Activist Toolkit

1. What motivates you to seek this office? What skills, experiences, and perspectives would you bring, and why would those contributions be valuable in the office you are seeking?

2. When in the past have you had to balance competing interests? What process did you use? What did you learn?  

3. What does transparency in government mean to you? How would you put it into practice? Do you feel Hillside has been sufficiently accessible from a digital/online standpoint?

4. As more of our local discourse happens in social media, what is your view on how local elected officials should communicate with and respond to constituents? How will you engage with the breadth of the community, and not only those on social media?

5. What barriers do you see for community members who wish to engage with Hillside’s Village government? How would you work to reduce or eliminate those barriers? What plans do you have to make the Village government more responsive to the community?

6. What do you feel are the three biggest issues facing Hillside, and how do you intend to address them? 

7. How do you define equity? Have recent events and discussions in the larger community informed or changed your thinking? 

8. How do you plan to solicit feedback from people who may be experiencing this community in a different way than you? What barriers do you believe may exist in this process?

9. Name an influential Hillside community member. How did this person’s influence change Hillside? As an elected official, what do you imagine your influence will be on the community?

10. What is your broad vision for the future of Hillside? How will you promote substantive discussion, build consensus among trustees, and rally public support for your vision?

11. What impact can a municipality such as Hillside have on climate change, and how will you prioritize that work among other issues?

12. What do you see as the most pressing issue relating to housing in Hillside? What policies would you advocate to address this issue? Do you consider support for affordable housing to be a core function of our village government? Why or why not?

13. In recent months there have been calls in many communities to defund the police or reimagine public safety. How do you define public safety? Do you begin from the premise that increased policing is the most effective response to increased crime, or would you propose other solutions?

14. Community members have expressed concerns over racial profiling and a lack of diversity on the police force. How would you respond to these concerns? Do you believe policy or oversight changes are needed? 

15. What do you believe has caused the recent swell in carjackings in the surrounding area? Do you see an appropriate law enforcement response to this situation?

16. What do you see as the most pressing issues relating to development in Hillside, both residential and commercial? What policies would you advocate to address those issues? In which areas of Hillside would you prioritize residential and commercial development?

17. How would you evaluate the success of Hillside’s plans for Covid-19 mitigation at the Village? Do you feel the Village has adequately protected its employees, and that there has been adequate transparency with respect to case tracking?  

18. How do you believe the Covid-19 pandemic has affected Hillside’s Village finances, and what policies do you favor going forward as part of the recovery? 

19. What is your framework for understanding the relationship between the Village and Proviso West High School? What opportunities are challenges do you see in collaborating with District 209?