Issues | Vern Tepe for Kane County Board

The 2024 Election will be significant.

Help me by: putting up a sign; calling your neighbors; mailing a post card; emailing your friends; posting (or reposting) to your FB account.

I promise you that I will continue to do my best to improve Kane County and our area for everyone. You just need to keep me get there.

Taxes

I will see that your money is used wisely!

Kane County’s budget is about $300 Million a year. About $50 Million (1/6) comes from property taxes. The rest comes from fees, sales tax, gas tax, etc (about 300 different sources). The County has operated on an ‘austerity’ approach for too long. The new board will have to deal with the effects of this ill-advised method.

I will endeavor to keep taxes low – but one of my key strengths has been to see that you (the taxpayer) gets the best value out of the taxes & fees that you pay.

Water

A County issue

Here on the East side of the county we are fortunate to have the Fox River as one of our primary water sources. But on the West side – which is growing – they get almost all of their water from wells and our aquafers are beginning to shrink. Kane County is growing and providing resources to sustain that growth is necessary. I’ll work on addressing this (and all the other resources necessary to support county growth).

Senior Services

I will CONTINUE TO STAND UP for Seniors

I will stand up for elders and people with disabilities!!!

Living on a fixed income, that in many cases is inadequate to begin with, is a major challenge.

For many people, particularly seniors, having to choose between food and medicine is a sad and unnecessary situation.

Elgin Township passed a Senior Referendum six years ago, and I am proud to have been the Trustee that worked with the Township’s Senior Committee during its creation and initial selections for funding. Providing support to address food insecurity, transportation, isolation and other issues is necessary and appropriate.

Most recently the RIDE-IN-KANE program has been taken over by the county. This will allow us to expand this program throughout the county.

I will fight to preserve and strengthen programs and services for Seniors in Kane County.

Mental Health

It is less expensive to deal with the issues now rather than ignore it.

The PANDEMIC has created an environment where more people than ever before need help!
Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the US and the second leading cause of death for American youth.
Every hour, eight people in America die of drug overdose, from opioids and increasingly from other drugs as well.
Rates of anxiety, depression and suicidal behavior are all rising among our teens and young adults, but the time from first symptoms (usually around age fourteen) to treatment continues to be almost a decade for many people.

YOUTH – First, we need to support our very youngest. We know that adverse childhood experiences, like poverty, homelessness, violence in the community or in the home, family separation, or a caretaker with a substance abuse disorder, can affect brain development and have an impact on mental health in the teen years and beyond.

I am proud to be on the board of Family Service Association for the past six years. During that time FSA has expanded throughout Kane County and opened offices in Aurora and St Charles as well as their offices in Elgin and Dundee.

FSA works closely with school districts & police departments to respond to crisis situations, particularly when children are involved. And then FSA follows through, often on a long-term basis, to work with those that have been affected.

ADULTS – For many people, the initial point of care for their mental health condition or substance use disorder begins with the criminal justice system.

We need to change how police work is done. Police officers have become America’s de facto first mental health providers.

Since Ron Hain was elected Kane County Sheriff, he has worked to address this issue. I will endeavor to support and expand these services in Kane County.

We all know someone who has dealt with a mental health condition or a substance use disorder — a friend, a family member, a partner, a co-worker, a neighbor. And personally, I, like many others, have seen this impact in my own family.

Nearly one in five adults live with mental illness, and more than 11 million Americans experience a serious mental illness that substantially impacts their major life activities. Mental health issues are too often swept under the rug, whether its people dealing with schizophrenia, substance use, or other mental illnesses.

That is why I personally work on the Health Committee and continue to try to re-construct the Mental Health Referendum in Elgin Township. Funds and services for Mental Health needs to be expanded throughout Kane County.

Renewable Energy

The future is NOW

The science is clear. Experts have long known that climate change is caused by human beings, it is here, and it is accelerating. We already see its effects — record floods, devastating wildfires, 100-year storms that happen every year — costing lives, causing hundreds of billions of dollars in damage, and disproportionately impacting our most vulnerable communities, including communities of color, children, and low-income communities. This is something that we must deal with now.

I believe in RENEWABLE energy!

Personally I drive an electric car (for the past 6 years) and have solar panels on my house.

The climate crisis will leave no one untouched. But it also represents an opportunity to create jobs in clean and renewable energy.

I actively promoted the new Solar Farm at the Judicial Center on Route 38 that will save the County $100,000 per year! Kane County has been progressive in implementing strategies for clean energy and I will continue to support that effort.

Past Issues

Designer Masks Fundraiser in Edgewater | Food for Greater Elgin

Mask Project

Food for Greater Elgin fund raiser goes viral

So you have a major health pandemic, live in a senior community, and suddenly are confined to your house (with your wife) all day long!! Sooo – what do you do?

After hearing a lot about the lack of masks and what a challenge it is to get them, I thought why not get some of the ladies that are ‘sewers’ in my community to start making masks?

We could sell them to our friends & neighbors and give the money to the local food bank! Might even generate $2,000-$3,000.

Boy was I wrong!!! Our ‘little’ mask project skyrocketed!!

I sent an email out to our community and within two days I had orders for over 400 masks. AND then the orders just kept coming!

We (I the Delivery Boy & 15 Sewing Ladies) decided to donate ALL of the proceeds to Food for Greater Elgin. FFGE can feed a family of four for a week for $50. AND not only had their demand increased but they also started a delivery service to seniors in Elgin, They definitely needed the fundsGreater Elgin. FFGE can feed a family of four for a week for $50. AND not only had their demand increased but they also started a delivery service to seniors in Elgin, They definitely needed the funds.

After 8 weeks of effort we had made over 1700 masks. And due to the generosity of the community, delivered over $15,000 to FFGE.

Finally when professional masks were finally available, we slowed down (but we still have masks available), and the 15 Sewing Ladies and Delivery Boy were able to take a break

BUT – We were able to make a difference, provide masks for people to feel more comfortable when they had to leave their homes, and help some people in need.

A WIN-WIN-WIN solution.