As I speak with potential voters at their doors, on the phone and around town, I’m asked for my option on many issues. Some of these issues will be possible issues to come before the Kane County Board if I am elected, and others are issues can only be addressed at other levels of government, and sometimes by society at large.

But it is only fair that people want to know who I am, so In this brief writing, I will speak to my beliefs of many of the issues facing society today. I started out writing a long essay, but for this space, a bullet point list is probably better.

• I believe a woman’s right to choose in ALL forms of reproductive health, including abortion should not be challenged. The Supreme Court was wrong in reversing Roe.
• I also believe that if the so-called “right-to-life” lobby were sincere, they would support programs that make it more possible for mothers to bear and raise children in a safe and healthy way.
• I believe that the second amendment has been perverted by the NRA and right wing. I won’t advocate disarming sport hunters or those who feel the need to protect their home with simple traditional firearms. But there is no rational justification for the sale and possession of murderous weapons of war to the public. And the gun kits that allow the assembly of a weapon without identifying serial numbers should also be outlawed.
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in its simplest for is an amplification of the American Dream. It threatens no one except possibly those seeking an unfair advantage. Those who oppose these programs in the public schools are misinformed or purposefully spreading misinformation and hateful attitudes. I believe every public entity must examine its current DEI status and implement programs to maintain or improve. I also believe that private businesses and institutions would thrive if they did the same.
• Immigration: we are a nation of immigrants. The history of immigration across our southern border is shameful and corruption filled. Comprehensive immigration reform would include making it more possible to attain work visas in a reasonable time frame and forcing employers to adhere to the rules on hiring. Then stricter border enforcement would make sense.
• Cash bail as it exists hurts low-income people accused of minor crimes while persons of means charged with identical crimes can post bail and go about their lives. That’s not justice. Additionally, one of the factors that contributes to crime is poverty. Time in jail and away from a job is a severe hardship on the low-income accused, and they may even lose their job due to the absence. The Safe-T-Act is seriously flawed and presents huge financial problems to the county legal system. It needs to be re-worked. But in the end, justice says we need to reform the cash bail system.
• Taxes. There is never a good time to raise taxes. For instance, even if we need more motor fuel tax money to fund highway improvements, when gasoline prices are soaring, an additional tax on gasoline doesn’t make sense. My opponent in this election, at a voter forum, make the statement that he would never vote for a tax increase. Well, I’m neither liar nor a fool, so I won’t make that statement for myself. We will always have to balance the need for public services with revenue, and a time will come that additional tax revenue is essential.
• The environment is constantly being challenged. We do need to move away from fossil fuels, and to that end, new development environmental impact studies need to include a look at how any new development will accommodate the need for electric vehicle changing, the prudent use of solar and/or wind power.
• Related to our environmental concerns, we must protect open spaces. The Fox River is essentially our greatest asset, irreplaceable. We need to protect it.

• More and bigger is not always better. St. Charles is currently looking to give up a precious piece of riverfront to developers in hopes of increased tax revenues at the end of a long tax-increment financing scheme. The newest land use in the collar counties is for huge warehouses. While these warehouses bring jobs, and real estate tax revenue, they also bring a lot of truck traffic. Communities and the County need to look at how the new truck traffic will impact local traffic conditions, as well as the cost of maintain the streets and roadways.

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