Illinois State House of RepresentativesCandidato para Distrito 20

If ever given the opportunity to vote to put term limits on the ballot, I would absolutely support the initiative. 

I think both the Governor AND the legislative leaders bear responsibility for the budget impasse. That said, I, and the majority of my constituents, would certainly agree with the Governor that taxpayers won't tolerate another tax hike without some changes to the way we do business in Illinois. And, thus far, there has been little interest to engage the Governor on anything meaningful. That is squarely on the leadership of the General Assembly.

I don't support massive cuts to our higher education community, but when you're looking at the budget as a whole, there are few discretionary areas that can be cut. We must work collaboratively with our higher education institutions to help them bring down their own costs while finding ways to keep their state funding strong. If compromise can be found between the Governor on reforms and the legislative leaders on revenue, I think some of the biggest winners would be our universities.

Our teacher pensions, both for the City of Chicago as well as the State, are crowding out resources that could be going directly into the classroom. We must find a way to get our pensions under control. I took a tough vote on the previous pension reform legislation that the court ruled unconstitutional, and I am committed to supporting any future reform measures that could put more money back in the classrooms. 

I think we need to enact the types of reforms that will bring our State pension costs under control as well as encourage good paying jobs to help grow our economy. We must look at this before we even begin to discuss hiking taxes.

I supported the legislation that put this on the ballot. Our State and regional infrastructure is one of our largest assets, and we can't keep neglecting it. I absolutely support more investment and ensuring that funds intended for our roads, bridges, and rail are allocated for their intended purpose.

Again, I supported the previous State pension reform legislation that the courts ruled unconstitutional. That was tough, but necessary, in the context of the fact that these payments are crowding out vital funding for everything else in state government. I stand ready to support the "consideration model" as proposed by Senate President Cullerton, and would be open to working on other solutions brought forward by stakeholders. 

Yes, as a whole; however, that said, I do think Chicago's gun violence needs to be addressed by mandatory minimum sentencing which could run concurrent to this. 

I think any issues relating to civil liberties need to be thoroughly looked at, especially when it comes to the seizure of property. This is an issue I am willing to use my bipartisan credentials to work on. 

I would need to see more details regarding both the process and the standard under which this would take place.

As a pro-life, devout Catholic, I just can't support assisted suicide.

As a long-time proponent of law enforcement, and the last member of my caucus to represent the City of Chicago, I think we need to continually look at ways to enhance law enforcement's ability to keep violent offenders off the streets. This would include enhanced penalties on gun-trafficking and mandatory minimums on those found guilty of weapons charges. In addition, while, undoubtedly, there are steps the Chicago Police Department can take in regards to training and accountability, they must know they are supported by the community and by the City. Police are demoralized and currently understaffed, and these unfortunate circumstances come at a time when we can least afford to have them outnumbered and second-guessing themselves in the face of violence. 

I do support a reasonable increase in the minimum wage. That said, Illinois should be aiming higher. Families and individuals in the workforce need to be given an opportunity to access more than minimum wage jobs. They need access to job training for skilled jobs. Minimum wage jobs should be a stepping stone towards a career, not a career itself. 

I don't support this tax on sugar. Taxes aimed at deterring behavior generally don't work, and besides we have enough taxes already. 

I do support efforts to develop renewable energy, but we can't lose sight of the need to maintain a reliable power grid and keep energy prices low. I think stakeholders on both sides will continue to negotiate, but those fighting for renewable energy absolutely have a seat at the table and know my door is always open.