Ruth Anne Tobias

On the Record

What are your top ideas for reducing the cost of running county government?

I feel that there we have been following several small ideas that we are using to reduce county budgets. We can continue the 'green initiative' where employees strive to reduce, recycle, and reuse. The county has already saved many thousands. We continue to put County Board info online, rather than mailing out. We can put more emphasis on encouraging economic development - businesses pay taxes too! We can hold firm on our number of employees and limit salary increases, and we can take advantage of free student assitance from NIU - county board intern and legal assistance. And we can continue the temporary reduction in the county board meeting schedule. We are trying to resist staff reductions and service cuts, while improving efficiency.

What is the greatest challenge facing the county today and how do you plan to address it?

The greatest challenge we face now is public safety and community perceptions of safety. The jail situation needs to be fixed. It no longer makes sense to send so many prisoners to other county jails, and it is unlikely that the number of people required to be housed in our jail will decrease anytime soon. There are increases in gang and drug activity in the community and we need to make sure our schools and neighborhoods are safe for the public. The county must continue working with our cities to ensure public safety. The State's Attorney's office and the Public Defender's office are dealing with many more serious crimes than traffic and failure to appear warrants. So we should be thinking about increasing Sheriff's officers and attorneys where appropriate to deal with these issues rather than cutting back on staff.

What recent county board decision do you most disagree with and why?

There are really no decisions I disagree with at this time. County board members have done their best to continue to provide necessary services. DeKalb County has an excellent reputation across the state for the degree to which board members, department heads, and other elected officials work together to get the job done.

Do you support conducting fewer county board meetings during the year?

I do support conducting two fewer county board meetings during this fiscal crisis. However, I think this decision should be revisited when times are better.

Is the county board and its business accessible enough to taxpayers?

Yes! We are careful to work within the boundaries of both the Open Meetings Act and the Freedom of Information Act to make sure there is no perception that we are conducting business secretly in any way. I think there is good print and media coverage of our meetings and issues. People need to read and be aware! We strive to put as much information as we can on the website; all our budget documents are online, along with information relevant to other current issues. Meeting agendas are online and minutes are posted usually within a week of a meeting. Staff are available for questions as well. Many services are available online for citizen convenience. County board members are willing to answer constituent questions and listen to and respond to issues as they arise. So yes, I do think there is a lot of 'sunshine' on our county proceedings!

Do you support the ongoing effort to expand the county jail?

Yes, I do. As former chair of the county board and current chair of the Ad Hoc Jail Planning Committee, I hear over and over again about the issues with the jail. DeKalb County Public Safety building has serious issues with space, not only for prisoners, but for staff needs for efficient, modern jail administration and security. The jail is in serious need of upgrades. The functional bed capacity is for 72 prisoners, and the monthly average is now about 140. And many of the inmates are accused of more serious crimes. Even though we would still have to pay nearly the same million dollars we are now paying other counties if we had the prisoners inhouse, we would be supporting local jobs if prisoners were in Sycamore. It is also very taxing for the jail staff to decide which prisoners can go and to transport them, and to bring them back for health, legal counsel and court time.