Library Forum - Extra Q&A

After the Candidate Forum at the Zion-Benton Public Library on March 15th, there were a number questions that had been collected from the audience that weren't asked because of the time constraints. So, those questions have been provided to all the candidates and they have been asked to respond by March 23rd with their answers.  All of the questions, answers and omissions will be posted on ZBGuide.com.

Here are the questions, as provided to me, with my answers.  I encourage everyone to look at the responses by the other candidates when they are posted on ZBGuide.com.

QUESTIONNAIRE STARTS NOW - (We've removed any limitations as to the length of your responses)

1. Are you willing to live by the character traits chosen by the ZB community, be held accountable to them, and hold other elected officials to the same standard?

A. I fully support the Community of Character initiative, and the traits espoused because I already live by them in my daily life. In my experience, leading by example is the best way to get others to raise their standards.

2. Please identify 3 things you wish to accomplish in order of priority if you are elected. 

A.  The highest priority is to reestablish fiscal balance in the City Budget; currently there is a projected 1.6 million shortfall that has to be dealt with and quickly. Next is to begin the process of applying for Enterprise Zone Status, as I have proposed, in order to jump start growth in our local economy.  Equal to that is pushing for grants or alternative funds to begin serious upgrades to our infrastructure.

3. We have a huge amount of mayoral candidates. Would it have been a wise leader to meet prior to and decide who to support if it were not you that was considered "able to win"?

A. Anyone who is willing to step up and run for office should do so, and present their qualifications to the public. Let the Voters decide. Ultimately it is up to each candidate whether to continue to run in an election or bow out gracefully.   

4. If you are not the winner of this election, what plans do you have to push the agenda that you are campaigning on?

A. I will continue to serve the public as a Trustee on the Board of the Lake County Public Water District, and as a member of the Comprehensive Development Plan Steering Committee. I also will continue to comment on public affairs through my Fischer for Zion Blog, as I have done for the past few years.

5. Did you serve in the military? If so, can you tell us about that?

A. After graduating from High School I joined the U.S. Army and trained as an Intelligence Analyst. I was stationed with the 3^rd Infantry Division, 103^rd MI Battalion in West Germany and then with the 224^th Military Battalion in Savannah Georgia.  I was also twice awarded the Army Achievement Medal for exemplary service. Most importantly I met my wife Christie (who outranked me), and we have now been married 29 years.

6. Are you in favor of term limits?

A. There already are term limits, they are called elections.  If you think someone should be voted out of office, get off the couch, run for office yourself, or support a good candidate, because that is what a participatory democracy is all about.

7. What distinguishes you from the other candidates? What experience and knowledge do you bring that sets you apart?

A. I offer the experience and judgment acquired in over thirty years of professional life. For the past sixteen years I have been employed within Human Resources at the American Medical Association.  I also have over a decade of management experience in the Private Security field, and I am a U.S. Army veteran where I served as an Intelligence Analyst.  I also currently serve as a Trustee on the Board of the Lake County Public Water District, which provides water for Zion, Winthrop Harbor and the State Park. I have a deep interest in the areas of government and public policy, and I believe I can bring a fresh perspective to the issues facing the city.

8. What is your agenda? Why are you running for office?

A. Over the past several years I became more aware of the importance of our local government in our lives. With this awareness came a feeling that I had a duty to serve the public in some capacity.  After a great deal of thought and research, I decided that my skills and abilities would best serve the public on the City Council. I have now lived in Zion longer than anywhere else in my life, it has become my home and I want to help make it a better place to live.

9. Speak from your heart and plainly tell us your vision for Zion.

A. I want to see a revitalized city that is progressive, prosperous, and growing. I believe it requires new leadership that is able to tackle the many challenges we face in order to achieve that vision.

10. How will you improve communication between the city, its departments, and the community?

A. By being open to communication through as many means as possible.  The internet and social media offer a multitude of channels for communication and interaction.

11. What do you know about the 20 year plan for Zion and how have you been involved?

A.  I proposed a New Comprehensive Development Plan as part of my campaign platform over two years ago after I discovered that the existing plan had not been updated since it was passed in 1992.

I proposed that the city obtain a technical grant from the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, to create a new plan.  Wisely, the city did so, and I currently serve as a member of the Steering Committee. Information about the plan is available at Plan4Zion.com   As Commissioner, I will see that this plan is enacted, and not put on a shelf.

12. Where do you see this city five years from now?

A. I would hope that with a more active and engaged city government at the helm, we would start seeing improvements in, economic development, improved public services, and a lowering of property taxes on homeowners.

13. With a possible $1.2 million loss of state funding, what do you propose to do regarding the next Zion fiscal year?

A. A 50% reduction in the Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF) would be devastating for the city. Such a loss would most likely result in severe cuts in services, impacting public safety and health.  As noted above the city already is facing a shortfall of $1.6 million, effective budgeting and aggressively seeking alternative revenue can be brought to bear on that issue, but I would lobby forcefully against a cut in the LGDF, as will every municipality where those funds are used to support essential services.

14. What businesses or industries do you plan to bring to Zion?

A. Businesses look for locations where they can operate and generate a profit. The goal of the city government should be to create conditions that attract businesses to locate here. 

I have proposed that the city to apply for Enterprise Zone status under the Illinois Enterprise Zone Act.  Once granted, Zion would then have access to the taxing and regulatory tools necessary to help establish new businesses here and build long-term growth in our local economy.

Additionally, I propose that the City lobby our State Legislature for certain amendments to the Enterprise Zone Act, in consideration of our unique status as a host community for the Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Installation, which will be located on the site of the former Zion Nuclear Power Station.  I propose amending the Qualifications for Enterprise Zones to include long-term nuclear material storage in the same criteria as an abandoned coal mine, or brownfield site.  I also propose amending the zone duration standards in the Act by granting Zion an automatic renewal of the Enterprise Zone status, until the spent fuel is moved to a permanent site by the federal government.  These amendments would be moderate first steps towards compensating for the detrimental effect of the nuclear storage site on the future development of Zion’s Lakefront.

15. What are you going to do about the abandoned properties in Zion and the property owners who do not maintain their property?

A. In my first campaign I proposed the creation of an Abandoned Property registration program. That program has since been enacted, and is reported to be working well in identifying the parties responsible for these properties and holding them accountable for their maintenance.

16. What opportunities do you see for building the Sheridan Road Corridor?

A. Plan4Zion has a number of suggestions for the area, including bringing in more integrated residential/retail establishments that would appeal to younger professionals and to retirees looking to downscale from a single family home. Angled parking and other traffic improvements will help make the downtown area more accessible for pedestrians and shoppers.

17. What are your thoughts about strip malls, and what would you do about vacancies?

A. Strip malls have their place, but I would prefer to see an emphasis on building shopping and entertainment centers that fulfill the goals of being environmentally friendly, and aesthetically pleasing as outlined in the new development plan.  Obviously, vacant storefronts are best filled with new businesses, but I would like to see a program, possibly in cooperation with the Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce to utilize empty spaces for pop-up art exhibitions or other events. It also could help the owner of the space advertise it to attract new occupants.

18. How do you propose to entice taxpayers to move to and/or do business in Zion?

A. By doing all that is possible to make the city an attractive, safe place to live and work.

19. What do you plan to do to reduce taxes? How firm are you on lowering the tax burden on home and business owners in Zion?

A. I covered that in my answer to question 14. Economic development is crucial to reducing the tax burden on homeowners; the Enterprise Zone can help us do that.

20. What will you do to make our city safe?

A. As a community, we need to take more responsibility as citizens to maintain the common welfare. Our police and fire professionals are here to help in an emergency, but we bear some responsibility too.  I talk about this in more depth in my video commentary on Public Safety is a Community Value. It can be found on my website www.fischerforzion.com, or at ZBGuide.com.  I intend to continue supporting community building efforts such as BridgeBuilders in cooperation with the Zion Police Department.

21. How will you address transportation needs to help people take advantage of (Wal-mart) jobs in surrounding communities?

A. I do know that there have been discussions about expanding Pace bus routes in Zion and through the surrounding area. Some of those suggestions are in the new development plan. We need to work with Pace to start bringing these changes about.

22. Do you think the make-up of the police department accurately represents the population of Zion?

A. I do not know, but if I happen to take on the role of Commissioner for Public Safety, that will be an issue to look into.

23. Regarding law suits around the Ball Field, what are you going to do to settle? Why are the persons involved not prosecuted?

A. I do not know the current status of the various legal challenges between the City and Grand Slam Sports LLC, so I can’t give a factual answer to that question, or the follow up question. 

24. Please speak to your viewpoint of a unified school district and its impact on taxes.

A. As a taxpayer, my thought is that if an expanded or unified district improves student performance and finds ways to reduce costs through consolidation of services and purchasing, then that would be great.  But, based on the conclusions of the Local Government Consolidation Commission ((20 ILCS 3987/) Local Government Consolidation Commission Act of 2011) in it’s report; often the combining of local governments and districts result in little or no reduction in costs, and should be treated on a case by case basis dependent on local needs.

25. What are your plans to improve the schools in Zion? How can you insure that each child receives a quality education?

A. Other than the city working to provide good public services and a safe environment, I think this question is more suited to the candidates for the School Board. It really doesn’t fall into the purview of the City Council.

26. How long have you lived in Zion, and based on that answer, how does that make you qualified to be mayor?

A. Obviously, I am not running for Mayor, but I would like to address the question of length of residency, with my own question.  How long is long enough?  Good people with good qualities come from everywhere. To set an arbitrary time limit for whether someone is qualified to do a job or not, and you lose a tremendous wealth of education and experience obtained in other places that could be of great benefit to the city. 

27. How long have you lived in Zion, and based on that answer, how does that make you qualified to be mayor?

A. See answers to 26 above, same question.

28. How has your experience prepared you to effectively serve as Mayor?

A. I will be glad to answer that if or when I ever run for Mayor.

29. Use this space to address anything else you'd like to say to the Zion voters.

A. See my closing thoughts in 31 below.

30. Question for ALL Commissioner Candidates Only: In that you also become Zion Township Trustees, with a $million plus annual budget, would you consider dissolving the township government and giving its responsibilities (and budget) to the city?

A. My answer to question 24 covers this issue too. I would have to see that there are real cost savings or efficiencies to be realized from dissolving the Township, without compromising the services provided before considering such a proposal.

31. Anything else you'd like to say can be said here.

I’ve often said, “Even small governments make big decisions.” Government exists to provide services that we cannot accomplish as individuals.  Zion is faced with many challenges; economic, financial, environmental, and social.  To meet these challenges, we need leadership with a fresh perspective, able to respond with innovative and creative solutions. Leadership that will act as strong advocates for our interests at all levels of government.  As I said in my first video commentary, “This isn’t small town stuff, this is big league stuff.”  For this city to grow and prosper, we need to up our game, play above our level, and work together towards that goal.  I’ve done the research. I have the drive and determination. I’m ready to get to work, for you.

I ask for your support and your vote on April 7^th, Thank You.