Mike Shorten, McHenry County Board 2022 Primary Election Questionnaire

Full Name: Mike “Shorty” Shorten

What office are you seeking? McHenry County Board District 4

What offices, if any, have you previously held? Nunda Township Trustee

City: Crystal Lake

Occupation: Account Manager

Education: High School Graduate with nearly 60 hours of college credit with a focus on business.

Campaign Website: mikeshorten.org

What would be your top three priorities?

Our residents and local businesses are being confronted by the impacts of 40 year inflation. In this challenging environment all elected leaders will need to be focused on opportunities to maintain or reduce the cost of services. In addition to the economic pressures, the Democrats in Springfield passed legislation which effectively left a $6-8 million gap in the counties revenue stream. As a member of the county board I will work with the board and departments to advocate and introduce policies that will drive cost efficiency, as I will not be voting to increase property taxes.
Like a lot of residents in McHenry, I have great concerns about the negligent and lax policies on crime advocated by democrats in Chicago, Springfield and Lake County which have set the expectation that crime will no longer be prosecuted, and the consequences for committing crimes will not be severe. As a result of the policies and practices, a dramatic increase in violent crime that has spilled over to McHenry County. As a County Board Member I will support the efforts of the Sheriff’s office, local law enforcement and the State’s Attorney’s to ensure that those that might consider committing offenses against the good people of McHenry County are clear that criminal behavior tolerated elsewhere will not be tolerated in McHenry County.
The past 2 years in particular have been challenging on many levels and mental health challenges have impacted every household in the county. While McHenry County has had a strong commitment to mental health, in speaking to residents in my district, there are specific concerns about speed to service, especially in crisis situations. As an elected County Board Member I am committed to ensuring that the Mental Health funding in McHenry County is focused continual improvement to ensure that our residents are aware of the extent of the services available in the county, and are able to quickly navigate the services available to get the help that is needed, particularly in times of personal crisis.

Taxes are a top concern raised by voters locally. What do you do within your position to address residents’ tax burden?

As a member of the McHenry County Board, I am committed to holding the line on property taxes. To do this I believe that all departments in the county will need to be focused on reviewing the extent and method of service delivery to mitigate costs. I am committed to working with leadership within the multiple departments to support and implement creative ideas to drive out costs and ensure that vital services are delivered as the residents and business owners in the county navigate the impacts of 40 year inflation and the restrictions imposed during the past two years.

Voters also cited crime as a concern. What do you think needs to be done to address this concern?

The soft on crime practices and policies of democrats in Chicago and Cook County have cause an explosion of crime in those areas and we have already seen several instances of criminals from outside the county coming to McHenry County and targeting property and people locally.

As a member of the McHenry County Board Member, I will support the efforts of the McHenry County Sheriff’s office, municipal law enforcement and the State’s Attorney to make sure that those considering committing crimes against people and property understand that it will not be tolerated.

How would you encourage economic and employment growth within McHenry County?

There has been a dramatic change in the way that businesses and employees interact as a result of the pandemic. This has created an amazing opportunity to address a gap I believe exists in McHenry County, specifically challenges in attracting and keeping a diversity of employment opportunities in the county.

While the societal impacts of Working from Home in white collar environments is evolving we need to review and focus efforts on improving infrastructure that will increase the ease of navigating McHenry County so that manufacturing and distribution businesses considering locating in McHenry County are compelled to consider the county a preferred location.

Additionally, it’s the responsibility of the board to ensure that county policies and practices are positively perceived and we should take every opportunity to improve the likelihood that new businesses will locate here and existing businesses will want to continue to call McHenry County home.

Do you think McHenry County should continue to challenge the new state law that prohibits its contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement? Why or why not?

I believe that the efforts of the Democrats on the McHenry County Board to cancel the ICE contract and the legislation passed by the Democrats in Springfield was disingenuous. The elimination of the ICE contract did not stop the detention of illegal immigrants, it simply moved them from the county jail to another facility, which in all likelihood is a private sector facility where the accountability to the health and well being of inmates has been documented to be severely diminished.

In addition to putting the detainees at greater risk, they have removed a significant revenue stream from the County and in turn increased responsibility for the upkeep of the vacated facility on to the tax payers of McHenry County.

While McHenry County’s efforts to have the legislation overturned have been thwarted, I look forward to working with the new Sheriff to understand how the space previously use of ICE detainees can be repurposed to mitigate maintenance costs and provide a benefit to the residents of McHenry County.

What is the County Board’s role in addressing audit issues at the McHenry County Regional Office of Education?

I believe that it is the responsibility of the board to have general oversight of all departments and if there are issues, as revealed by the audits of the McHenry County ROE, it is incumbent upon that the board take action.

Removing an elected official from office is an action that should not be taken lightly however given the severity of the issues found under the previous Superintendent and her unwillingness to discuss the situation with the board, I would have supported the removal efforts.

What road and bridge infrastructure needs to be addressed in McHenry County?

One of the biggest challenges in McHenry County is our limited access to interstate highways in the county.

While remedying that shortfall is a long term opportunity, I believe that the Board needs to have an active role in improving the flow of traffic across the county, particularly in our suburban areas.

We also need to ensure that we are actively pursuing access to State and Federal funding to mitigate the direct impact of road design and construction costs on property taxes.

What are the top issues facing Valley Hi Nursing Home and how should the County Board help address them?

As a member of the McHenry County Board, I will be committed to making sure that Valley Hi provides short term and long term residents with quality, respectfully care.

While initial waves of the pandemic spared the residents subsequent outbreaks have unfortunately taken the lives of residents.

Moving forward, we need to be focused on addressing and preventing the spread of Covid-19 to our more vulnerable populations. It’s incumbent to the board that we are assured that the leadership at Valley-Hi nursing home is focused on taking all precautions to mitigate the impacts on residents against Covid-19 moving forward.

Assess the McHenry County Department of Health’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. What changes, if any, need to be made related to the pandemic or any future response?

I believe the virus is real and have experienced the impacts on physical health in my household. I’ve also experienced the impacts that mitigation measures had on the mental health to friends and family.

Governor Pritzker, enabled by an absent Democrat majority in Springfield failed the citizens of Illinois by imposing extreme measures upon the citizens of the Illinois and McHenry County that had marginal impact on the spread of the coronavirus and resulting deaths.

The MCDOH response to the pandemic was dictated by the Governor in an authoritarian way that is unprecedented. I have a lot of respect for the positions taken by Sheriff Prim and State’s Attorney Keneally in their stance on enforcement of the governors executive orders.

Going forward, given the ongoing absence of true leadership in Springfield that the County Board needs to have a louder voice and influence on any mitigations that affect our citizens and business owners in the county.

If you could reverse one decision made by the County Board last year, what would it be?

One of the most regrettable decisions by the board in the past year, was the decision to remove the Regional Superintendent of Schools from her elected position.

While I don’t know that anything could have been done to change the outcome, given that the Superintendent refused to meet with the County Board, in my role of County Board member, I would have agreed to meet with the Superintendent personally to discuss the audit results and appearance of mismanagement.

Do you think there is a local crime problem? If so, what needs to be done about it?

See response to question 13.

What local road and bridge projects should be a priority to get done in the county?

Funding for road and bridge projects should be focused on safety first and secondarily on improving the flow of traffic.

I do not have any specific concerns currently, but will take into consideration the feedback of the residents of the district, as well as the engineers in the transportation department.

Do you support decreasing local property taxes? If so, how would the county make up the difference?

Given the current economic conditions, I don’t believe that decreasing the county portion of residents property taxes is a feasible possibility. I am committed to keeping taxes flat by continual review and maintenance of vital services and supporting process improvements to drive out costs.

Do you support stronger county government ethics laws? What measures do you support?

I believe in holding government officials accountable and ensuring transparency.

In general, I think that our elected officials are held accountable and that current transparency laws enable citizens with access to records.

I would support additional digitization efforts, to reduce the cost impact for processing FOIA requests and increasing speed to access of government records.

What are your thoughts on the Illinois Freedom of Information Act?

I support it.

Please state your plan to maintain government transparency.

I have respect for the rule of law as well as a high ethical standard. The residents of my district can expect that all business will be conducted with a high level of ethics, in front of the eyes of the people.

What would you push for as a member of county government to boost local businesses?

1. Improved roads to will increase the flow of goods and services as well as transportation.

2. Reduce government bureaucracy that adds unnecessary costs to the opening or running of a

business.

3. Support local measures to combat crime from within and from outside the district.

Should government employees and officials be allowed to sign non-disclosure agreements with private businesses?

This is a delicate manner, since some businesses will want to establish a presence in the county, but will want to keep that intent confidential for competitive purposes. Likewise residents want to know what businesses will be entering and having an impact on their community.

To the extent that a business locating within the county does not require dramatic zoning changes, or creates a burdensome traffic or environmental concerns, in order to attract certain businesses the county will need to remain flexible to business requests during the approval process.

This could be best addressed is by enabling a subcommittee outside of zoning be appointed to review confidentiality requests prior to execution.

Would you push for or against government officials and employees being allowed to sign non- disclosure agreements with private businesses?

Please see my previous answer. These requests should be conditional and agreed to by a separate subcommittee.