Public Safety as a Community Value - A Video Commentary

This is the third in my series of commentaries about my campaign platform, discussing the idea of Public Safety in our community.

If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to share them here, or email me at fischerforzion@gmail.com
I look forward to hearing from you.

Candidate Questionnaire - Sneak Peek

When I started this blog, one of my goals was to help demystify the processes behind elections and local government. With that in mind, I just completed responding to a set of questions sent to me by the Zion Benton News for their candidate profile. I don't know yet when it will be published, but I thought I would go ahead and share it with you now, to give you a sense of the format.  I have done some edits, removing a section on personal information, and adding the Q and A identifiers. The two questions on taxes and economic development are really parts of the same issue, and that is why I gave one answer to both. Enjoy! If you have any questions or comments, please let me know. - Christopher Fischer

ZION-BENTON NEWS/BARGAINEER

DIVISION OF UNITED COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION

2711 Sheridan Road, Suite 202; P.O. BOX 111

ZION, IL 60099

847-746-9000; Fax 847-746-9150

Dear candidate:

The Zion-Benton News will run candidate profiles for local government offices in the April 7 election in the next few weeks.  Please take a few moments and fill out the questionnaire below. We ask you return the completed form as soon as possible. If you have not already submitted a photograph, please include one with this form.  If you need a photo, contact our office at 847-746-9000 to arrange to have one taken.  Return the completed form by E-mail to mona@zion-bentonnews.com or mshannon@kenoshanews.com., or mail or drop off at 2711 Sheridan Road, #202, Zion, IL 60099.Thank you.

ELECTION INFORMATION

Qualifications:

To the public 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.

Q. Previous government/community involvement?

A. Currently I serve as a Trustee on the Lake County Public Water District Board, which oversees the operation of the Filtration Plant providing water for Zion, Winthrop Harbor, and the Illinois Beach State Park. In the 2013 election, a new development plan for Zion was part of my campaign platform, and today I am a member of the Comprehensive Development Plan Steering Committee which is bringing that very idea to life.  I also support community building initiatives such as the Bridge Builders outreach program with the Zion Police Department, and the Coalition for Healthy Communities, Community of Character campaign.

Q. Why are you running for this office?

A. I have diligently studied the functioning of our city government for the past few years, and I see that it is confronted with a number of serious challenges. Meeting those challenges requires new leadership that is able to bring a fresh perspective to the tasks at hand. I will bring this quality to the City Council as Commissioner.

Q. Briefly explain how would you address the high taxes in Zion? 

Q. Briefly explain how would you address economic development in Zion?

A. I propose that the city apply for Enterprise Zone Status under the Illinois Enterprise Zone Act, to give us access to special tax and regulatory incentives for businesses.  I also propose that the Act be amended to include the Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility in the same criteria as an abandoned coal mine, or brownfield site, and the Enterprise Zone status should not expire until the spent fuel is removed from our Lakefront. These proposals provide practical means towards growing our local economy while helping reduce homeowner taxes, and obtaining some compensation for the detrimental impact of the nuclear storage site on our community.

Q.  Briefly explain what other issue you consider very important for the city of Zion?

A. To address the growing costs of our aging infrastructure, I propose developing a regional water and wastewater infrastructure improvement project in cooperation with Beach Park and Winthrop Harbor that would qualify for funding under the federal Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Authority. Obtaining alternative funding to fix our infrastructure needs should be a high priority for the city. To see all my proposals I invite the public to visit my website, www.fischerforzion.com to learn more.

Property Tax Forum - Update

Attention to voters that expressed interest in attending a forum on Property Taxes that was tentatively scheduled for this week. There were some problems booking a meeting room at the Zion Benton Library, and an alternate venue hasn't been confirmed yet.  We hope that we can still hold an informational meeting about this issue before the April 7th election,  please watch this page for updates and announcements.  If you have any questions, please let me know at fischerforzion@gmail.com