Election 2013: Patricia Beauvais for Third Ward Alderman of Des Plaines

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Name: Patricia K. Beauvais (Pat)

Position sought: Third Ward Alderman of Des Plaines

Campaign contact information. Please include any or all of the following: website, email address, phone number, Facebook page, Twitter account, mailing address, etc.

Phone: (847) 635-0244

Age: 55

Family Include as much info as you like (names, ages, number of children, etc.): Three children - Eddie, Mike and Jackie.

Education Include degree(s) and school(s):

BA Elementary Ed K - 9 Area of concentration, Social Science

Northeastern Illinois University

Occupation: Director of Business and Program Development Regency Rehab Center

Political Party:  Independent

Official name of your campaign committee (if you have one):

Friends of Pat Beauvais

Previous Elected or Appointed Offices:

Appointed - Illinois Racing Board 11/2011 to 11/2012

First Ward Alderman - City of Des Plaines - 16 years, 1993-2009

Is there any additional experience you believe qualifies you for the position? 

I have 16 years of government experience and have served on all 8 of the City's committees.  I was also appointed the Chairman of the Stormwater Management and Flood Committee by the mayor and voted Chairman of committees on committees to chair on city council.  In addition to my government experience, I have served in many leadership roles through volunteering for community events and organizations, which includes being recognized by the Illinois State Board of Education with the "Those Who Excel Award" 93'- 94', President of Maine West Athletic Boosters, Vice President Central School PTA, Sisterfest Committee, Coach of Kids Sporting Teams, Den Mother, etc.

What would your priorities be if elected to this office?

My priorities would be:

1. Look at our options to provide tangible financial relief from the money from the casino to our residents and request that the city have a short and long-term plan that includes revenues vs fees and taxes.
2. Start the next phase of the flooding projects for our city which includes expanding big bend lake and installing larger storm sewers for properties west of the river, and replace some of the money that was taken from the backyard flooding program, in addition to increasing the funding to address the backyard flooding.
3. Fill the store vacancies and aggressively pursue new development, especially around the casino
4. Put more city council items into the "committee of the whole" portion of the meeting to allow proper input from the residents and include resident more based committees to make recommendations and opinions to the council.
5. Have ward and neighborhood meetings to keep residents informed and offer the residents an opportunity to  become involved in the decision process through meetings, newsletters and surveys.

What are the most important issues facing Des Plaines and what would you do as alderman to address them?

Flooding, helping residents to stay working, filling store front vacancies and pursuing redevelopment and new development.  I would have the city do their due diligence with the proper studies, secure the funding, get public input, and properly market our ideas and development.

What is one of the most important issues facing residents in your ward, and what would you do, if elected, to address it?

From speaking with residents at the door, they want to see some financial relief to their pocket books from the money from the casino and they don't want increased water bills.  Also, they want to see the flooding projects and backyard flooding program be accelerated. They are in favor of increased programs and awareness to insure that our streets and residents remain safe. Last but not least, the residents want to be informed. Some neighborhoods are concerned of continued electrical outages, so I would want to check into the age of Com Ed's equipment.

How do you believe gaming tax revenue collected by Des Plaines should be spent? What should it be spent on? 

The city needs to identify short and long term goals for the city in order to properly review and make recommendations on how to spend the revenue from the gaming tax. I would be in favor of giving our residents some financial relief with either a decreased tax, or decreased fees in utility or sewer taxes, or city sticker fees. I would like to see the continued plan from 2005 to pay down the debt and increase funding for capital improvements for streets, sewers, sidewalks and flooding/storm water projects.

There have been a number of proposals to expand gaming in Illinois. If elected, what would you do to protect Des Plaines’ interests with respect to gaming?

I would push to renegotiate the city's contract with the gaming board, River's Casino and the State of Illinois to make sure we would reduce the amount of money that have to pay the State and the blighted communities that we assisting.  Also, we would need to include in a new agreement, that there would not be any gaming within so many miles of River's Casino to make sure that there would not be any slots at O'Hare airport to take away our ability to have a successful casino.

The city has $58.3 million in debt in the capital improvements fund, the tax increment financing funds and the water and sewer fund. Approximately $4.4 million in the capital improvements fund will become callable in 2013. If elected, would you support refinancing this debt or paying it off immediately, and why?

I would need to get all of the facts before I could make that call. It also would depend on our economy at the time, the interest rate, and the state of our city's financial situation and projected expenses.

Downtown Des Plaines has a low occupancy rate in the retail spaces in the Metropolitan Square development. If you are elected alderman, what would you do to address this?

When I left office in 2009, Metropolitan Square had 16 storefronts leased. The multiple changes in ownership and the high rents, along with the crashing of our economy cause most to leave. I would work with the new landlords to lower the rent. Also, I would look at ways to open up the entryways into the Square to provide them to be more visible from Miner Street, Lee Street and River. Possibly we would need to look at our signage ordinance to maybe accommodate those businesses in the square and look into a different marketing strategy.

The Des Plaines Police Department is involved with a number of lawsuits, including, most recently, accusations that a former commander falsified records. If elected alderman, what would you do to address the litigation? What would you do to gain the public’s trust in the Des Plaines Police Department?

Our city has an excellent police department and they are always looking for ways to improve.  We have many fine programs in place, have a good track record for solving crime and keeping our city safe. There have been many personnel changes and retirements. I am confident that the new police chief and his administration will take measures to ensure that there be a check and balance system within the department. I can't comment on the litigation until the time that I would be privy to the details, and most likely wouldn't be able to discuss litigation anyway. I think we would gain the public trust once again after time passes and they continue to provide good consistent service to our residents. We can't let a few ruin it for the rest of the department.

Why would you do a better job representing Des Plaines than your opponent?

I feel that I would do a better job representing Des Plaines because of my 16 years of experience as an alderman, my track record of getting things done and working very hard at representing the residents of the first ward as their voice on the council floor, providing "hands on, face to face service" to the residents along with regular neighborhood and ward meetings. I can take office with my feet hitting the ground running, without having to learn about the workings of the city, meeting protocols and how to get things done. I will use my experience to help avoid mistakes for new development projects and my knowledge to negotiate better contracts and ideals for our city. The history of issues that our city council had to face, will help in future decisions. Last but not least, I am an independent leader that is not beholding to anyone or their political agenda.

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