Deborah Boyle: Candidate Profile

Note: Answers provided have not been edited for grammar, misspellings or typos. In some instances, candidate claims that could not be immediately verified have been omitted. Jump to:BioKey IssuesQA Bio City: Downers GroveWebsite: http://www.electboyle.com/Office sought: 81st District RepresentativeAge: Candidate did not respond.Family: Husband of 24 years, Bryan Three childrenOccupation: Registered Nurse Clinical Coordinator/Manager at Loyola University for over 24 yearsEducation: 4-Year Baccalaureate DegreeCivic involvement: Candidate did not respond.Elected offices held: Vice President of the Community High School District 99 Board of EducationHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 First, we must repeal the destructive tax hike that has cost our state 60,000 jobs. We are tied with New Jersey for the most number of people leaving the state, and if we continue down this path, we will surpass them. We need to be a state that attracts families and businesses, not detracts.Key Issue 2 Medicaid is the largest general fund expenditure. Medicaid costs are growing at an annual rate we cannot finance. We need to do a re-determination of Medicaid rolls to remove the ineligible, rethink eligibility requirements, and restructure the system to better connect Medicaid recipients to service providers to ensure those for whom the program was intended to serve are served with high quality care while making the program more cost-effective.Key Issue 3 Pension reform is crucial to Illinois' economic recovery. We have unfunded pension and healthcare liabilities moving upward of $100 billion. The reason so many state workers are resistant to pension reform is because they believe that the state is obligated to keep their promises. I believe that to.We need to provide the benefits to those workers that they have earned and were promised. But we need to implement some changes in the system moving forward that we can afford and that is fair and honest.Questions Answers What can you do specifically to help the economy in your district? What is your view of the tax breaks granted to companies like Motorola Mobility, Navistar and Sears? For incumbents, how did you vote on the Sears plan in this fall's veto session?Large companies that are our biggest employers look to find ways to lower the cost of doing business here in Illinois. Understandable that they'd tap into their political connections to get some tax relief. The bigger problem here is that small businesses owners aren't getting those chances or those breaks. It's important that we foster an environment that appeal to these major employers and the jobs they provide, while also encouraging entrepreneurial enterprises and the jobs they create. I support repealing personal and corporate income tax increases passed last January, which will encourage equality under the law.Do you favor limiting how much money party leaders can give candidates during a general election? If elected, do you plan to vote for the current leader of your caucus' Why or why not?The campaign finance law that was implemented last year does not hold elected officials accountable to the residents of their districts, but rather facilitates elected officials to be beholden to their party leaders. It offers no improvement of the culture of political corruption that Illinois is now infamous for. Money and power are held by those few that continue to usher Illinois down this destructive economic path that has brought us where we are today. Elected officials should be accessible to their constituency -- not just the politically connected or rich, and our leaders in Springfield should have to abide by the same rules set for companies. Whether I vote for my caucus leader or not will have to be a decision I make when the time comes.How, specifically, would you cut the budget? What does Illinois need to do to fix its status as a "deadbeat state?" How have you or will you vote on future gambling bills' What is your view of slots at racetracks' Casino expansion?We cannot pass a successful budget without implementing both long term and one-time spending cuts, and it's important that we take a look at all of our programs and determine where the money should be and how much each program should realistically get. Organizations like the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity receive taxpayer funds beyond what they should, while programs such as K-12, Medicaid, transportation infrastructure, and public pensions need to be re-evaluated to ensure they are adequately funded. Part of the reason for Illinois' economic troubles is that the policies we have set up are driving people away from the state instead of to the state. Illinois Policy Institute released a report stating Illinois has lost over 900,000 and $26 billion projected revenue growth over the last 15 years from people leaving the state. It's important that we reverse the policies that have driven people away and start attracting people to our state once again to live and work and raise their families.What do you specifically support to deal with the state's pension gap? Would you vote for House Republican Leader Tom Cross's three-tier pension plan? Why or why not?As Vice President of my school board, I hear the concerns of teachers who are skeptical about pension reform. It's crucial that we keep the promises that were made for the benefits that state workers and retirees have earned, however the system in its current form is unsustainable and a new deal needs to be made moving forward. I support SB512 and believe it is a good starting point. We need to look to the future and restructure the pension system if we're going to be able to fully fund these pensions and provide a fair benefits package as financed by the Illinois taxpayers for state employees. Premiums and co-pays of a retiree's health care package should also be looked at to help deal with Illinois' unfunded health care liabilities.Should gay marriage be legalized? Should Illinois define life as beginning at conception as others have? How would you vote on a concealed carry firearm plan? Should the death penalty be reinstated?I believe marriage should be defined as the union between one man and one woman. Illinois' Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as is currently written should continue to be the law in Illinois.I believe life begins at conception, but we also know that Roe v. Wade is the law of the land, so passing a law in Illinois would not serve to accomplish anything. However, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan should enforce the Parental Notification Law that an overwhelming majority of Illinois legislators passed, and which she has failed to enforce. Illinois is the only state in the union that does not offer some form of conceal carry law for law abiding citizens. I believe it's time for Illinois to join the other 49 states in providing its residents a means of self-protection. Trained and licensed residents should enjoy the right to carry in light of the Heller McDonald decision and fact that every other state enjoys this freedom. I believe the death penalty should be reinstated and be at the discretion of prosecutors, judges and juries.