Position for which you are a candidate: Wayne Village Trustee

I am seeking the position of Wayne Village Trustee because it is my opinion that the needs of the residents are not prioritized. We have poor internet and cell service 25 years into the 21st century. When violent accidents were happening consistently at Powis and Army Trail, the village allowed the problem to go on for years unresolved. When residents wanted the gun ordinance enforced when the Village President’s husband shot and killed their neighbor’s dog they were ignored. The village decided to reduce the police department to part time status and never informed the residents they were doing so. Residents who spoke out against changing the off street parking rules in 2024 were ignored as were the people who wanted the livestock definition expanded. We now have the village website defining what Wayne is and what Wayne is not. It is time for residents to be heard. Someone asked me what I wanted to change in Wayne. I don’t want to change Wayne, but I believe there are things that can be improved and resident involvement is one of them. Elected officials should not be in their seats for 30 years. It is time to start encouraging resident participation in our community.

What experience and background do you have which qualifies you for this position?

I have lived in Wayne 19 years, have over 35 years in revenue cycle management experience and have owned a revenue cycle management company since 2003. The revenue I manage annually for multiple healthcare practices is significantly larger than the budget of Wayne. I have attended more village meetings in the past five years than any current member of the board. I am a founding member of the Wayne Residents Committee where I am currently responsible for the communications for our group. I manage our resident only Facebook page and our website ResidentsforWayne.com where we post and archive the agendas, meeting minutes and recordings of almost all village meetings. We also report on the village financials monthly as well as what the trustees report they are working on. We maintain a calendar of events happening in Wayne with a hyperlink to the Zoom meeting access, promote Wayne businesses and have a community news section where we report on the activities of the Wayne government, local events and publish the results of the annual surveys we conduct. I am also a member of the Trunk or Treat planning group that was formed in 2022. I bake cakes for Flag Day and cookies for the Christmas Tree lighting. In April 2024, I coordinated the Illinois Prairie Path Earth Day event for Wayne.

What will be your highest priorities if elected?

My only priority, if elected, is to make sure residents of Wayne have a voice. We need to set goals, make plans and prepare budgets that are approved at the beginning of the fiscal year and not almost 8 months into the year. I will not be a rubber stamp for the status quo. I intend to listen to what residents want and need to make their lives and Wayne better. We need to find a new platform for the village website that can support the archives of Zoom meetings, agendas, meeting minutes and financials as well as update the content to inform residents on important topics such as openings on commissions, contact information for any and all government officials, police department statistics and the status of projects like the renovation of Village Hall and the Parilli Building. We need to provide ALL government officials with village email addresses so that they can be contacted directly by residents and not have to go through the village clerk. We need to develop a plan to bring internet access to all homes in Wayne instead of waiting for a grant that may never come. Most of all, we should be conducting annual surveys of residents and holding at least an annual resident meeting where residents can speak for longer than three minutes to voice their opinions and perspectives. These annual surveys and meetings should be used to update our Village Comprehensive Plan which has not been done in 20 years. We need to actively seek grant opportunities, both public and private, in order to achieve the goals set in the Comprehensive Plan.

I will participate in the candidate meet & greet: