During my tenure on the Kane County Board and the Kane County Forest Preserve Commission, I have served on virtually every standing committee and many Ad Hoc committees as well. Below you will find a description of my work on the committees on which I've served:
ADMINISTRATIVE:
I have served on the Admin Committee both as a member and as its Chairman. The general purview of Admin is building, grounds, and building management of physical faciliteis. I was directly involved in replacing the obsolete jail and Sheriff's Office with the current facilities located at the Judicial Center campus. This enhanced both cost effectiveness and the safety of the inmates, staff, and the public. More recently, I have been directly involved with the effort to construct a Multi-Use building that will provide much-needed space for our Coroner as well as additional room for storage, building management, and fleet maintenance. This project is on budget and ahead of schedule. In addition to the items mentioned above, Admin oversees the world-class IT Department on all county matters. One such IT program is an effort to bring fiber optics to Kane County.
AGRICULTURE:
The Agriculture Committee recognizes the rich agricultural history of Kane County. I worked to collaborate the Farmland Preservation Program in concert with the Forest Preserve District.
ENERGY/ENVIRONMENTAL:
The Energy/Enviornmental Committee leads the effort to provide the public with continuing recycling education and popular recycling events. It also helps to guide the county in all "green" efforts such as LEEDS cetrtification. We are experimenting with alternative energy sources and have recently installed solar panels on the Animal Control facility.
EXECUTIVE:
The Executive Committee is an assembly of all standing committee chairpersons who meet prior to the monthly County Board meeting. This provides time for the interested parties to prepare an Agenda for presentation to the full Board.
HUMAN SERVICES:
This committee deals with all human resources including the substantial insurance program that we provide to approximately 1,300 employees. While chairing this committee, I worked to reduce insurance cost with the institution of a Wellness Program. We have shopped insurance brokers faithfully in order to continue to keep our health care costs down. Labor Managementn is an Ad Hoc Committee of which the Chairman of Human Services is a member. This is one of the most active committees on the board. It was during my time as the chair of Human Services that we re-imagined our approach to ethics questions and instituted the position of Ethics Advisor.
JOBS:
This committee explores the opportunities for jobs within Kane County. We work with social service agencies, schools, and companies throughout the county to coordinate programs. This assists people seeking employment and orginazations looking for qualified employees.
JUDICIAL/PUBLIC SAFETY:
JPS has the single biggest part of our budget if you exclude transportation projects in which we receive state or federal funds. JPS represents our Sheriff along with the Jail, and Juvenile Justice Center. It also forms the budget for the State's Attormeys Office, Public Defenders Office and the Judiciary. Representatives from each of these organizations comes before the JPS committee to report each month and their budgets are poverseen by JPS. It was during my time on JPS that we initiated the Judicial Strategic Technology Commission. This brought all of the JPS stake-holders together to work collaboratively. I also acted as Chairman of the committee.
TRANSPORTATION:
This committee provides for all matters related to transportation in Kane County. This covers items such as road construction and maintenance, snow removal and bridges. I was part of the effort to link transportation with Development to produce what came to be known as the 2020 plan - a groundbreaking, comprehensive approach to planning that continues now as the 2040 plan.
