Affordability
The number one issue I hear from people across the county is affordability. Kitchen-table costs are rising, taxes are rising, and something has to give or young families and retirees alike will get priced out. McHenry County can forge a stronger path through smart, sustainable development: workforce housing, robust local commerce, and quality infrastructure underneath it all. That is how we find a brighter day.
Right now, our property tax base is 88% residential and just 10% commercial & industrial, while the healthy standard is at least 30% commercial. If we bring more business here, we can move past our commuter-community pattern and the heavy reliance on home property taxes that have defined McHenry County, and start easing the burden on families.
Infrastructure
About 25 municipal bridges across the county need replacement after decades of regular use. The McHenry County Division of Transportation is working hard to maintain and rebuild them, but the time and cost will be significant. Most of these bridges are on the west side of the county, but they affect all of us through higher food costs, safety concerns, and because our farmers are our neighbors and a vital part of our community.
To get this done on a reasonable timeline, the county will need financial support from Springfield and Washington. We will also need to work out fair plans with our smaller townships so the burden is shared equitably.
Sustainability
If the solutions we find to today's problems aren't sustainable, and don't protect the remarkable natural blessings of McHenry County, then all we have done is shrug and hand off problems to the next generation. Problems that will be even harder to solve. There is a smart, adaptive way to develop.
It starts with listening to the experts, the stakeholders, and bringing the whole community to the table: advocacy groups, farmers, unions, and developers alike. I will not choose a path that benefits us today only to hurt our children and grandchildren tomorrow.
Beyond McHenry
I've worked across the aisle, across languages and countries. National headlines grab our attention, but make no mistake: local policy and local issues shape our families and neighbors far more. Still, here is where I stand.
Partisanship
Politics has become a sport, where the same act is cheered or condemned depending on the argument of the day, and free speech, press, and privacy get trampled. It is noise meant to distract from short-sighted policy that enriches those at the top.
The wealth gap
Paying a fair share isn't only right. It is what built this country into the world's strongest economy. Today the top 1% hold as much wealth as the bottom 90%, while 14 million American kids go to sleep hungry.
Sovereignty & alliances
Threatening our longtime friends and allies wins no wars. Loyalty is strength and mutual respect is honor. Acting otherwise invites conflict we will pay terribly for, and all the while bad actors benefit from our shortsightedness.
The national debt
It is unsustainable, and an unfair legacy to leave the next generation - the debt is now more than our GDP. The way out is both cutting costs and everyone paying their fair share, like we did 50 years ago.