatric services. They have job training programs such as sanitation, welding, dry walling and horticulture. Their gang tattoo removal program gives former gang members a new chance at life upon release. The department has trained over 900 officers in deescalation, decreasing violent interactions in the community. Their digital forensic lab leads in recovering evidence from electronic devices. They solved the Oakbrook mall shooting by gaining DNA evidence with our own Crime Laboratory as well as many other high profile cases. They expanded our K9 until to include drug dogs, bloodhounds, bomb dogs and even a comfort dog.
The county sheriff has taken several initiatives to help reform inmates (tattoo removal services, gardening classes, job placement). What other initiatives would you like to see in an effort to reform inmates?
We should support the Sheriff with regards to the the initiatives he already has begun. Many of these programs are grant funded. The workforce and skill training programs should be expanded, adding more disciplines, trades and industries. For example, welding certifications are in high demand and offer well-paying jobs. This is a force multiplier, putting tax dollars to work for the economy. As an earner, you contribute to your community, you can support a family, buy a home and reestablish your quality of life. DuPage County needs workers and people need skills and jobs and hope.
DuPage County recently provided the DuPage Foundation $10.6 million for a grant program designed to support nonprofit organizations that address food and housing insecurity, mental health and substance use issues. Discuss the county’s role to further tackle these issues.
This comes back to my point about the importance of collaboration. I applaud Chairman Dan Cronin and the board for designing such a program. When government and notfor-profits work together, we succeed. This grant to the DuPage Foundation will enable the Foundation to invest those dollars for the greatest impact, assist organizations to maximize their outreach and mission.
When organizations optimize their services, core issues of food and housing insecurity can be addressed to greater effect.
Assess the DuPage County Health Department’s actions to combat COVID-19.
The Department was on-the cutting edge of providing information to our citizens to keep then informed and safe. They utilized a variety of traditional and social media platforms to present accurate information. They capably managed testing sites and vaccine sites and worked closely with hospitals, medical professionals and other health departments to make sure we stayed on top of everchanging crisis.
What changes, if any, need to be made related to the pandemic?
We learned a great deal throughout the pandemic. This unprecedented crisis led us to a deeper understanding of the criticality of time sensitive and accurate communication. We were in uncharted territory and the uncertainty of the situation led to greater skepticism and division.
The measures we developed to keep our residents informed must continue to be innovative. We also must further develop a rapid response team and on-going and open channels of communication too all levels of government so that we can instantly respond to any new health threats or crises.
What actions can the DuPage County Board take to minimize the tax burden on residents while not sacrificing services?
I believe we need to maintain a flat property tax. We do that through careful budgeting and disciplined spending. We need to be clear on our priorities and to ensure the most critical programs are fully funded to safeguard the public welfare. Increasing efficiencies, reducing waste and eliminating duplication will enable us to continue to offer high quality services while stabilizing property taxes.
How would you encourage economic and employment growth within DuPage County?
DuPage County is a pro-business county and our policies and our responsiveness have continued to make us an attractive location to start, develop or expand a business.
To effectively grow employment within DuPage County we need to attract businesses that offer high-quality sustainable employment. We must also lower barriers to companies expanding within our county. We must be open to innovative and emerging industries, partnering with our academic institutions, job training agencies and labor unions to ensure we have a highly trained work force to meet the needs of new and developing companies. We need to be ready for what’s next so we can remain on the cutting-edge.
DuPage County must have a nimble and responsive government and streamline processes and cut the red tape.
Do you think there is a local crime problem? If so, what needs to be done about it?
DuPage residents deserve to live in safe communities. As a county board member, I pledge to make certain public safety is adequately funded and that the Sheriff’s office has the resources they need to keep our citizens safe. There should never be a question as to whether your family is safe.
The Board has a responsibility to maintain funding to the Sheriff’s Department so that our law enforcement officers are resourced, staffed, and trained to the fullest extent. When there are vacancies in our own department, we need to get creative in finding ways to attract, recruit and retain high quality talent.
We also must work closely with regional, state and federal agencies. Crime seeps past boundaries and what occurs in Cook County and elsewhere effects our families and our properties. Once again collaboration and communication are key to protecting our County.
What local road and bridge projects should be a priority to get done in the county?
Infrastructure is at the heart of a county government. For a county to flourish, infrastructure must be maintained to enhance the county’s economy. There are a few older bridges including Geneva Road and Warrenville Road that need to be a prioritized for repair and restoration. These bridges must be maintained due to design issues and age. As far as construction projects, 75th St., in Naperville and 87th St. in Woodridge are important transportation projects this year. Another local critical item to Naperville Township and the City of Naperville is the North Aurora Road Improvement Project. This project will expand the roadway to accommodate two lanes of traffic in each direction as well as a center turn lane, multi-use trail and sidewalk, along with lighting and drainage improvements. It will also replace the 107 year old railroad bridge with a new structure that will span the newly expanded lanes on North Aurora Road. Work on this phase of the project is expected to be complete by late 2022.
Do you support decreasing local property taxes? If so, how would the county make up the difference?
I would always support decreasing local property taxes at the county level. To do this, we as a board, we need to run an even more efficient county operation.
Do you support stronger county government ethics laws? What measures do you support?
I think the County has take some excellent steps to strengthen their ethics ordinances. But I do believe more can always be done. Not only do we need strong ethics laws, but we need to make sure they are enforced appropriately and independently. No County Board Member should ever be allowed to vote on a contract that they or any family member has an interest in. The public should know that we spending their hard-earned taxpayer dollars, we are looking out for their interest not self-interests.
What are your thoughts on the Illinois Freedom of Information Act?
FOIA is an important part of government transparency. Citizens are owed transparency. However, citizens may abuse this important Act. Local, State and Federal governments are falling farther and farther behind in processing FOIA requests. Last year, the government received 789,000 requests, but processed only 760,000. Also, citizens may use this information not for its intended use of transparency, but for other reasons. Providing Links to Information Already Available Online is also an important way to help people find information. The more transparent we are in our transactions and in making our websites easily navigable, the more we could reduce staff time and costs in answering FOIA requests when material is readily on-line.
Please state your plan to maintain government transparency.
Transparency is the principle of allowing those affected by administrative decisions to know about the results facts and figures and the process that resulted in those decisions. DuPage County has long had the tools for addressing local government transparency including adequate information flow, strong civil society, effective and transparent financial management systems, and procurement regulations that keep the bidding process fair and open. As a member of the County Board, I am a stakeholder in that process. To ensure that is maintained and enhanced, I would like to see an increase in internal controls and in setting benchmarks for performance and adherence. I also believe we need an open forum or platform for citizens to provide feedback about our efforts and compliance.
What would you push for as a member of county government to boost local businesses?
I believe we can increase opportunities for local businesses to be part of the bidding and procurement process within the County. Prioritizing local qualified businesses in goods and services under $10,000.00 will allow a flow of procurement dollars back into our community. We should work with local Chambers to train and recruit local businesses to get certified. More importantly, I would lobby Springfield to take a serious look at the policies that are driving businesses and families to tax friendly states. State policy matters. Springfield has taxed, over regulated and imposed endless fees that made citizens flee. Though DuPage County has robust economic development efforts, we are still negatively effected has by short-sighted state policy.
Should government employees and officials be allowed to sign nondisclosure agreements with private businesses?
Government employees should not be allowed to sign nondisclosure agreements. County Board members, however, have professional careers outside of their role as elected officials. Their employers may require non-disclosure agreements that would have no relationship to their responsibilities as elected officials.
Would you push for or against government officials and employees being allowed to sign non-disclosure agreements with private businesses?
I would work to make sure that government officials do not sign non-disclosures in their capacity as County Board members. To support true transparency and avoid any conflicts of interest, Board Members must disclose any relationship with a vendor or contractor and recuse themselves from any vote that would benefit that such a relationship.