Voting will take place Tuesday, March 20, 2012
This is a primary. The winner will be their party's nominee for the office.
Click a question below to display the candidates' answers to that question.
Despite some cuts, the state remains in the midst of the worst fiscal crisis in its history. Significant budget cuts still need to be made, including cuts that will affect services. Prioritize cuts that you think should be made, and include how much money can be saved. Be specific.
Did you support the income and corporate tax increases approved in 2011 by the state Legislature? Explain your answer.
Several of the lawmakers who voted for the tax increases were lame ducks who later were hired into state jobs, creating the appearance that their votes were bought. Would you support legislation banning elected state officials from taking jobs in state government until at least five years after they leave their elected post? Explain.
State lawmakers in 2010 passed legislation creating a two-tiered pension system for new state employees, but still has not addressed its $85 billion funding gap. How do you propose bridging that gap, and should similar reform legislation be passed for workers hired before Jan.1, 2011?
Do you support term limits for state lawmakers? For House Speaker and Senate President? Why or why not?
Shortly after the General Assembly passed sweeping changes to FOIA allowing improved access to government by taxpayers, lawmakers began chipping away at the act, taking away some of the access it had granted. Is government in Illinois accessible enough to its taxpayers?
Rod Blagojevich was sentenced in December to 14 years in prison. He is the second consecutive Illinois governor and the fourth of the past nine to go to prison. What more can be done in the General Assembly to further combat the state's pervasive corruption?
What – specifically – would you do to improve job creation in Illinois?
First, we need across-the-board spending cuts. Department heads can lead a team familiar with each department budget to decide the best use of available funds. Second, freeze raises and hiring where possible, and even cut salaries if necessary, while continuing to reform the abused pension system. This could save hundreds of millions without lay-offs. The private sector has suffered pay cuts, benefit losses, and high unemployment. We must have shared sacrifice, but there is no need for mass layoffs. Third, we need to reform paid commissions, which act as a spoils system for whichever governor and party happens to be in power. We also need to reform worker’s compensation abuses. These two systems have been abused for tens of millions of taxpayer dollars. Finally, we need to roll back the government expansions that happened under convicted felon Blagojevich.
Absolutely not. These job-killing lame duck tax hikes embraced the big government expansions of Blagojevich and Madigan by choosing tax hikes over spending cuts, all while punishing regular citizens during a recession and chasing businesses out of the state. As a small business owner myself, I recognize that giving tax breaks to mega-corporations while crushing regular citizens and small employers is a terrible way to bring more jobs to Illinois. We need to stop government over-spending and return that money to citizens and job-creating entrepreneurs. Springfield has proven it cannot spend money more wisely than those who have actually earned it. My focus is bringing jobs back to Illinois, and these tax hikes did the opposite.
Yes. I firmly believe that since Illinois leads the nation in corruption, we must now lead the nation in tough ethics reform. I also strongly support the reform of both paid commissions and the entire appointment process, which is where many of those lame duck legislators ended up. It was a shameful and blatant abuse of the public trust and taxpayer funds. We also must change the law to prevent lame duck legislators from abusing the veto session in the future. Reform is needed, and I can assure the voters that there will be no stronger advocate for ethics reform and transparent government than me. I have already pledged to refuse my public pension so that voters can be sure I go to Springfield to represent them—not to get fat off the government like these lame duck legislators chose to do. I will be a tireless reformer dedicated to the public trust!
Pension debts are the biggest long-term fiscal issue in Illinois, and yes, current employees have to work with us to solve this crisis. Pension underfunding contributed to yet another downgrade in our bond rating by Moody’s; we now have the worst credit out of all fifty states. First, we must reform how pensions are calculated. Currently the system can be abused by spiking wages in the last four years to grossly inflate pensions. Second, public pensions must ONLY be available to public employees. Currently certain union officials can qualify for taxpayer funds despite not being public employees. Third, more money will have to be paid in by public employees, who are much better paid than when the pension system was first formed. Sacrifices must be made throughout Illinois, and the pension system unfortunately cannot be exempt.
I support term limits for state lawmakers, but I reserve judgment on a concrete number until I have actually seen the system first-hand. Power clearly has a corrupting influence on many who serve too long, but we also must not strip experienced leaders away and leave staffers and special interests to run our government by running roughshod over inexperienced legislators. I have seen proposals for a twelve-year maximum that interested me. However, the best protection against corrupt or incompetent leadership is active and involved citizen voters.
No, more can be done. Sunshine laws need to be strengthened, and all the hidden spending and power plays needs to be transparent. Much of this shouldn’t even need a FOIA request—government should be posting it online immediately. In this modern era technology has made posting information easier than ever; there is no reason for government activities and spending to be hidden away. This is part of the battle against corruption in Illinois!
First, we must shrink the size and scope of government. The more power and money there is concentrated in Springfield, the more corruption will afflict Springfield’s leaders. We must return that power and money to the people and to local communities. Second, more government transparency is required. Corruption and incompetence can only thrive in secrecy. The more transparent our government, the more difficult it is for officials to abuse the public trust. Third, must vote out officials who put party politics ahead of what is best for the state. This includes officials who supported Blagojevich’s reelection despite knowing his many flaws! The greatest burden, though, falls on us as voters to pay attention, get involved, and send reformers to Springfield. That responsibility is one of the things that motivated me to run for office.
My first-hand experience with Illinois’ business climate may well have been the primary motivator in my run for office. As an employer I understand the need to change policy to better enable businesses and entrepreneurs to succeed and hire. We need to reform the costly worker’s compensation system to better prevent abuse, ensure that costs and regulations on new businesses are not prohibitive, and adjust the tax system so that we’re not bailing out big companies while punishing regular employers and citizens. Also, let’s balance Illinois’ budget so prospective businesses can expect a stable environment and so bills owed to vendors are paid in a reliable manner.
Spending cuts only begin to address the problems that led us to this crisis. We must be open to reforming and overhauling the major costs the state faces. If we only cut or reduce spending, we’ll simply delay the inevitable. We need to bring stakeholders together from all affected areas to discuss ways to reform state pensions, Medicaid, education, and many other centers of state spending. We need to protect these vital services while finding ways to do so more efficiently. In the short term, there are opportunities for immediate savings by eliminating the frequently abused legislative scholarship program, reducing paid boards and commissions that have been used as political spoils, and merging the offices of state comptroller and treasurer.
No. Raising taxes on individuals and corporations has made Illinois a more difficult place to raise a family and invest in business. Illinois needs to be a competitive place to do business. We’ve seen businesses leave or threaten to leave Illinois because of the excessive taxes, fees, and regulations that make our business climate unfriendly.
There are too many examples of appointments done under ethically questionable circumstances. For some positions, the answer is simply to reduce or eliminate the number of paid boards and commissions. Other appointments of an elected official to a state job are perfectly legitimate, for example if a Senator is elected Governor, he may wish to name a colleague from the Senate to his budget team or to head a department. However, many other appointments create the appearance of impropriety. I’d support a ban on appointments of elected officials to state positions, with the ability for a vote in the Senate to allow legitimate exceptions.
A chronically underfunded pension system is unsustainable. Both state employee unions and pension reform groups can see that pension costs are high and rising, and that funds have been harmed by a pattern of delayed or ignored contributions by the General Assembly. Because the system is unsustainable, changes must be made. We must take action to ensure that both the taxpayers of Illinois and the employees who participate in the pension system are treated fairly. I’ve studied the facts and listened to groups on both sides of the debate. I’ll commit to bringing all groups together to find a solution that will bring long-term stability and control the costs of our pension funds.
I believe we have the opportunity to limit our elected officials every time we hold an election. The voters have the power to choose their representatives, whether they’re electing a new voice or re-electing an experienced lawmaker. Because of retirement, redistricting, choosing not to seek re-election, and challenges to incumbents, the Illinois House of Representatives will see more than 20% turnover in the next year alone. I don’t believe that choosing an arbitrary number of years for term limits will fix Illinois state government. For state representative, we have the choice every two years whether or not to re-elect the incumbent--that’s a more effective limit. I support term limits for Speaker of the House and Senate President because those positions are not directly elected by the people of Illinois.
No, Illinois government should be more transparent and accountable to its citizens. While changes in the Open Meetings Act and the Freedom of Information Act have been helpful in protecting the rights of citizens, more can be done to openly and accessibly share information with the general public. State and local websites can do more to publish documents, budgets and meeting minutes for public review. A great example of an open, transparent government website is run by DeKalb County Clerk John Acardo, at www.dekalbclerk.com. More state and local websites should adopt this open approach to public service.
The best way to combat government corruption is citizen participation in government. Thomas Jefferson said that all tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent. Citizen participation in government, whether running for office, voting, or attending a meeting can be a powerful force in reminding government officials of their oath to defend the constitution and serve the people. I support laws that open public access to government proceedings, require disclosure of conflicts of interest and financial relationships, and prevent quid-pro-quo government deals. I’ll also listen to citizens, communicate openly, and encourage participation in government as ways to make it clear that corruption has no place to hide in Illinois.
First, I’d vote to repeal the income tax increase on individuals and businesses. Illinois needs to become a more competitive place to do business. Along with finances, business owners are concerned with predictability. They want to be confident that they won’t be the target of politicians every time government wants more money. They want to be confident that their investments will have a fair chance to grow and mature in Illinois. I’ll vote to support real reform of the costly and inefficient workers’ compensation program. I’ll vote to support the extension of the life of Enterprise Zones, which are key tools in promoting local economic development. I’ll look for opportunities to support partnerships to develop infrastructure and land for commercial and community development. I’ll work to ensure that Illinois is seen as a competitive, vibrant place to create jobs and invest in business.
Specific areas of the budget have to be identified before this question can be answered.
Once those line items are identified, then they can be evaluated on the budget dollars
that support the item, its fiscal need, and if the line item can justify the any reductions.
Until this process takes affect, you can not put a dollar figure to the money saved.
One cannot properly evaluate the cuts that are needed, until they have access to the full budget document, evaluate the associated services, and then determine the areas that need to be reduce.
My budget evalution process would be detailed, objective, and well researched before specific cuts can be recommended.
I would not have supported the tax increases that were approved in 2011.
The individual tax increases are not good for the citizens of Illinois during these tough economic times. It is very hard for individuals families to keep their budgets in line and make ends meet under todays economy.
The Corporate increases is only forcing the businesses in Illinois to evaluate whether or not they can afford to do business in this state vs moving to another state where the cost of doing business is much less.
I am absolutly in favor of supporting legislation to limit the elected officials from taking state jobs after leaving their respective elected position.
The limitation should be
a minimum of one year with a maximum of five years.
The pension systems have been funded over the years by the state employees contributions, but the state of Ilinois has not fully funded their share of the pension contributions.
The first step is that the state of Illinois should in good faith
begin to fully fund their share of the contributions.
The second step would be in order to bridge that gap, the state general assembly would have to determine what revenue sources that would have to be created to offset the shortfall.
This cannot be done overnight, but a steady revenue system has to be put in place to provide a continued positive progression to reduce this gap.
This can be done in the budget process and the realloction of identified funds that can support this issue.
Yes, I support term limits for elected officals.
I also support term limits for the
House and Senate leadership.
I believe fresh new perspectives are warranted for elected officials
with some limitations that should be determined by the General Assembly.
I think the present FOIA legislation is very efficient in giving the taxpayers access to the public information.
Term limits would be a step in the right direction to help solve this issue.
Electing good citizens that have high moral and ethical standards would be another step.
We need to balance the budget and eliminate the deficit.
We also need to get the states fiscal house in order.
We need to reform the Corporate Tax to encourage existing businesses to stay in Illinois and new businesses to come to Illinois.
We need to eliminate any and all onerous regulations that would harm existing and perspective new busineses.
We should promote good economic development policy that would encourage new businesses to come and existing businesses to expand in order to create new jobs for all of Illinos.
First of all, the Governor and General Assembly need to accept that they can no longer adopt a spending plan and then simply find the resources and taxes to pay for their spending. Government needs to live within its means - period. I personally support a 2 year budget process, whereby legislators adopt a two year spending plan during the odd (non-election) year and then spend their remaining time debating spending priorities and reviewing the success or failure of existing programs and services. Many other states conduct their business under such a budget cycle, and Illinois should do likewise. This process would end the practice of throwing money at politically sensitive programs in an election year simply to gain votes. As a non-incumbent, I am reluctant to cite specific cuts or ending programs until I can learn and discuss what works and what doesn't.
I would have opposed the income and corporate tax increases for a couple of reasons. First, the General Assembly decided what they wanted to spend and then figured out what each of us would have to pay for it rather then basing spending decisions on the overall economic climate and reducing spending in a recession. Second, I would have opposed tax increases at any level because they hurt private sector job creation - when Illinois should be finding ways to put people back to work. Third, House and Senate members were given little opportunity to discuss or give input into budget and taxation priorities. The days of leaving major State decisions in the hands of the House and Senate leadership alone have to end. There are 118 House members and 59 Senators, each with a voice and opinion, and each has the right to be heard.
Yes, although I'm not sure the lengthy standard of five years is a good idea. A ban of two years may be sufficient to end the practice of revolving door politicians. I would also favor a ban of two years on former legislators being allowed to actively lobby their former colleagues.
Let us place this question in its proper context. while teachers and state employees have paid in their share to their pensions over the last few years, the General Assembly and Governor have failed to live up to their fiscal duty to provide for the State share of the pension funds. For that reason, it would be a grievous mistake and violation of trust to force workers to cut their own pensions when the State has done little or nothing to keep their part of the bargain. The 2 tier system for new employees was necessary, but any further claims on state employees and teachers can only be addressed through negotiation. Closing pension abuses and loopholes must also be done, which the General Assembly allowed to go on without review for nearly 20 years. It's time for our elected officials to do their job - and not rely on workers and taxpayers to clean up their mess.
Yes, no more than 10 years for either a State Senator or Representative - and no more than 2 terms as Speaker or senate President.
No. A transparent government with no ability to hide from public view is a government that will be responsive to the will of the people. An open decision-making process will result in fewer problems with corruption.
Promoting openness, restrictions on lobbying, revolving-door hiring, and a fair and open bidding process for state contracts will all combat the temptation to corruption. The fact the 4 of Illinois' last 8 Governors, Otto Kerner, Dan Walker, George Ryan and Rod Blagojevich have been convicted of one crime or another is certainly a sad fact of Illinois history.
I will work in Springfield to reduce taxation, further reform worker's compensation laws, mandate a two year State budget cycle to provide stability for business planning and reform the State Department of Commerce and Community Affairs to listen to business needs and promote job growth and expansion.
