It’s heartbreaking when I see taxpayer money wasted. That’s money that could be spent on people’s children, putting food on their table, or paying their mortgage. That’s their money that politicians are wasting.

As Will County Treasurer, I will do my part to eliminate wasteful spending.

I will analyze and scrutinize the county’s spending, comparing actual spending to the budget to ensure we are staying within budget and no money is being wasted.

I will attend every relevant county board and committee meeting where the budget, spending, or investing is discussed to provide a “real dollars” perspective of each decision that is made so the board can evaluate whether that spending is beneficial to the public as they make decisions.

I will work to consolidate systems, because right now the county executive, treasurer, and auditor all work off their own systems, leading to waste and inefficiency.

And I will ensure our employee hiring and evaluation process is clear and transparent, because our county administrators get paid well over market value and we need to be sure taxpayers are getting their money’s worth for those high salaries.

Finally, I will push forward a major initiative in my first term in office: the consolidation of the county’s treasurer and auditor offices. Other counties have successfully consolidated these offices and we should look to do the same. This reduces costs for taxpayers, increases transparency, and makes it easier to protect taxpayer funds. This consolidation would result in the elimination of either the auditor or treasurer’s position, and if that means I have to lose my job, then so be it—it’s the right thing for the taxpayers.