Meet the Candidate: Sam Yingling for District 62 State Rep.

Vying for a 62nd District seat in the Illinois House of Representatives are Democrat Sam Yingling, the current Avon Township Supervisor and incumbent State Representative Sandy Cole (R-Grayslake).

Biography

Yingling was born and raised in the Grayslake and surrounding area. He attended Carmel Catholic High School in Mundelein, then studied Public Policy and Administration and Urban Planning at Depaul University. Following college Yingling moved to Round Lake Beach where he went into real estate and started a local advertising company.

In 2009 Yingling ran for Avon Township Supervisor in hopes of changing the administration's practices and help bring property tax relief to the residents. Yingling won that election and has made progress towards his goal.

Civic Involvement

Yingling has served on the Round Lake school board, as past president of the Round Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, the Round Lake Beach Cultural and Civic Center Foundation and Mano A Mano Family Resource Center.

Yingling's Top Three Areas of Focus

1. Yingling said his main priority if elected is property tax reform on the state level. "Our property tax system is dysfunctional. It ultimately rewards bad behavior," he said.

Yingling feels that many residents can't afford to stay in their own homes due to the way things are operating at the local and state level. His idea to  change that is to consolidate the number of units of government that are in Illinois. "With some 7,000 units of government, it is no wonder the taxes are so high. We need some elected officials who are willing to step down to streamline these governments and that will lower property taxes."

Yingling said he would be willing to consolidate his position. "With the current economic times and the need for lower property taxes this idea is gaining momentum."

It is something Yingling is somewhat familiar with. As Township Supervisor he reduced Avon's operating expenses by more than 25 percent by streamlining operations, expanding services and generating surpluses to ultimately reduce taxes.

In June Yingling announced the The program is funded by the Avon Township Community Foundation and uses voluntary pay returns that were given back to the Township by Yingling and other elected officials.

2. Another priority for Yingling is to re-institute the notion that elected officials are public servants, something he believes many people in office have lost sight of. "We need to stop with these self-imposed pay raises and remember that we are here to serve the people," he said. "As a whole its an epidemic that we have to do something about."

As Avon Township Supervisor Yingling returned $25,000 of pay raises that were put in place by the previous administration. His goal is to mimic that at the state level.

3. Yingling also hopes to focus on economic growth and jobs. He believes Lake County has access to many resources that are being completely under utilized. Yingling said especially being in the Midwest, "this area is ripe for economic development and we can really be a part of that growth."

You can find out more about Sam Yingling for 62nd District on his website.

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