Name: Scott Johansen

What office are you seeking: Kane County Treasurer

What is your political party? The candidate did not answer

What is your current age? 74

Occupation and employer: Retired. Owned, managed and sold two electronics manufacturing businesses. In performing those responsibilities, I managed the financial functions of those companies as well as worked with several banks and bank presidents.

What offices, if any, have you previously held? Precinct Committee Person

City: Campton Hills

Campaign website: scottjohansenil.com

Education: BS Finance - Elmhurst College, MBA - JL Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University, Concentrations in Finance and Operations

Community involvement: None currently. I was a baseball coach and umpire for several years.

Marital status/Immediate family: Married. One child.

Why are you running for this office?

I have been involved in local politics for several years. I began attending Kane County Board and Finance meetings in the past couple of years. I have seen poor communication practices between the Treasurer and the Kane County Board. I believe I can improve that immediately.

I have seen poor practical budgeting practices in the creation of the county budget. I have carefully reviewed the Kane County budget submissions for the past several years. There does not seem to be a sufficient focus on the needs of Kane County citizens regarding the slow, escalating costs our county is experiencing. I can contribute ideas, programs and financial analysis in those areas.

I have not seen county outreach efforts regarding property tax assistance programs. Programs do exist and there are people using them - just not enough attention is being paid in this area. Our citizens need assistance understanding those programs and how they can apply to them.

I am not aware of efforts by the county in reaching out to the residents that are living here to assess the quality of life they are experiencing, as well as actively identifying the reasons why some of the residents are moving out.

Generally I want to focus on issues that impact the financial lives of our residents as well as manage the Treasury functions with the residents in mind.

What are your top three priorities for this position?

Assess and firm up training systems so the office does not depend on any individual, but is able to rely on the management system that is, or should be in place.

Validate that all investment practices are appropriate, conform with the law and are free of any conflicts of interest.

Meet with and understand the requirements that other portions of county government have and/or need from the Treasurer’s office.

Is the office adequately staffed and funded? Would you seek additional funding for the office if elected? How would you spend it and how would you justify that to taxpayers?

That is yet to be understood by me. I have seen comments from those in the Finance Committee that the budget submitted was out of balance with the planning of the Kane County Government. Those issues need to be better understood once I am in place.

I have managed large and small organizations. I should be able to assess the budget issues quickly. The department is rather small, compared to my past budget experiences.

What, if any, deficiencies do you see in how the office is run, and how would you address them?

A collaborative effort between the Treasurer’s Office, the Finance Committee and Kane County Government needs to be worked on. As information and issues are shared, communication will improve.

Do you see ways that you can improve transparency in the treasurer’s office?

There have been complaints of poor communication between the Treasurer’s office and the Kane County Government.

The creation of some cross-functional teams between various departments in Government will improve visibility of the Treasurer’s office and other elements of County Government.

That approach will enable all parties to understand how their organizations affect each other’s operations.

How long and in what way have you been affiliated with the political party in which you are running in the 2026 primary? If you’ve recently switched parties, explain the thinking behind that and your justification for running for office under a new political party.

I have been a lifelong Democrat. I have walked my district for other candidates as well as distributed candidate literature.