Gloria Casas, Patch Staff

Email: gloria.casas&#64;patch.com<br>Phone: 312-919-6967<br>Hometown: Elgin, Il.<br>Birthday: December 31<br>Bio: Gloria Casas is a lifelong resident of the region, growing up in Elgin and Carpentersville. She attended Barrington High School in Barrington, then enrolled at William Rainey Harper College in Palatine, transferring to Northern Illinois University in DeKalb where she earned a bachelor&#39;s degree in journalism. She spent 17 years working at a local newspaper, The Courier-News, covering different beats from schools to courts to police under her maiden name, Gloria Carr. As a court reporter, she wrote about some of Kane County&#39;s most infamous cases. As she approached a milestone birthday, she decided to fulfill a dream of returning to school and obtained a Master&#39;s of Science degree in Journalism from Roosevelt University in Chicago. An even bigger dream came true in August 2009 when she and her husband became first-time parents to twins.<br><b>Your Beliefs</b><br>At Patch, we promise always to report the facts as objectively as possible and otherwise adhere to the principles of good journalism. However, we also acknowledge that true impartiality is impossible because human beings have beliefs. So in the spirit of simple honesty, our policy is to encourage our editors to reveal their beliefs to the extent they feel comfortable. This disclosure is not a license for you to inject your beliefs into stories or to dictate coverage according to them. In fact, the intent is the opposite: we hope that the knowledge that your beliefs are on the record will cause you to be ever mindful to write, report and edit in a fair, balanced way. And if you ever see evidence that we failed in this mission, please let us know.

<b>Politics</b>:  I generally vote on the Democratic ticket, however, I have voted Republican on occasion depending on the candidate. I like to think I vote based solely on a candidate&#39;s credential. But, if I&#39;m passionate about an issue, I will vote according to party ideology. I try to vote in every election, although I&#39;ve missed a few in the last year.<br><br><b>Religion</b><br>I consider myself a practicing Catholic who is forever trying to make it to church on time. I admit, I don&#39;t always make it. I also enjoy visiting different churches and learning about other religions.<br><b><br>Local Hot-Button Issues</b><br>What do you think are the most important issues facing the community? I think growth is an ongoing issue for Huntley as well as transportation. It&#39;s great that Route 47 is finally getting expanded but, the next big project needs to be getting a full interchange at Interstate 90 built.<br>Where do you stand on each of these issues? I think Huntley has taken a great approach to growth by paying attention to the quality of developments. The town has a good flow to it, with the existing &#34;old town&#34; blending with the newer construction. It will be important to continue the smart growth. As far as the full interchange, I think it would be extremely beneficial to Huntley.