Richard J. Amadio
March 31, 2011 2:26PM
Office sought: City of Chicago Heights Ward 5 Alderman
Address: 713 Peoria Street, Chicago Heights, IL 60411
Date of birth: October 25, 1957
Email: richamadio@gmail.com
Web site: myunityparty.com
Education: Prairie State - Fire Science Program; Homewood-Flossmoor High School - 1975
Occupation, employer: 30 year veteran Firefighter Chicago Heights Fire Dept., attained civil service rank of Lieutantant and appointed rank of assistant chief - Retired 2009. Maintenance foreman School District 170 - 2009 to present
Please list all sources of income:
Spouse, spouse’s employer: Married 32 years to Charlotte Amadio, parents of three grown children, grandparents of three.
Children, age of children, children’s employer (if applicable):
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?
What other elected offices have you sought? What year? School District 170 Board Member: 1991 - 1999; Chicago Heights Park District President: 1999 - 2003
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: Yes
In your view, what are the two most important issues facing your constituents? How would you address those issues?
Public safety is clearly the most important issue we must confront. We must take the offensive against gangs, crime and drugs. If you don’t feel safe sitting in your livingroom or walking out your front door, then not much else matters. The goal would be to get more police on the street and into the neighborhoods. We need to examine the use of part-time officers. We need to utilize every resource available within the law, civil and criminal, to prosecute those at the top of the gang/crime food chain.
We must be proactive and keep our children away from the influence of gangs and drugs. Early intervention is essential. I believe we must consolidate the resources of all of our local government agencies to ensure that there are substantial after school and summer programs to educate and insulate our children from the influence of gangs, drugs and crime.
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.
To bring a stronger sense of community to our City.
Please explain how you believe the office you’re seeking can help in creating local jobs.
Addressing not only creating local jobs, but addressing property taxes, job creation and municipal finances is critical if the city is going to endure the current economic crisis.
Homeowners simply cannot tolerate anymore of the burden than they do. So, our first step must be to control expenses. I will demand that there be monthly department head and Finance Committee meetings so expenses and revenues can be closely monitored. No department will be allowed to expend more than budgeted. Our City’s investment policies must also be altered so we only invest with banks that are willing to reinvest city money into local businesses. More capital being made available to local businesses will encourage expansion and thus, JOB CREATION, and that means more revenue of every kind for the City.
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 system of funding education is insufficient to provide for the needs of the school system and is unfair to homeowners. I believe there should be an independent investigation/audit of the Illinois State Lottery system to determine why the revenue produced from the lottery, which was designed for education, has failed to meet expectations, or has been otherwise directed.
Would you make any changes to the budget of the governing unit to which you are seeking elected office? If so, what?
Once I’m there, I’m sure I will.
