Good government is founded upon openness and accessibility. As your County Board Member, I have worked hard to make decisions which are in the best interest of our community and make information available to you. I believe that your thoughts and opinions are of the utmost importance and I have made myself accessible and available to the community during my time on the Lake County Board.

During my time on the Lake County Board, we established an Independent Ethics Commission–this first of its kind on the Lake County Board, ensuring that government officials are held accountable by an independent commission of citizens.

A modern and effective infrastructure is vital to the economic health of Lake County and necessary for the well being of the People of Lake County. I have worked with stakeholders throughout Lake County, our local elected officials who serve in Illinois state government, and my fellow members on both sides of the aisle who serve on the Lake County Board to implement a comprehensive plan to improve and expand existing roads and bridges, protect our environment, and meet the needs of the future.

During my time on the Lake County Board, we have worked to implement historic investments into our community’s infrastructure. I look forward to continuing to implement this $10 million per year investment and ensure our community’s infrastructure needs are proactively met.

Lake County is home to a large population of talented hard working people and insightful entrepreneurs. That hard work and passion needs to be honored with responsive leadership that effectively fosters a positive economic environment and creates good jobs. A sound economic development plan is founded on improving our infrastructure and maximizes our strengths as a community. We are uniquely well positioned here in Lake County, and I have worked to bring all of our stakeholders together along with my colleagues throughout government to develop an effective economic development plan that will make our community strong well into the future.

During my time on the Lake County Board, we worked to support local businesses to mitigate the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic by working with the federal government to distribute funds through various programs to support our local businesses through the hardest times of this pandemic.

One in five adults in America experiences one of the many forms of mental illness in their lifetime. These conditions stem from PTSD as a result of serving in our military, substance abuse and troubled homes. Sixty percent of adults with a mental illness do not receive the mental health services they need. We must continue to improve the services needed and to remove the stigma attached to this very serious illness.

During my time on the Lake County Board, we worked to expand the Living Room program to ensure that Lake County has a dedicated center to support individuals experiencing a mental health crisis. This center works to support individuals’ mental health needs instead of sending them to jail and is a phenomenal program to provide compassionate support instead of punishment to those experiencing mental illness.

Lake County has been a leader in sustainability and set an example for communities throughout Illinois. Adopting renewable energy technologies such as solar and wind, new and updated recycling programs and other technologies that will help preserve public health. I will also eagerly join the effort to provide a coordinated county wide effort to identify and protect vital wetlands for flood prevention and abatement.

During my time on the Lake County Board, we worked to develop policies which ensure our community’s air remains clean, safe, and healthy. We also implemented the county’s first ban on single-use plastics in countywide operations–a giant leap in our commitment toward sustainability.

One of the top reasons I hear about why our neighbors love Lake County is because of the safety of our community. I remain committed to ensuring that our community continues to have confidence in our public safety infrastructure. With various types of public safety concerns facing our community, I believe that it is of the utmost importance that the Lake County Board proactively address these issues, developing constructive policies and designating funding for programs to help combat crime.

During my time on the Lake County Board, I had the honor of serving as the Board’s delegate to the Lake County Juvenile Justice Initiative, a program which works to address the needs of Lake County’s at-risk youth and to ensure that we proactively support these individuals to keep them out of jail. Additionally, I advocated for the approval of license plate readers, an important step in ensuring our community remains protected from threats of crime while protecting the privacy of our community.

One of the primary functions of the Lake County Board is to set the budgets and appropriations for all of the County’s operations. This enormous task means that we must keep fiscal responsibility and efficiency top of mind continuously. I remain committed to ensuring that our community’s values of fiscal responsibility are brought to the Lake County Board and that we continue to work to find ways to save taxpayer dollars.

During my time on the Lake County Board, we have worked tirelessly to develop fiscally responsible budgets which keep our county’s services well-funded while ensuring that we aren’t taxing neighbors out of our community. I am incredibly proud that we have continued to keep the tax levy flat and that Lake County Government and Forest Preserves continue to be AAA bond rated, all saving our community scores of tax dollars.