Oak Lawn Trustee Candidates Make Their Pitch -- Part 1

Candidates for the Oak Lawn Village Board engaged in an orderly forum sponsored by the Oak Lawn Chamber of Commerce at Richards High School on Wednesday.

Trustees Bob Streit (3rd District) and Carol Quinlan (5th District) went toe to toe with their challengers—write-in candidate Dan Sodaro and Pete Quattrocchi, respectively—before an audience of 100 residents in Richards’ Little Theater.

Streit and Quinlan are both business owners; Sodaro is a twice-elected school board member of Ridgeland Dist. 122; and Quattrocchi brings extensive business experience in the private and public sectors.

Chris Slowik, of the League of Women Voters of the Palos-Orland Area, moderated the timed forum, allowing each candidate three minutes for opening and closing statements, and two minutes to answer questions written on index cards from the audience.

Trustee Jerry Hurckes, who is running unopposed in the 1st District, made an opening statement but sat out the rest of the forum in the audience.

Candidates fielded a wide range of questions, including economic and business development in the city, flooding, ethics, healthcare benefits for part-time trustees, term limits and whether infighting among the current village board impaired the governmental process.

Following are the highlights:

How would you decrease the village deficit and balance the budget?

• Carol Quinlan: For the four years that I have been trustee, we have passed a balanced budget. It’s been a tight budget. We have reduced the tax rate to the lowest point that we have in 15 years. As far as decreasing the deficit we have to keep moving forward and trying to get new business in Oak Lawn and retaining the businesses that we have here. That’s why the 111th and Cicero development is important … We’ll do 3 percent to 4 percent more in sales and property taxes should that development go through.

• Bob Streit: We have begun the last couple of budget processes facing $2 million deficits. We passed balanced budgets and we have not raised property taxes. We’ve have had a consistent tax levy in the past six years. What we have to do is provide the quality of services that the rest of Oak Lawn is used too, but we have to do it as efficiently and effectively as possible. We have to look for new ways to deliver new services, we have to take advantage of technologies that are available and we have done those things.

• Dan Sodaro: I don’t have experience obviously at the village level. At the school board (Dist. 122) when I joined we were in a situation where the financial situation wasn’t so good. We looked at everything. Where we made cuts we brought the community in and realized the amount of deficit we were at. We had to look at everything that a potential cut that’s not going to compromise safety and services. I agree that we need to encourage business growth to encourage more revenue.

• Pete Quattrocchi: Obviously in tough economic times raising taxes is certainly an option … but it shouldn’t be the first option. How do we plan more efficiently? What can we do with cost cutting? Contrary to popular belief a lot of factory jobs were lost to China, not because we overshipped but (because) of efficiency. We have to look within. We need to get more businesses here and that’s how we’ll shore up the budget.

What would you do to fix empty storefronts and how would you speed up getting stores in abandoned buildings?

• Bob Streit: We’re way ahead of the curve there. We have four projects that essentially have combined investment of land and other development costs in excess of $12 million. That took aggressive action by the village and certainly by our staff. You don’t have to go far where you’ll see blocks of empty buildings. You don’t see that in Oak Lawn. In 2009 we had $11.4 million in sales tax; in 2010 we were at $11.9 million. These are private sector investments in our community that represents construction jobs and permanent jobs when these facilities are up and running.

• Dan Sodaro: I’d like to disagree with one point that there are vacancies in Oak Lawn. As I drive through my district I see dozens of empty storefronts. Certainly given the current economic times it’s hard to fill them all. I don’t have full knowledge of the full processes for businesses to move in. I think the village needs to streamline the process so that it goes as quickly and smoothly as possible and that we don’t put up barriers for new busineses to move in.

• Pete Quattrocchi: There’s a definite concern that’s not going away. Let’s talk to these existing businesses. Let’s see what their concerns are. Let’s talk to these landlords so see if there are problems with rent or lease arrangements. Let’s see what we can do to keep these businesses in Oak Lawn and work to attract new businesses and promote them as long as it’s an asset to Oak Lawn.

• Carol Quinlan: I think it’s important that the Village of Oak Lawn that we care about them and their success. We’ve been doing that in a couple of ways. We passed an ordinance where we are giving special preference to local businesses. When they are competitively bidding for village goods and services even though they are slightly higher, as long they fall within the guidelines we are going to give that business to the local person.

In light of what is going on with Wisconsin and Indiana over collective bargaining and union rights, what is your opinion on this matter and how will it affect the fire and police department contracts? What experience do you have in negotiating with unions?

• Dan Sodaro: On the school board we went through two negotiations with the teachers’ union. I feel in negotiations both sides go in hoping for the best and meeting somewhere in the middle. From what I hear, it doesn’t sound like both sides (in the village) are actively working together to meet in the middle … As long as both sides are speaking openly and coming to the table in good faith and working together, we should be able to meet somewhere in the middle.

• Pete Quattrocchi: In collective bargaining … I have had extensive background on both sides being a Teamster previously and negotiating with the Teamsters to bring settlements. You have to be fair but in hard times sacrifices have to be made on both sides. As long as there is dialogue I think that would work. I do support everyone’s right to be represented by collective bargaining.

• Carol Quinlan: As a trustee we don’t personally get involved in the (union) contracts. That’s up to our attorney, village manager and heads of the departments. While we do tell them what our thoughts are, I have to say actually last year we worked well with (firefighters’) and (public works) unions … We were under a very tight budget and they agreed to work with us on wages and concessions. I know they gave up a lot. Nobody is making a ton of money but they are working with us and the village does appreciate that … as a trustee our job is to protect the taxpayers.

• Bob Streit: I do support collective bargaining. What we have to do as a village board is provide the level of services that residents have come to expect but we also have to do it at a price we can afford. Over the years I’ve been on the board, our salaries for our employees go up in total cost to village taxpayers $1 million every year. We haven’t raised the property tax levy in six years … We have many (residents) that are losing their jobs, healthcare and their homes … the level of services and salaries have to be consistent with people that they serve.

Oak Lawn Patch will post more highlights from the village board trustees' candidates' forum on Friday.