Name: Dan Bailey
Position sought: DuPage County Board District 4 member
Campaign contact information:
www.danbailey.org
info@danbailey.org
630-632-8590: cell
302 S. Prospect, Wheaton IL 60187
Age and birthdate: 60, June 18
Family Include as much info as you like:
Wife: Maria
Daughters: Andrea, Helen and Emma
Granddaughters: Melanie and Ella
Education Include degree(s) and school(s):
Associate Degree in Nursing, College of DuPage
Associates in General Studies, College of DuPage
Occupation: Registered Nurse
Political Party: Democratic
Official name of your campaign committee (if you have one): Citizens for Dan Bailey
Previous Elected or Appointed Offices:
President District 19 of the Illinois Nurses Association
Founding President Division 184 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers
Legislative Representative Division 184
Legislative Representative Division 32
Is there any additional experience you believe qualifies you for the position?
Yes, my railroad experience and time volunteering with the Chicagoland Transportation and Air Quality Commission for a perspective and understanding of transportation issues.Time as a nurse in a free clinic gives me more understanding of the health and social service needs of our community
What would your priorities be if elected to this office?
I would change priorities to make DuPage County Fairer, Healthier and Stronger.
We need to make DuPage County more Fair by:
- Ending one party rule in DuPage County – bring back a balanced two party system
- Ending political contributions from vendors selling to the county
- Ending high salaries and benefits for elected officials for part time work
- Ending decision making that allows wasting millions of our resources
We need to make DuPage Healthier:
- Increase availability of public transportation
- Increase our commitment to bike lanes and bike paths
- Increase access to health care by all our residents especially the uninsured
- Increase educating the public about the importance of proper nutrition and exercise
We need to make DuPage County Stronger:
- Create new jobs by fostering entrepreneurship
- Create a business friendly environment by keeping taxes low
- Create a better business friendly environment by reduce # of taxing bodies
- Create better understanding of the path to the jobs of the future – ie vocational training
What sets you apart from the other candidates?
I would bring to the board a unique new perspective for a new DuPage County. This is not the same DuPage from 1980. We have a much more diverse population ethnically and economically. The new DuPage needs a new point of view.
- Working as a nurse particularly in a free clinic gives me more understanding of health care especially as I see the effects of this economy and that our county health Dept hasn’t enough resources especially alone to keep up with increased needs from recent economic and demographic changes.
- I bring a different perspective one of front line working people not the usual manager/well to do point of view on the board. I've been a front line worker in factories and railroads for decades. So I may be able to understand and better represent issues of average middle class people who work for a living, the poor and the sick.
- I would prioritize the interests of our community members in working to enable this area to maintain a healthy economy and quality of life now and for our children
What can the county do to promote job growth and draw new business to DuPage County?
Foster entrepreneurship using business incubators and other innovative techniques that have been used successfully elsewhere with groups like the Center for Neighborhood Technology as a resource.
Improve public transit and bikeways to allow workers and customers to get to our businesses that need them without requiring use of and expense of a car.
Create better understanding of the path to the jobs of the future that is vocational training. Manufacturing is returning to the US from other countries but now is computer guided and so requires training. We need to ensure that this training is available locally.
Increase cooperation among those who are tasked with bringing business to DuPage. I am also concerned about the management of the airport authority as it presides over only one business in its huge 600-acre industrial park
What would you do to practice fiscal responsibility in DuPage?
- Lead by example. Advocate for the reduction of the $80,000 salary
package for county board members for part time work. It seems that the county board members and some other elected officials are treated far better with better salaries and benefits than the county employees who provide direct services to constituents full time. I would urge that the county board members be paid and have benefits under similar rules and scales as direct service employees of the county.
If elected I will take my county salary but offer to continue to work for the free clinic part time without pay. I pledge to forgo any pension benefits until I serve enough time to earn them the same way that a clerk or other front line county worker would.
2. End political contributions from vendors who sell to the county
3. End decision making that allows wasting millions of our resources.
The county chair and board oversee several agencies that have misspent, lost or inappropriately spent significant sums of money. For example the DuPage Water Commission at $69 million, and the DuPage Housing Authority
at $5.1 million.
4. Support efficiency and direct service to the pubic.
5. Consider combining all DuPage Gov't bodies for representation by lobbyists in Springfield and Washington to reduce lobbying costs while strengthening relationships with our
elected representatives like congressmen, senators and state legislators.
What ideas do you have for improving the county's infrastructure and transportation?
1. All new roads or rebuilds should be accompanied by walk/bikeways and crosswalks. North Ave is dangerous and a wall that divides and isolates members of our communities. It is especially bad for children and seniors and others who do not drive.
2. Increase availability of public transportation. We could also encourage smart growth that puts what we need close to where we live to decrease the need to travel long distances for jobs, school, shopping, entertainment etc.
Walkable suburbs and smart growth could together bring enough customers together to make public transit financially practical sooner. As gas prices rise we need to have an alternative in place for the day when many of us will no longer want or be able to pay the high price of relying entirely on cars to get us where we want to go.
3. New building and remodeling should be done with energy efficiency and if practical include solar and other sustainable technologies to lessen operating costs.
4. Plant ground cover or wild grasses where appropriate to reduce mowing and other costs of a mowed lawn.
In what ways can the county operate more efficiently and improve technologically?
I would ask that we work on more intergovernmental agreements among local governments. That we also consider elimination of unnecessary gov't bodies. Do we really need all these mosquito abatement districts? Or township gov't?
Consider combining county board committees that have related duties.
Do you support a gaming bill that would increase the number of casinos or other gambling venues in Illinois? Should a casino be built in Chicago?
No and No. Unfortunately Gambling brings problems along with revenue.
What do you suggest for property tax relief?
The state of Illinois should pay for over half of the cost of education as the Illinois constitution mandates. This would reduce the biggest part of our property tax bills.
Should the state consider consolidating school districts?
What would be the best way to accomplish this in your legislative district? The state should pay for education as required by our Illinois Constitution. See former Governor JIm Edgar's version of a Dawn Clark Netsch plan to substitute a state income tax funding of education for the current property tax support for local school districts. Then consider the best way to consolidate districts.
Should the state legalize marijuana?
The war against drugs is a flop and it seems to be counterproductive and too expensive to house drug users in prisons (except as a last resort). More use should be made of other means of dealing with this and other drug problems problem including treatment for drug addiction where it will work.
Are there ways to reform the legislative scholarship program, or would you support calls to eliminate the program?
I think there are probably ways to reform it but for now we could suspend this legislative scholarship program until reforms are made.
Who are your political heroes and why?
John Kennedy I identified with his Irish Catholic background at age 8 and was inspired by his call for public service and optimism that we could make our country better when we work together. Mahatma Ghandi lived with integrity and used non-violence to change government. A violent revolution would have resulted in so many deaths. Franklin Roosevelt brought us through the depression and World War II while giving our country its human caring side. He did so much for the middle class and working people. The benefits he started for us are now the target of the extreme right who may not realize that without them the average American would live like a serf.
Have you ever been convicted of a felony, sued successfully or had a restraining order placed against you? If so, please explain.
No.
