Jim Cowhey is no stranger to Lake Forest city government. “His serving on various City Council committees and running his own business makes him keenly aware of the budget issues everyone is facing,” commented Mayor Mike Rummel. “The Caucus choice, Jim Cowhey, is an excellent candidate for Mayor.”

The Caucus candidate served as 4^th Ward Alderman from 2000 to 2006. He also has served on the Construction Codes Committee, Public Works Committee and the Municipal Services Committee. Mr. Cowhey currently chairs the Environmental Committee, which Mayor Rummel asked him to spearhead when his term as alderman ended in 2006.

Jim Cowhey holds a BSBA in business management and earned his MBA from Northwestern University in 1995. He is currently President and CEO of Land and Lakes Company, a diversified family business that concentrates in the fields of real estate development, construction, and environmental services.

The Caucus Connection recently spoke to the candidate about his thoughts and ideas regarding the issues facing the City of Lake Forest and the role of Mayor.

Question: In 1886, Sylvester Lind was elected Mayor of Lake Forest, because he promised to “keep cows out of people’s yards.” What do you hope your legacy will be?

Answer: I think the main thing now is the economic situation and to ensure we are in good shape. Further, we all have a desire to make the downtown a little more resident friendly and to get the type of shops and restaurants that people want to see in Lake Forest. It’s a tradeoff-- people want a lot of amenities, but they also don’t want the traffic and congestion. How do you balance new restaurants and new retail with ample parking and the traffic situation? That’s one of the things we struggle with. It’s not a simple solution. It’s going to take a lot of work.

Question: What do you think is the biggest challenge facing the CLF, and how would you address it?

Answer: The current economic situation is our biggest challenge. We are certainly in good financial shape right now, and going forward I know the Council wants to make sure we continue to be in strong financial shape. I certainly want to take a look at the budget and the revenue stream going forward, including the real estate transfer tax revenue stream. This was targeted for infrastructure and capital improvement projects. We will need to evaluate which projects have the most importance and possibly delay others.

Question: What particular aptitudes would you bring to the job of Mayor?

Answer: My own professional career mirrors a lot of what we do in Lake Forest. I manage a large professional staff, and I am engaged in projects that are development oriented. The services that we provide [at Land and Lakes] are similar to what the city does. One thing I really enjoy about Lake Forest is the staff. We are fortunate to have a very professional, well run staff. Nothing is haphazard, and the level of scrutiny and detail is welcome. It pays off to have that level of scrutiny. I would rank Lake Forest at the top in terms of the services we provide and the professional nature in which the staff and the city government is run.

Question: How would your management style complement the current staff and city council?

Answer: Again, we have a very professional staff. I’ve worked with the staff close to 10 years now. I know them well and they know me well. My style is-- how can we help each other accomplish common goals? The Mayor and the Council are there to set policy and offer guidance.

Question: You were instrumental in expanding the recycling program here in Lake Forest, a program which, depending upon market conditions, has had the result of generating an additional revenue stream for the CLF. Do you have any other ideas up your sleeve to help the CLF grow its revenues in these challenging economic times?

Answer: We, as government, need to take the lead and set the standard that we’re not wasteful. This encourages energy savings. I really pushed for the new municipal services building to be a “green building.” I think we need to look at additional energy savings, such as the type of vehicles we are using, biodiesel fuels, hybrid vehicles, changing light bulbs to compact fluorescents, etc.We can also find ways to encourage new retail which will bring additional sales tax revenue.

Question: You come from a background of real estate development, construction and environmental services. In that regard, are there new initiatives you would pursue as Mayor based upon your industry expertise?

Answer: I would encourage developers to use “green” building techniques in construction and site development. I would do this by working with Community Development and the Construction Codes Commission to look at the building permit process and to find ways to encourage builders to go to a “green” standard. There are a number of “green” building initiatives that can be encouraged.

Question: In an era where many cities and businesses are going “hat in hand” to the federal government for loans and bail outs, do you think we, Lake Foresters, might need an attitude adjustment with regard to our expectations in the level of city services we now enjoy?

Answer: I won’t know until I get the chance to look at the budget this spring. I will continue to encourage Public Works to pursue state and federal grant money to reduce the costs of building projects in Lake Forest. I encouraged Public Works to secure state grant money to reduce the cost of building the new recycling center, which we did. We have applied for grants to help defray the costs related to the new municipal service building. What I will continue to do is encourage all departments to seek as many available funds in the form of state and federal grants as possible.

Question:  On the expense side of the city budget, what spending cuts would you be prepared to recommend?

Answer: We probably have the best services on the North Shore. The question is do we need to cut or are there ways to be more efficient in what we do? One of the things I enjoy doing is sitting down with each department and asking, is there a way we can do this better and more cost effectively? I think we can find ways to be leaner. Instead of doing certain work on overtime, can we do it on straight time? Can we share people and resources? When you do that you’ll find every department can find savings on their own.

Question: In 2004, when you were an alderman on the City Council, the Council unanimously voted to pursue home rule status, status which was eventually adopted by referendum on the November 2, 2004 ballot. Should Lake Forest residents be prepared for a property tax increase given the revenues from other initiatives made possible under home rule, such as the real estate transfer tax, have declined?

Answer:  Again, I haven’t seen the budget, but we certainly want to look at every single thing we can do before we even think about that.