I am very excited about our new bi-partisan leadership and membership of our Kane County Board Legislative Committee.

Co-Chair Brian Pollock (D-Aurora) has distinguished himself by his hard work and diligence on the County Board. As one person told me, “Brian actually reads this stuff”… always a good start! Co-Chair Susan Starrett (R-North Aurora) brings exceptional MBA training from the University of Illinois as well as the hands-on experience of working briefly in the Springfield office of a local state senator.

They are joined in their work by Joe Haimann (D-Carpentersville), Don Ishmael (D-Aurora), Myrna Molina (D-Aurora) and Doug Scheflow (R-Elgin).

The members of this committee will reach out to Kane County state and federal legislators to communicate our priorities and serve as our own “lobbyists.” We are not spending taxpayer dollars on outside paid lobbyists; This is “do it ourselves!”

Besides protecting Local Government Distributive Funding, which is our local share of state income and sales tax revenue, these board members will take the lead in advocating for pension reform, for advancement of waste-to-fuel technology, against expansion of video gambling, and against unfunded mandates, like the recent 25 percent raise in jurors’ pay that was passed in less than 10 days during the vote session.

“Unfunded mandates” are state government laws that local government — usually local property taxpayers — have to pay for.

The Legislative Committee is focused on holding the line on property taxes and creating an economic climate that fosters more jobs paying higher wages. In regard to the first main focus, the more county expenditures that are appropriately paid by those who use the services, the less pressure there is to raise property taxes. “User fees” legislation for court services and court construction are better sources of funds than property taxes.

There are many of us who feel that government plays too large of a role in our lives. I’m excited about the good work on your behalf that the Legislative Committee will do over the next year to deal with this reality and “protect” us from this growing burden.

Chris Lauzen
Kane County Board Chairman