Campaign Info

• Position being sought: Will County Board member, District 2
• Phone number: 815-464-9250
• Home address: 19618 Greenview Place, Tinley Park, IL 60487
• E-mail: dizzo58@comcast.net
• Website: Go to his Facebook page, David Izzo for Will County Board. 

Personal Info

• Age: 53  
• Family: Married to wife, Regina, for 26 years. Son, David M. Izzo (25), is a 2005 graduate of Lincoln-Way East High School and a 2009 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy. Currently serves as a 1st Lieutenant assigned to the 38th Cyberspace Engineering Installation Group at Scott Air Force Basis, Shiloh, Ill. Daughter, Rachael M. Izzo (22), is a 2007 graduate of Lincoln-Way East High School, and a 2010 graduate of Purdue University. Currently employed by Aramark Inc. as a restaurant supervisor at the Morton Arboretum, Lisle.
• Education: DePaul University, Bachelor of Arts, 1980 (political science major); John Marshal Law School, Juris Doctor, 1983.
• Occupation: Attorney
• Previous elected or appointed offices: Will County Board member, appointed November 2011 to present; Will County Forest Preserve commissioner, appointed November 2011 to present; Frankfort Township Republican committeeman, elected 2006 to present; Lincoln-Way High School District 210 Board of Education member, elected 2005-09, re-elected 2009-11 (vice president 2007-09, president 2009-11).

Candidate Questions

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

I have been a licensed practicing attorney for almost 30 years. During that time, I was the Director of Operations for a large in-house legal department that employed over 300 people with an annual budget over $80 million.

While a member of the Board of Education at Lincoln-Way High School District 210, I and my fellow board members oversaw $90 million annual budgets, planned and built two new high schools without raising taxes and all the while, operated four high schools with one of the lowest per pupil expenditures for high school district’s in the six counties surrounding the Chicago metropolitan area.

I currently manage four in-house legal offices for Nationwide Insurance Company in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, with a staff of 45 employees.

I am an Admissions Liaison Officer for the U.S. Air Force Academy.  In that role, I help recruit and counsel prospective candidates interested in attending the U.S. Air Force Academy.

What would your priorities be if elected to this office?

• Maintain a balanced budget with NO new taxes
• Create a pro-business environment in Will County to keep the jobs we currently have and also to attract new businesses to increase job opportunities for all our residents.
• Assist county departments in creating efficiencies to streamline government, reducing the need for additional staff through attrition and/or retirement.
• Maintain and improve county roads and infrastructure.
• Modernize the county's courtroom facilities to better serve the needs of our residents and those who use the facilities.
• Maintain the rural settings within my district. I will work to keep our growth concentrated in those areas currently developed so Will County’s rural beauty and natural assets are maintained.

What sets you apart from the other candidates?

I believe it is my commitment to our community. I don’t think you can gauge what kind of elected official a person is going to be by what they say they will do once he or she gets elected, but by what he or she has done in the past to serve the residents of their community.

Before serving on Lincoln-Way's Board of Education, I served as a member of the Lincoln-Way East Athletic Booster Club. The purpose of the club was to raise funds for Lincoln-Way East’s athletic programs which reduced the need for taxpayer provided dollars. It also involved getting other members or our community to join and participate in a program that that benefited high school students at Lincoln-Way.
While volunteering on the Booster Board I was able to with administrators, teachers, and coaches at Lincoln-Way East along with board members as well. That is how I became interested in running for the Lincoln-Way 210 Board of Education.

I have also been an elected Republican Committeeman for my local precinct since 2006. In that role, I have attended fundraisers, walked door-to-door supporting local Republican candidates in elections that have a direct impact on the lives of the residents in Will County.

At the end of the day, when someone asks what sets me apart from the other candidates, it is mycommitment to our community. My background shows that I am a doer, not a talker.  

What can the county do to promote job growth and draw new business to Will County? 

1. Review, on a regular basis, Will County’s planning and zoning regulations to make sure that they don't prohibit new businesses from bringing jobs to Will County.
2. Since a majority of jobs are typically created from existing businesses, I will work with local businesses and the Will County Center for Economic Development to create initiatives that promote economic opportunities for everyone in our community.
3. Work with Illinois legislators to make sure laws are not passed that tax businesses in such a way to make it less attractive for them to start a business Will County or force current businesses to leave Will County to other counties or surrounding states who have more favorable tax rates.
4. Continue to promote and grow Will County’s multi-modal transportation system. This will allow Will County to remain attractive to those businesses that rely heavily on transportation and logistics to satisfy their business needs.
5. Promote and enhance Will County’s Enterprise Zone Program in the Des Plaines River Valley and Joliet Arsenal. These enterprise zones allow businesses who build there special state and local incentives, like no sales taxes on any materials purchased to build in the zones.

Do you believe Cook County is encroaching on Will, and how would you make sure there isn't a negative influence from the city? 

Yes. But its not just Cook County politics encroaching on Will County, but the State of Illinois as well (the Peotone Airport is a prime example). I don't think we will ever stop the negative influence, but what we do need to do is be vigilant of the efforts out of Springfield and the City of Chicago to exert themselves on Will County and when that occurs, we have to call them out.

We need to remind the people of Will County that it was their county board who just voted to approve a balanced budget. Neither Cook County nor the State of Illinois will ever be able to say, especially in the foreseeable future, that they are operating under a balanced budget.  

Should it be Will County or a special commission in charge of a proposed airport? Why, and how would that work?

First and foremost, I don’t believe a third airport is necessary or feasible. Air travel in Illinois is down, American Airlines has declared bankruptcy, and the newest airport in Illinois, the MidAmerica Airport in St. Clair County, is hardly used. While the building of any airport will create many jobs, what will ultimate cost be the residents and taxpayers of Will County and the State of Illinois.

The State of Illinois has already spent $33 million to by land and Gov. Quinn wants to spend $110 million more for land acquisition. Land that will be acquired through condemnation proceedings against landowners who have had farms in their families for generations.

Having voiced my opposition to the airport, if an airport is going to be built, I agree with (Will County Board) Chairman Jim Moustis that it should be controlled locally by Will County. Will County’s history shows that it can operate with fiscal responsibility and will do the same in creating jobs and entering into contracts that involve building and operating the airport.

What a new airport does not need is Cook County and City of Chicago style politics controlling jobs and contracts. All Will County will get if that occurs is graft, corruption and crony capitalism that will benefit everyone else but the residents of Will County. 

All candidates have lauded the current board for work balancing the budget; what more would you do to practice fiscal responsibility?

As County Board members, we can do more to practice fiscal responsibility. For instance, even though it is a small contribution, I am refusing to accept the per diem and mileage reimbursement I receive for being a Will County Forest Preserve Commissioner. I will encourage my fellow board members to do the same. On a grander scale, we must continue to look for ways to streamline operations in each of our county departments. I would propose and in-depth, line-by-line review of each department to find ways to cut costs, without sacrificing services.

Besides Renewing Will County, would you propose any projects related to sustainability in the county?

Because Will County is one of the fastest growing counties in the United States, I would like to look into some kind sustainability project that relates to the county’s transportation needs. Any such project would have to balance concerns of local residents with the economic and environmental realities such a project would entail. Maybe it could be something involve regulating the flow of local traffic in our communities by developing and building a comprehensive grid of free flowing roadways that would keep traffic moving, reduce travel times and increase safety.

What ideas do you have for improving the county's infrastructure and transportation?

As for transportation, I would continue to look for ways to reduce traffic congestion in Will County. One such way would be to look into developing a traffic system that uses a series of roundabouts that ease traffic congestion and promote safety. I have an office in Carmel, Ind., and that city has over built over 60 roundabouts. Where roundabouts have replaced signals or stop signs, the number of injury accidents have decreased by 80 percent and the number of accidents overall by 40 percent. Roundabouts are environmentally sound and also make it easier for pedestrians and bicyclists navigate the roadways.

As for capital improvements, one of my goals to upgrade the courtroom facilities located throughout Will County. One idea is to develop a “legal campus” in downtown Joliet which would include renovating the existing courthouse and surrounding buildings that currently house courtroom facilities.

In what ways can the county operate more efficiently and improve technologically? 

Will County should continue to work with local municipalities, school districts and the junior college to develop strategies to cut costs. This could involve intergovernmental agreements regarding the purchase of shared products to agreements that allow local municipalities to assume control the maintenance of local roads that are no longer readily accessible by county personnel or equipment.

I would develop programs for our county departments that share services which will reduce redundancies and costs. For instance, a single maintenance department could be utilized for the transportation department, sheriff and forest preserve police and any other department that requires such vehicle maintenance services.

On the technology side, we should be looking for ways to make the day to day operations of county government more accessible for our citizens.  More and more people are becoming computer savvy. Residents should be able to access services, like tracking and paying taxes, reporting concerns or complaints 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Along those lines, the County could develop applications for cell phones that could link residents to their county government from anywhere in the community. For instance, the County could develop an iPhone or Android app that would allow residents to report problems with the county roads, traffic light outages and other issues that come under the county’s control.