Protect the Safety of our Residents and the Innocence of Our Children
(Public Safety) As your next county board member, public safety will be my top priority because nothing is more fundamental than health and well-being. But public safety is in no way limited to law enforcement, it also relates to mental health, education, preserving our children’s innocence, and the environment, down to our drinking water: The City of Elgin is making strategic investments in improving water line infrastructure, and Kane County should follow their example. I recently addressed the Kane County Board requesting they consider cooperating with the initiative of the City of Elgin, and earmarking ARPA funds to aid with lead service line replacement, because I believe clean drinking water is one of the most essential services for residents. Lead pipes and lead toxicity cause long-term health problems and can even increase violence and crime, so I will champion efforts across the county to prioritize replacing old and harmful water service lines with safer ones.
(Education) Ensuring our children receive high-quality education is key to the future success of a community: I will support and work to create programs that empower our children to learn and grow in safe and informative environments. I fully support the great work of our local community colleges, especially in their efforts to provide high school equivalency education. It is imperative that these vital programs are made available to every resident. We must also preserve our children’s innocence throughout our community, in our schools, library, and media.
– Our environment and our interaction with it have significant effects on our well-being. I have been gardening, growing my own food, and promoting local farming for 25 years, and I will bring this
experience to the county board. I will promote local food production in community gardens, farmers markets, and food co-ops.
Lower Costs & Taxes for Families
(Taxes) Our county board has prioritized burdensome mandates, tax increases, and shortsighted policies that limit economic growth and make it harder for families and businesses to get by. Despite the exodus of 140,000 of our friends and neighbors leaving Illinois, largely owing to heavy taxes and regulations, our County Board members are only increasing the burden. My opponent recently voted in favor of multiple proposed tax increases: to raise our fuel tax by 70%, and the sales and property taxes as well. Kane County residents are increasingly forced to make difficult financial decisions, and our local small businesses should not be further challenged by governmentally imposed costs.
– Residents are receiving letters from the City of Elgin telling them not to drink the water from the pipes, and they’re rightly upset. Our taxes are going up but our quality of life is decreasing. I will fight to make sure more resources go to our concrete needs and not pet political projects. As your representative, I will advocate for our families and businesses by finding ways to lower costs, decrease property taxes, and foster job stability in our community. And unlike my opponent, I will not vote for any new taxes.
Advocate for Justice and Efficient Services
(Justice) Having been born in the United States to a World War II veteran, and raised in Argentina by my Argentine mother, I am very thankful for both my American and Latin American roots. As an interpreter and language instructor, every week, I assist immigrants who came to America to escape chaos, tyranny, and corruption. After living in Argentina for 19 years during the scourge of terrorism, followed by 7 years of military dictatorship, I understand the fear and chaos experienced by many immigrants. In our multi-cultural district, we need a representative who doesn’t just understand the challenges, but who can unite our residents and speak their language.
(Justice continued) My experience positions me to best represent those who may have never had a positive interaction with their local government. Having taught English as a second language at Elgin Community College since 2010, and having worked as a medical interpreter and the first manager of Cross-Cultural Communications at Sherman Hospital, I am a passionate and relentless advocate for those who are neglected or under-served. Whether you’re an immigrant, senior, or are disenfranchised in any way, I will fight for you.
(Efficient Services) In 2023, our County Board began discussions to build multiple unnecessary new buildings projected to cost tens of millions of dollars:
– a new county government center,
– a new building for the county health department in Geneva, which would provide mostly office space, meeting rooms and storage, since they don’t serve the public directly but mostly train other agencies. The health deparmtent currently has 2 buildings which are hardly used, one in Elgin and one in Aurora; Besides, the newest building of the old Sherman hospital, which is barely twenty years old, is still standing empty and unused.
I believe that these are pet political projects which have little use and will cost the taxpayer far more than they will offer. Instead, I will advocate (as I have already proposed to the county board) that the funds allocated to these wasteful expenditures be instead allocated to improving our current infrastructure which desperately needs improvement; The City of Elgin has been replacing lead water
service lines in its older subdivisions since 2018, but at the current rate of work of approximately 877 houses per year, with over 10,000 to go, some residents will have to wait until the end of the year 2037 to get their lead service line replaced. Kane County should partner with its own municipalities to address their current needs, not pursue wasteful, self-serving political projects.
– Those of us who expect the best of our own country, and our own county, are discouraged when they smell corruption here. I spent 5 years working as part of a team confronting local corruption in Mexico by advocating for people who had lost investments in Cancun. I’ll bring this same mindset to our county board – by standing up for everyday residents, and ignoring the demands of powerful special interest groups.
I’m not a politician – I’m a Hispanic interpreter, a teacher and a mother who raised her family in Kane County. Please vote for me, Silvia Schrage, for Kane County Board so that I can be your advocate to unite our district and foster a stronger and more secure community.