Q&A with Franks, O'Neill
Democrat incumbent Jack Franks of Marengo takes on Republican John O'Neil of McHenry in the 63rd State House Race.
Q: What is your No. 1 campaign issue?
Franks: I have many motivations for running for re-election, but most of all I am seeking the opportunity to continue to serve the best interests of my constituents. The best way to do that is to continue working toward a more responsible budgeting process. I have called for a zero-based budgeting process and have also made approximately $3 billion in suggested spending cuts. I have also proposed state efficiencies that will generate upward of $2 billion in additional revenue without any cost to the taxpayers. I was one of only a few legislators to introduce any amendments for spending cuts to the FY10-11 budget bill. My suggestions for spending reductions are outlined later in this survey.
We must also work to stimulate job creation in Illinois. Job creation is at the heart of our economy and if we increase jobs, we will in turn increase our tax revenue. Rather than increasing taxes, we must examine current and offer new tax incentives to businesses that bring jobs to Illinois. This spring, I helped pass a law that offers a $2,500 tax credit to small businesses that create and sustain new jobs. That law is expected to help generate 20,000 new jobs across the state.
In 2001, I passed Illinois' Corporate Accountability Act, which helps ensure businesses that are receiving tax credits from the state are keeping jobs here and not sending them out of state or out of the country.
O'Neill: Jobs: How to make the state more attractive to employers in order to bring jobs back and get the people of McHenry County working again.
Q: What is your No. 2 campaign issue?
Franks: The ethics issues our state faces are just as important as returning to fiscal health and creating jobs. My record of exposing and combating government corruption is indisputable. I am not swayed by the influence of any political party. Some regard me as the most independent lawmaker in Springfield. I vote for what is best for McHenry County, regardless of politics. I have been an outspoken critic of the status quo in Springfield and hope to return and keep battling for change.
Before he was re-elected in 2006, I was the first lawmaker to speak out against former Governor Rod Blagojevich's wrongdoings. I succeeded in securing the first audits of a sitting governor which uncovered many of his abuses of office. Elected officials need to know they will not benefit by their wrongdoings in office. That's why I passed a law that requires any elected officials convicted of committing a crime against their oath of office to forfeit any profits gained from their notoriety.
I succeeded in placing a constitutional amendment on the ballot this November that will allow voters to weigh in on whether to amend the state constitution to include a recall provision to further ensure elected officials' accountability.
I worked with State Representative Mike Tryon to establish the Illinois Accountability Portal, a website that provides access to information concerning state employees and individual consultants, expenditures, tax credits and contracts. These are a good start, but we must continue to strengthen our ethics laws. I hope to remain at the forefront of this effort.
O'Neill: Audit the state budget: $52 billion budget with a $13 billion deficit, we need to dig through the budget line-by-line in order to eliminate wasteful government spending.
Q: What should be done to solve the state's budget crisis? What specific measures should be cut for how much in savings? Would you support or oppose an income tax increase or a state sales tax increase? Lay out a specific plan of what needs to be done.
Franks: I would oppose any tax increase. Illinois has a spending problem, not a revenue problem. I believe Illinois should:
Ÿ Remove all member initiatives from the capital plan and budget for a savings of $1.2 billion.
Ÿ Eliminate the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for a savings of $1 billion.
Ÿ Combine the Illinois Department of Transportation and Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, reducing overhead, for a savings of tens of millions of dollars each year.
Ÿ Combine the Treasurer's Office and Comptroller's Office for a savings of approximately $12 million each year.
Ÿ Eliminate pay to members of governor-appointed boards and commissions for a savings of approximately $1 million a year.
Ÿ Eliminate the Lieutenant Governor's Office for a savings of $4 million a year.
Ÿ Reduce salaries of General Assembly members and constitutional officers by 25 percent, saving approximately $1 million per year.
Ÿ Eliminate the East St. Louis Advisory Committee to save $250,000 annually.
Ÿ Conduct an audit to root out redundant state programs and eliminate those that are poor performers to save millions of dollars.
Ÿ Root out Medicaid fraud and require additional fraud safeguards.
Ÿ Require consolidation of school districts, for example, one school district for all of McHenry County.
Ÿ Reassess outside contracts and rebid them, saving approximately $200 million.
Ÿ Gain additional revenue by more vigorously going after the $1 billion owed by companies doing business in Illinois; and
Ÿ Rather than leasing the lottery, we should update it to run like other states, thereby increasing our return by $650 million to $2 billion annually.
O'Neill: Before we start taxing the people during the worst recession since the Great Depression, when we are devastated with 10 percent unemployment, property values are plummeting and communities are already facing increasing sales tax hikes and property tax hikes, we need to look at the state's budget. A line-by-line audit of every department and agency will we find the wasteful government spending and ghost payrollers.
Until we complete a line-by-line audit of the budget, it will be difficult to know where we even stand and the magnitude of waste, fraud and corruption which exists in the budget.
I would oppose an income tax increase or a state sales tax increase?
Start with a line-by-line audit of the budget.
Q: What is your view on the pension legislation passed last year? Do you support or oppose lower benefits and higher employee contributions for current state workers? Specifically, how should state officials resolve underfunding problems?
Franks: I voted in favor of the pension reforms and believe we should pass similar legislation for emergency services employees. These reforms will reduce this year's pension payment by at least $300 million by reducing our long-term, unfunded liability, which will be reduced by $100 billion by 2045. Importantly, the reforms will help improve the state's bond rating to allow us to get the money to start construction projects that will create jobs this year, which will in turn increase our tax revenues.
Without these changes, our pension system would have continued sliding toward insolvency and be much weaker in the future. The measure brings Illinois' government retirement systems more in line with what is available in the private sector. We took this action as a matter of fairness to state employees who deserve to be members of retirement plans that are solvent and able to meet their obligations to pay the benefits they have been promised. I also believe pensions should be paid first, like a mortgage, and all other expenses should be paid after that. By changing to performance-based budgeting, we can solve the underfunding problems.
O'Neill: For the past 10-12 months, the Chicago political machine which runs Springfield, and which my opponent has consistently supported, has dropped the ball on the budget. This so-called “pension reform” simply kicks the can down the road for the next General Assembly to deal with; however, I believe that we will fix it in the next General Assembly.
Q: Do you oppose or support civil unions? Gay marriage? What abortion restrictions do you support? What about parental notification? Late-term abortion? Should there be controls on gun ownership? If so, what would you support?
Franks: I do not support gay marriage. I would consider legislation to allow civil unions in Illinois. I am supportive of a woman's right to make her own decisions about her reproductive health and believe the state's current abortion laws are appropriate. I would like see a ban on late-term abortions in Illinois. Illinois has passed a parental notification law, which I support.
I have been endorsed by the Illinois State Rifle Association and am a FOID card holder. I am a strong supporter of the Second Amendment. I believe that Illinois' current gun control laws are adequate and, rather than create new laws, believe they should be more strongly enforced.
O'Neill: Oppose civil unions. Several state Supreme Courts have already declared civil unions inadequate and an example of the “separate but equal” philosophy. Oppose gay marriage. The simple truth is marriage by definition is a religious institution between one man and one woman and has remained so for several thousand years of human history. Those who wish to have their relationship officially recognized by the state have many avenues by which to do so; a contractual arrangement, business and power of attorney to name but a few. I am pro-life. As for parental notification, the law should have been enacted 15 years ago when it became law yet it's been held up in the courts for all this time. A 12-year-old girl cannot receive an aspirin from school without documentation yet that same 12-year-old girl can have a life-altering procedure performed upon her which will kill her baby and may injure, sterilize, or kill her and her parents do not have the right to know? This is outrageous.
Q: Where do you stand on campaign finance caps for legislative leaders and parties? Will you vote for your current caucus leader? Do you support an amendment for a different political map system? Why or why not?
Franks: I voted against the faux “reform” that allowed a loophole on monies given by legislative leaders because I believe there ought to be a cap on donations received from legislative leaders and political parties.
I support term limits on leadership, such as the House speaker and Senate president. I believe there is too much power tied up in too few people. I would also support reasonable term limits for lawmakers. In 2008, I chaired the committee to hold a Constitutional Convention, which would have allowed Illinois voters to address these serious reform issues. A Constitutional Convention also would have provided an opportunity to end gerrymandering of legislative districts, a practice that allows incumbents to choose their constituents, instead of vice versa, during redistricting.
O'Neill: It's astonishing that legislative leaders, political parties and unions are given free rein to hand money over to candidates, yet taxpayers are limited in what they can contribute to the candidate of their choice. Personally, I see the issue as a free-speech issue; if a taxpayer is limited in the amount of money he or she can contribute to a candidate, state or federal, that taxpayer's freedom is being curtailed. I would prefer to vote for a conservative caucus leader. I don't know if a remedy as extreme as an amendment is necessary, however I believe that a bipartisan commission should have the final say in reapportionment rather than simply the party in control. We've seen, even in McHenry County, what happens when the Chicago political machine gerrymanders political districts in order to favor a particular candidate or incumbent.
Q: Legislation recently passed that exempts the evaluations of all public workers from FOIA. Do you support such an exemption? For a certain class of public employees (e.g. police officers, road workers etc.)? Explain.
Franks: I voted against the legislation that created this FOIA loophole because I believe that transparency on all levels of government is critically important. Transparent processes have built in accountability. I believe that evaluations of public workers should be subject to FOIA and supported legislation to tie teacher evaluations to student performance.
O'Neill: If the taxpayer is paying their salary, public workers' evaluations should be permissible under FOIA guidelines. I find myself in the uncomfortable position of agreeing with Gov. Quinn's amendatory veto and his recommendations to permit all but police evaluations to be permissible under FOIA. Even a broken clock is accurate twice a day.
Name of candidate: Jack D. Franks
Hometown: Marengo
Running for: Illinois Congressman, 63rd District
Party affiliation: Democrat
Candidate incumbent? Yes