James Talbot decided to run for Bremen Township Trustee when he discovered a local non-profit that provides mental health services for youth and their families was losing funding and in danger of closing.
Talbot is frustrated that the current board isn’t doing as much as they should to provide mental health services and he plans to make his case to voters in the run up to the April 4 election.
“Once I found Bremen Youth Services ("BYS") was being shut down, I wanted to do as much as possible,” Talbot told South Cook News.
A former special education paraprofessional who worked at Nathan Hale Elementary school, the issue of special-needs youth is near to his heart.
According to Talbot, running on the Bremen Families First slate, the township proposes to replace BYS with Aunt Martha’s Youth Service Center. He counters that while BYS provides vital treatment and services, Aunt Martha’s only makes referrals.
In addition to BYS, Talbot raises veterans services as another crucial issue and offers a plan to solve both in one stroke. According to Talbot, about $3 million collected from property taxes is not currently being used for the good of the township.
“Our opponents don’t seem to care that property taxes continue to increase,” Talbot said.
While holding the line on taxes, Talbot proposes to invest unspent funds in community services.
“We need to reinvest that money into the community,” he said.
He's been involved with Honor Flight Chicago since 20112 and is disappointed in the lack of veteran services offered in Bremen.
“I have an appreciation for our nation’s veterans,” Talbot said. “One of the biggest reasons I’m running is get services for veterans in Bremen.”
Currently, no veteran services are offered in Bremen.
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