30th District Senate Link: Candidate Profile

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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:BioQA Bio City: WaukeganWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: 30th District Senate Age: Candidate did not respond.Family: My wife Susan and I have four daughters, three sons-in-law and four grandchildren.Occupation: Full-time State SenatorEducation: I attended Stout State UniversityCivic involvement: Candidate did not respond.Elected offices held: State Senator, District 30, 1997-Present Chairman, Democratic Party of Lake County, 1992-presentHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: No.Questions Answers How will you work to make the General Assembly function more productively and effectively? Wlll you vote to retain your party's current legislative leader? In what specific ways do you support changing how government in Springfield works?This session, I co-sponsored the Medicaid expansion, cut legislator pay, strengthened the rights of sexual abuse victims, and fought for gun control and education funding. I will continue to work with both parties to pass meaningful legislation, and have worked across the aisle on bipartisan bills, including anti-smoking and gambling measures. Iâ#128;™ll fight to make government more accessible. Iâ#128;™m proud to say many bills I sponsored this session, including legislation to help lower property taxes for disabled seniors, were direct responses to input from my constituents. Senate President Cullerton has been a strong leader. I would vote to retain him.If the Supreme Court, strikes down the SB 1 pension reform, what is your Plan B and why do you think it would be both legal and effective?If the Supreme Court's Kanerva decision makes the pension reform bill constitutionally untenable, I believe an approach requiring mutual compromise will be the only way to ensure that reform is permanent. A speedy, constitutional compromise that produces substantial savings is the only way to address the persistent budget problems facing the state. The state must also continue to make current pension payments in full to ensure the debt does not worsen, and I would oppose any budget that proposes new spending while failing to address those obligations and deepening the pension hole.As it stands now, the 2011 income tax increase will expire as planned on Jan. 1. Do you think that expiration should be reconsidered? Would you support making the increase permanent or extending it for some period of time? Please be specific about what level of tax increase, if any, you would support.First and foremost, Illinois must ensure responsible spending to address our budget problems. I believe our state can move on the right financial track without increasing taxes on working families, but we need to commit to identifying and ending wasteful practices. The current income tax hike is particularly hard on middle- and lower- income people, and I am dedicated to finding a practical solution. I do not support extending the income tax at the current rate, but would consider a graduated tax that did not place the tax burden on working families.Do you support cuts in state spending? If so, what specifically do you suggest cutting and how will those cuts be sufficient to restore the state's financial health and economic climate?Yes. As legislators, itâ#128;™s essential we restore faith in the stateâ#128;™s budget process by finding and eliminating wasteful spending. We must increase scrutiny on state grant programs, particularly on grant spending by the governor's office. Similarly, we must ensure that tax incentive programs produce tangible benefits to the economy and provide greater transparency in the process of negotiating grants. We must also eliminate inefficiency at all levels of government. In 2011, I sponsored legislation aimed at consolidating or eliminating some of the nearly 7,000 taxing units of government in Illinois.What changes, if any, do you believe the state should make in the area of education? Would you support the the so-called pension cost-shift to local schools?As a grandfather, I am committed to improving our schools. We must focus on supporting early education, and on youth who are at risk due to disability or poverty. Better early education helps prepare our children to succeed and saves all taxpayers in future costs. I oppose a pension cost-shift, which merely shifts the financial burden onto local districts and would force suburban property tax hikes. We can reform the pension system in other ways to eliminate undue cost. For example, in 2005 I supported SB 27, which curbed pension abuses by limiting pay spikes for those approaching retirement.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Iâ#128;™m proud of my leadership on environmental and public health initiatives. Iâ#128;™ve long been committed to creating a cleaner and safer environment. I was the lead sponsor of the Smoke-Free Illinois Act, which required public places and workplaces to be smoke-free, and Iâ#128;™m continuing to work to improve public health by decreasing the publicâ#128;™s exposure to dangerous second-hand smoke. This last session, I passed the Smoke Free Campus bill, which was recently signed by the governor and will make all state-supported college and university campuses smoke-free.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.President Obama. He and I were elected together and became very good friends. Iâ#128;™ve appreciated his rise and handling of difficult issues.What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?To have respect for everybodyâ#128;™s opinion â#128;#147; no matter whether they agree or disagree with you.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?To further my education more â#128;#147; I would have liked to try and achieve additional goals by completing additional studies.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Any type of math course. Math helped give me a solid basis of understanding for all facets of life.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?â#128;œListen and youâ#128;™ll know when to talk.â#128;ť If you listen, youâ#128;™ll always learn and understand much more.