2024 candidate for DuPage County Board

Annette Corrigan is a Republican running for DuPage County Board District 4.

Bio

Party: Republican

Office Sought: DuPage County Board District 4

City: Wheaton

Age: 60

Occupation: Attorney, Mediator, Collaborative Problem-solver

Previous offices held: Trustee — College of DuPage

Why are you running for this office, whether for re-election or election for the first time? Is there a particular issue that motivates you? If so, what?

I enjoy being engaged in community — my neighborhood, schools, church, park district and city. I have an innate spirit of service and believe we all have a responsibility to care for others, providing, when we can, where there is need. I have strong qualifications for the role. I am an educated, trained and experienced problem-solver in my role as an attorney, mediator and collaborator in the area (now) of family law, and previously in employment, contracts, construction and tort litigation. I bring six years of experience in governance as a Trustee at the COD. I am a strong communicator, attentive listener, diligent researcher. Promoting business development and job growth motivates me. I would like to see DuPage County take the lead as THE MODEL COMMUNITY for “college internship to employment” programs with the County Board spear-heading building of relationships between educational institutions and business leaders to create the necessary pathways for labor-employment opportunities.

If you are an incumbent, describe your main contributions. Tell us of any important initiatives you’ve led. If you are a challenger, what would you bring to the board and what would your priority be?

In addition to my professional qualifications, I would bring common sense and reason in decision-making, an approach that resonates with most people. I would insist on ethical leadership and transparency. I would maintain focus on the main purpose of county government — public safety and relevant/accessible community services and resources. I would bring a collaborative spirit to board discussion, being an example of advocacy that does not compromise civility and professionalism.

Top issues are the economy and public safety. Everyone has been negatively affected by high inflation — paychecks are not going as far as they once did. The County Board can take steps to reassess the utilization of resources we have available to ensure effective spending. I am also a steadfast supporter of law enforcement and will ensure that resources are allocated where the need exists so that every DuPage resident feels safe, whether in their home or out shopping in our towns.

Describe your position regarding the balance between county spending and revenues as it exists today, then describe the chief threats you see looming in the future and how the county should deal with them.

My position on balancing County spending with today’s revenues requires leadership to have a clear vision of priorities from short- and long-term perspectives. My default button is not to turn to the taxpayers to solve funding issues or implement new services. Instead, my approach is to always look internally first for excess spending and areas of redundancy. Threats include the state of our economy and the influx of illegal immigrants into our communities. The County Board will need to look at all avenues for funding the needs of our residents, including all available opportunities for pursuing grant funding.

Does there need to be more bipartisanship and cooperation on the county board? If yes, what would you do to help make that happen?

Yes. Anyone who has ever served on a board knows that nothing can be accomplished when there is a lack of cooperation between members or when politics get in the way. It would be an unreasonable expectation to assume that you are going to agree with, or even like, everyone that sits on a board with you. To remedy/prevent discord, I would work at building relationships with my other board members to understand where their opinions/perspectives originate. I would also try to be an example of what I said previously — an advocate for our residents who does not compromise civility and professionalism. Lastly, I would show my counter-parts that I understand the issues, that I diligently pursue thorough research on the topics, and have developed my position based on the same. Board members deserving of respect are the ones who are always prepared, are thoughtful in their deliberation and are willing to listen to all views before rendering their own.

Earlier this year, some suggested that the 1996 state law that established a separate forest preserve board in DuPage County should be undone and that the forest preserve should be returned to the control of the county board. Do you support that idea? Why or why not?

I do not support the idea of returning the control of the forest preserves to the county board. I am in favor of consolidating units of local government when it makes sense and provides cost savings to our residents. I do not believe that the example of the Graue Mill Dam removal issue justifies removing the forest preserve’s authority to govern independent of the county board. When it was granted self-autonomy almost 3 decades ago, the move was meant to correct problems the board was facing with conflicts of interest (the board’s objective of pursuing economic development versus environmental preservation), time constraints that prevented the focus necessary to address purely forest preserve concerns and allocation of proper funding, among other things. Those objectives have not changed.

What are your thoughts about the condition of the county fairgrounds in Wheaton? Should the county play a greater role in improving and maintaining the structures on the property?

I appreciate that DuPage County has the County Fairgrounds available as a venue for those special events that require outdoor access/open space and a central location. Having been a visitor at the fairgrounds many times over the years, it appears that there is a need to make some improvements. Things are looking a little shabby. However, I am not a proponent of changing what the fairgrounds provides to our County. We have many wonderful venues throughout DuPage for concerts, plays, etc. The fairgrounds must continue to be available to meet the needs of our residents for which it was intended.

What are your thoughts about the consolidation? Should the county play a greater role in streamlining and consolidating local government? Why or why not?

I will always support consolidation when it makes sense to do so. Unnecessary and redundant layers of local government drive up costs for taxpayers. County Board Members have an obligation as elected officials — elected by the tax paying residents of DuPage County — to look out for their interests. If there is an opportunity to cut costs somewhere, then it is the obligation of the Board to take the action necessary to do so.

What role should the county play in combating the opioid crisis?

It seems to be in the news everyday. Fentanyl is an opioid and it is coming across our open borders everyday in amounts we cannot even fathom. Declared a public health emergency in 2017, hundreds of thousands of Americans have died and continue to die everyday from opioid use. One of the many important roles the County Board’s has is to protect and save as many of its residents as it can from this scourge. There are programs and approaches that DuPage County has implemented in the past several years that I would support and actively engage in if elected, including: Hope DuPage, DuPage Narcan Program, DuPage County Drug Court and Focus Court and the initiatives being implemented in our county jail. On-going education about this issue is, of course, the key to conquering this crisis. The DuPage County Board must continue to keep this issue front-and center to be able to provide the support and resources necessary to save our residents.

What role should the county play in increasing affordable housing in the region?

I answered this same question in the Fall of 2022. I stated then in part: “everyone recognizes there is a deficiency in the affordable housing supply in DuPage County. Establishing a task force to build on the information and data (including the existing Affordable Housing Strategy Plan 2016 and CMAPs “ONTO 2050” plan) to gain direction, to work with municipalities who know the needs of their communities best, to identify opportunities for funding and affordable housing projects … public/private partnerships … should be pursued. The task force would identify and maintain a “needs-based” focus on those communities that have a greater need for affordable housing and find ways to allocate funding to make the most impact in those areas …” I have learned since providing that response that in March 2023, the County Board established an ad-hoc County Board committee to address issues of affordable housing, with direction similar to what I suggested. Maybe someone was paying attention …