Gurnee Resident Seeks 1st Major Elected Position on Lake County Board

Jay Krasne has joined the race for Lake County Board's newly created District 13 seat, which includes parts of Gages Lake, Gurnee, Waukegan, North Chicago, and Lake Bluff.

Krasne, of Gurnee, will run in the March 20, 2012 primary as a Republican.

He has previously served in Gurnee as an election judge and volunteer precinct committeeman. He has never sought a major elected position.He believes that is a strong plus in the present political climate. “Career politicians have simply failed us," Krasne said. "Taxpayers are deeply distressed with political dysfunction. Fiscal irresponsibility, failing social programs, burdensome and ever-increasing taxes, and intrusive government policies have pushed voters to the wall."

Krasne brings a business perspective and life experience honed over decades of living in 10 municipalities in nine counties in four Midwestern states -- as an employee, an employer and a self-employed person.

Krasne was born in Indiana and moved with his family to Downers Grove in 1969. His business career includes first working for a large corporation in Chicago in 1978, followed by a number of managerial and executive posts, acquiring experience in retail management, inventory control systems, logistics and distribution management for a variety of firms -- from large publicly owned companies to a small, closely held business.

After relocating to Kenosha County, Wisconsin from Ohio in 1992, Jay took on a new challenge in real estate services, which he has pursued for the past 17 years.  In addition to Wisconsin, he became licensed in Illinois in 1995 and has practiced real estate brokerage extensively throughout all of Lake County since then. In 2003, he and his wife, Valerie, moved to Gurnee.

Krasne said he sees Lake County as a bright exception to the dismal State of Illinois and Federal government landscapes.

"We should be proud of our achievements here," he said. "Our ‘AAA’ credit rating, budget and fiscal constraint, improving social and environmental programs, all make Lake County, a well-managed government – an exception. My passion will be to make things even better.”