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Full Name: Saud Gazanfer
What office are you seeking? Will County Board
What offices, if any, have you previously held? Will County Board Member (incumbent Serving the committees like Land Usage and Development, Finance and Diversity & Inclusion)
Forest Preserve District of Will County Commissioner (incumbent serving on Operations Committee
Precinct Committeeman - DuPage Township
City: Bolingbrook
Occupation: Digital Transformation Leader
Education: Bachelor of Science - Electronic and Electrical Engineering Technology
Campaign Website: www.electsaud.com
The Will County Board has established broad parameters for how it should spend more than $133 million in federal pandemic aid including infrastructure, health purposes and economic development. What specific causes should the board focus on when spending that money?
1. Modernizing the Infrastructure (water, wastewater, broadband, Roads and Bridge) to attract businesses that generates high paying jobs
2. Skill training for workforce in new technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Cloud Technologies etc.
3. Invest in Health (mental & behavioral health, COVID 19 recovery, disaster response )
4. Support small businesses and incentivize young entrepreneurs
5. Greater access to affordable and quality child care for working parents
The Will County Board has yet to decide on how to spend new revenue from its recreational marijuana sales tax. How should that revenue be allocated?
1- Awareness for substance and alcohol abuse prevention.
2- Youth development services like tutoring programs, mentorship, Information and Technology training.
3- Provide grants and assistance to communities harmed by discriminatory drug laws.
4- Providing support to local community like Spanish community center, National Hook-up of Black women and similar other
The board has been discussing what to do with the old county courthouse property. While it’s limited to using it for public purposes, what do you think should happen to the former courthouse building and the land on which it sits?
A green space for families to relax and walk in the downtown area will improve the aesthetics of the downtown area. Another use could be a youth center with an affordable child care facility can be a good option. Tearing down that property could be challenging and tricky as the basement of this old courthouse contains the power substation that provides electricity to the neighboring businesses.
Do you think Will County should maintain the county executive form of government? Please explain.
No the Will county must do away with the county executive form of government because the decentralization of county government has helped other major counties of Illinois in smoother functioning of county affairs.
The county is conducting a diversity and inclusion study of its operations. While the study is ongoing, what do you think county government should do to ensure diversity and inclusion in its hiring and contracting processes?
Being the first person belonging to the minority Indian American community to serve on Will County board and serving on Diversity and Inclusion committee, this topic is very close to my heart. Few steps like mandatory diversity and inclusion training to all its hiring managers and decision makers. We can also promote flexible working hours to encourage more women, people with disabilities and younger people to work in county government. We need to improve our engagement with minority community groups and encourage them to promote county jobs within their community groups. Finally, we can establish inclusive hiring metrics which will help us measure our progress in this area
The annual salaries of countywide- elected officials in Will County tend to trail their counterparts in neighboring suburban counties. Do you support raising salaries of countywide elected officials in Will County?
I do not support the raising salaries of countywide elected officials in Will county at this time as our priority must be to support the residents who have lost their jobs and their business due to the pandemic. Reducing the wealth gap must be our top priority at this time.
The county has seen an increase in opioid overdose deaths during the past year. Its substance use initiatives office has worked to combat the epidemic. What more do you think the county should do to prevent such incidents?
Apart from educating the public about Naloxone and distributing it to the effected residents, which has seen tremendous success in the county area, different type behavioral therapies can be very effective
1. Veterans Affairs have developed various behavioral therapies in their fight against Opioid abuse, like Cognitive Behavioral therapy, Motivational Enhancement therapy etc. Partnership with VA can help us develop similar programs without overly dependence on medications.
2. Limiting prescription Opioids and restricting the flow of illegal opioids.
3. Increase Engagement with various communities, faith- based organizations, schools, churches, shelters in creating awareness to remove stigma around reporting the addiction related to their loved ones
The county has seen that by educating and distributing Naloxone to the public has been very effective in the fight against opiod , while at the same time reducing the stigma around addiction so those with the disease more readily seek treatment
How would you encourage economic and employment growth within Will County?
Urgent attention must be given to modernization of infrastructure which will help in providing employment opportunities while attracting more business to locate in the Will County area. Greater coordination with state government, local municipalities & Townships, IDOT etc. in building and maintaining roads, bridges, rail lines, Inline water transportation, energy transmission lines and telecommunications systems etc. can help bring in large investments into Will County.
Partnering with various local municipalities to offer incentives to new businesses to locate in the County. These could include property Tax breaks, provide access to different funding sources and increasing the index of ease of doing business in the county area. Fast-tracking licensing and permitting, reducing redundant and obsolete zoning requirements that causes delays and discourages people to apply for new business or expansion of existing business
Do you think there is a local crime problem? If so, what needs to be done about it?
According to crimegrade.org violent crimes report, the rate of violent crime in Will County is 19.19 per 1,000 residents during a standard year. A crime occurs every 39 minutes (on average) in Will County. there is no one size fits all approach to the problem of local crimes. It is critical to identify the different hot spots of crimes, in most of the cities in Will County, the local crimes are restricted to a very small street or block, So deploying police, intelligently, in these specific areas can have a big impact on fighting crime and violence. We need to get partnerships of police, residents, families, parents, shop owners, building managers, and school officials. Community policing has been a very effective tool in combating local crimes.
What local road and bridge projects should be a priority to get done in the county?
The Moving Will County project is a partnership between Will County and CMAP that combines a Truck Routing & Communities Study and a Transportation & Land Use Strategy. The goal of the project is to achieve a balance between truck traffic and routing, existing freight land use clusters and new development, agricultural business, natural and cultural resources, and residential areas. Most of the local bridges and roads are under the
local municipalities. While notably a few projects under will county for Bolingbrook residents that are under progress are
1- Weber Road and I-55 Interchange reconstruction (Bolingbrook / Romeoville)
2- Weber Road widening and reconstruction south of I-55 interchange
Do you support decreasing local property taxes? If so, how would the county make up the difference?
Will county collects approximately 2.05% of a property’s assessed fair market value as property tax. Proceeds from the Will County Personal Property Tax are used locally to fund school districts, public transport, infrastructure, and other municipal government projects. Property tax income is almost always used for local projects and services. Being a homeowner, I understand how important it is for the residents to have a decrease in local property taxes. As your Count Board member, I will vote against any measures that will result in increase of your property taxes and I will support the programs that will give the residents the right value of their tax dollars. The Will County board members are working exhaustively to utilize the $133 Million received through American Rescue Plan act to fund various projects for improving the quality of life for its residents and I believe this will help offset any increase in property taxes in the near future.
Do you support stronger county government ethics laws? What measures do you support?
Abraham Lincoln once said, “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” Strong ethics laws will help create checks and balances for government employees to ensure citizens that the government officials do not use their powers to enhance their or their family members financial interests I am a strong supporter of stronger county government ethics law.
We need to strictly monitor the conflicts in voting procedures. This applies specifically to county commissioners and board members; I feel that they should abstain from a vote on issues on which they would profit or enhance a relationship. We need to make it easy for citizens to report conflict of interest. Comprehensive training and awareness for county officials on ethic laws will be a good step. Appointment of Ethical County commissioners to ensure the compliance of the ethics law. Campaign contribution limits must be strictly enforced.
What are your thoughts on the Illinois Freedom of Information Act?
I am a big supporter of IFOIA, it helps in increasing the transparency and accountability of government officials and helps build public trust in government.
Please state your plan to maintain government transparency.
Citizens must know where their tax dollars are going, how well their government is performing. If they must wade through a bunch of data to figure this out, it can be frustrating and time-consuming.
We have to use technological interventions to bring transparency in day-to-day administration of county affairs where public can review in a very user-friendly manner the various county affairs like
1- Awards of contracts, criteria of evaluations and reasons of rejections.
2- Various appointments and hiring as well as appointments to various boards and commissions explaining the criteria of selections and the list of candidates applied
3- Attendance and voting records of board officials and other commissioners
4- Pensions, Pay increases and Bonuses of board members and public officials
What would you push for as a member of county government to boost local businesses?
Promoting the creation of various chamber of commerce or encourage a regional chamber to start a local chapter. Bolingbrook has a very robust chamber of commerce and I have witnessed how critical role it plays in promoting local businesses.
Infrastructure modernization. Cheap public broadbands will be a great step. Offer incentives to new businesses to locate in the community. These could include property tax breaks, micro-loans and discounted fees and permits.
Social media platforms for local business to promote their business. These steps include tax credits, worker training, free land, zoning changes, low-interest loans, infrastructure improvements and help with fast-tracking licensing and permitting.
Should government employees and officials be allowed to sign non- disclosure agreements with private businesses?
No
Would you push for or against government officials and employees being allowed to sign non-disclosure agreements with private businesses?
I’m against government employees and officials signing non-disclosure agreements with private business. A full disclosure of government officials and employees with private businesses is a key to bring transparency and accountability of the government.