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Name: Steven Morris
What office are you seeking? Village of Hebron President
What is your political party?
What is your current age? 49
Occupation and employer: Electrician (Foreman) IBEW 117
What offices, if any, have you previously held? Village of Hebron Planning and Zoning Committee person
City: Hebron
Campaign Website: StevenMichaelMorris.com
Education: Graduated from McHenry East Campus High School
Received Associates Degree from McHenry County College
Graduated 5 year JATC Apprenticeship Program
Community Involvement: I have volunteered for Habitat for Humanity through my local union.
Marital status/Immediate family: My wife Nicole and I have been married for 27 years and we have three adult daughters.
Questions:
Many of the new housing developments planned or recently built throughout the McHenry County area have been multi-family rather than single-family, and many are rentals rather than owner-occupied. What are your views on this trend? Do you support this type of development? Why or why not?
McHenry County as a whole needs more housing. Starter homes and lower income housing seems to be virtually non-existent or out of people’s ability to afford.
Any way that this can be addressed is a step in the right direction.
A recent study commissioned by the McHenry County Board found a need for more workforce housing in the county. Do you support any form of subsidized housing to address that need? Is there enough affordable housing in the community and, if not, how would you attempt to address that?
See previous answer to previous question.
Should local law enforcement cooperate with ICE to identify and deport immigrants who do not have legal status to be in the United States?
The answer is in the question. The term “law enforcement” should be fairly self explanatory. They are literally there to enforce the law.
And Illinois law is crystal clear on what law enforcement is and isn’t allowed to do when concerning ICE.
The “Trust Act” spells out, in great detail, what is allowed. And since “law enforcement” officers are sworn to uphold the law, this matter shouldn’t be up for debate.
What are your top three priorities for our city, and how do you plan to address them?
In very simple terms:
1. Clean up the village hall. Certain appointments by this administration have been disgraceful. From literally appointing a suspected felon to the board of Trustees and having multiple people on the board with either personal criminal arrest records to Trustees closely associating with known criminals; this administration can’t be trusted. We need to put the “Trust” Back in TRUSTee.
Also, because of the caustic working environment at the village hall, we’re experiencing the highest attrition rate that I’ve ver seen in my 25 years in the village across all departments. We simply can’t keep good employees because of this current administration.
2. Our Police Department is in shambles. We’ve had four chiefs in four years! We’re unable to retain or attract new police officers. We’ve had complaints from residents and the school board about our current chief at every board meeting virtually since his questionable appointment.
The police department needs to be rebuilt from.the ground up.
3. And lastly, our Planning and Zoning Committee has been underutilized to the point where it’s nearly obsolete. Ordinances are not enforced. Because of the village’s high attrition rate, we’re unable to keep “in house” staff and are forced to pay for third party building inspectors that cost the people of Hebron three times what an employee would cost. There are public safety issues that are being ignored. Our downtown district is in disrepair. That all needs to change.
How do you intend to balance economic development with environmental sustainability in the community?
We’ve had virtually no development over the last four years.
There have been less than a dozen new homes built.
We have had vacant downtown buildings for years in the center of our retail district.
We need to clean up our downtown retail district to try to attract new businesses. If we can attract new businesses to these existing buildings, there will be minimal environmental impact.
Thats where we need to start.
What are your plans for enhancing public transportation and infrastructure in the city?
We lost our “senior driveshare” program under the current administration. If we can’t restore that program, we must find an alternative. Many of our seniors depended on that.
And infrastructure has generally been ignored for the past 4 years (with the exception of the Prairie Ave water main project.) Streets are pot hole ridden, sidewalks have heaved and crumbled and are unsafe to walk. We need a long term plan to replace a certain amount of roads and sidewalks every year. Well start by accessing the village and targeting the worst issues first. This will of course be dependent on funds and we hope to pay for a majority using grants.
What role should the city council play in supporting local businesses and economic growth?
We should definitely support local businesses. It’s a symbiotic relationship. The village provides good roads and sidewalks, a safe and welcoming environment, easy to use and access village programs.
The business, enabled to function easier thanks to village initiatives, now generate income. From that income, the village receives taxes.
And the circle continues.
What are your top public safety concerns for our community and how would you propose addressing them?
There are two.
1. The police department. We don’t have a properly functioning police department. Residents and the school board have expressed major concerns about response times, patrols, child safety, etc.
The police department will be rebuilt from the ground up. We will hire competent people will to do the work that the job demands.
2. There are areas in our downtown retail district that pose a real safety risk to people literally just walking on the sidewalk. Nearly 30 years ago, someone was literally killed on our sidewalks in the retail district. A crumbling build literally collapsed onto an innocent shopper and killed them. We apparently have not learned that lesson as there are literal pieces of buildings once again falling onto the sidewalks.
Once again, this administration has failed to take action to prevent possible bodily harm. That needs to be addressed immediately. Hopefully, even before I get into office. It’s s that serious.
How will you ensure that city policies promote inclusion for all residents?
Our village is a collect of diverse individuals. In future board meetings, when the hall is packed and the people speak up to make their voices heard, we will listen. Something that the current administration has refused to do, simply listen to the constituents that you’re supposed to represent.
Do you support requiring government officials to publicly disclose potential conflicts of interest, and how would you enforce this?
Absolutely. Unfortunately, enforcement can be difficult. However, if a board member, for example, is found to have voted on an issue when there was a clear conflict of interest, then anything from a censure to a vote of no confidence to stripping of commissions would be appropriate, depending on the nature of the incident.
How will you make sure you are accessible to your constituents?
I try to make myself as acceptable as possible. From social media, emails, my website, to my phone number at the village hall... you shouldn’t have any trouble getting a hold of me.