STEPHEN D. WHITE
March 29, 2011 6:54PM
Office sought: Lincoln-Way H.S. Board of Education
Name: Stephen D. White
Address: 11314 Plattner Dr., Mokena, Illinois
Date of birth: Nov. 13, 1947
Contact information
Email: lw210provenleadership@gmail.com
Web site: provenleadership.org
Facebook: N/A
Twitter handle: N/A
Telephone numbers:
Home: 708-479-9618
Work: 815-730-1977
Education: Lewis University College of Law (now Northern Illinois law school), 1978; Lewis University teaching certificate, 1971; bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Bradley University, 1970; Lincoln-Way High School, 1966.
Occupation, employer: Retired Circuit Court Judge; Now practicing law with firm of Rathbun,Cservenyak & Kozol, LLC
Please list all sources of income: retirement pension & from law practice
Spouse, spouse’s employer: New Lenox School Dist. #122
Children, age of children): Brent (36), Ryan (32), Meghan (28), Adam (27).
Please list any relatives, including in-laws, who are employed by a government agency at the federal, state or local levels. What are their job titles and with what agency are they employed? Ryan (son) teaches at L-W West in New Lenox.
What other elected offices have you sought? What year?
I was elected Circuit Judge of Will County in 1996 and retained in 2002 & 2008.
Have you ever been arrested or charged with a crime? If so, for what? What was the disposition? NO
Do you have any criminal convictions on your record? If so, for what? What was your sentence? NO
Political (elected or significant appointment) experience:
I was appointed as an Associate Judge of Will County in 1990, appointed a Circuit Judge of Will County in 1994 and then elected Circuit Judge of Will County in 1996.
In your view, what are the two most important issues facing your constituents? How would you address those issues?
The two most important issues deal directly from the State’s lack of responsibility in insuring that funds due the District from the State are paid in a timely and orderly fashion. That means that fiscal responsibility by the Board is of the utmost importance. Secondly, maintaining the academic achievement level that has been displayed in the four high schools and the high number of activities in which students currently participate should continue to grow. Growth in those areas is put in danger when the State is not acting responsibly in their duties.
Please explain something significant you would like to accomplish within the next two years if you are elected to the office to which you aspire.
In fiscal times like we are facing today the biggest accomplishment we could make is to insure that the quality of education the Lincoln-Way students are currently receiving does not become diluted due to State funding problems. Making budget cuts without cutting quality of education or cutting extracurricular programs will take hard work by a lot of people and would be a major accomplishment.
Please explain how you believe the office you’re seeking can help in creating local jobs.
Lincoln-Way District 210 is one of the largest employers in Will County. The State continues to lag behind significantly with payment due school districts, so thequestion is not as much currently creating jobs as it is with saving jobs within the district. The district has always tried to use local businesses when outside work is needed and I see no reason that it would not continue to do so in the future.
Do you believe the current way Illinois pays for education is working? If so, why? If not, why not? What would you change?
The current way is not working because the State does not meet its obligation in any type of timely fashion. The State lags behind in payments to the school district by almost a year and that lag time continues to grow. If the State met its obligation properly the District would be alright. When you send tax money to the State and then expect to get it back for education from the State that allows them to delay payment due the District. The more local the revenue stream is the more reliable revenue becomes to the District.
Would you make any changes to the budget of the governing unit to which you are seeking elected office? If so, what?
I believe that Dr. Wyllie and his staff has done a masterful job in fiscally managing the district. The board is consistently informed of any fiscal trends within the district and areas where savings can be made. Managing money within the district is not just a yearly task but a daily task that can be reviewed regularly by the board.
Are there any other issues you want to bring to the public’s attention? If so, what? N/A
