Tom Morrison: 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: PalatineWebsite: www.Morrison4staterep.comOffice sought: 54th District Representative Age: 39Family: married with 2 childrenOccupation: State RepresentativeEducation: Hillsdale College, B.A. in historyCivic involvement: Palatine JayceesElected offices held: State RepresentativeQuestions 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?A "productive" General Assembly is not necessarily desirable. There are some 7,000 bills that get introduced every spring, many of these bills such as legislation to ban lion meat have nothing to do with the real problems facing the state. One step that would both save money and make Illinois more business friendly would be to shorten the legislative calendar to force legislative leaders to focus more on important issues and less on the frivolous and the inane. With less time to pass new laws, lawmakers would be less likely to overreach and create more hassles for businesses and entrepreneurs.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?Regardless of how the Supreme Court rules, Illinois is still going to have a pension crisis. The dollars that SB1 purports to save will (only in a best case scenario) return us to the unfunded liability level we had in 2009, when this newspaper and others rightly declared that we had a pension crisis. Many pension system participants cried foul over SB1's changes, but the unsustainable defined benefit structure remains intact. My plan (HB3303) saves as much of the current system as possible for workers while giving them and taxpayers a fair and predictable system going forward.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.Governor Quinn and the Democrat-controlled legislature made a promise to Illinois taxpayers that the 2011 income tax increase would be used to pay down old bills, stabilize the state in the midst of a fiscal crisis AND THAT IT WOULD BE TEMPORARY. That promise must be honored if our state's leaders are to have any credibility going forward. The Governor and legislative leaders have known about the planned sunset this coming Jan., but they've failed to ease state spending to avoid the dramatic cuts that may have to come to some agencies or programs.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, I support cuts. State spending has significantly out-paced our population growth plus inflation. I would advance additional pension reforms, scrub the Medicaid rolls, cut DCEO, IL Arts Council, IL Historic Preservation Agency and other non-critical agencies. I would reduce head counts at state agencies via attrition, privatize some of CMS' responsibilities (facilities maintenance, for example) and I would cancel IL high speed rail and Peotone airport projects. IL found $600K for 6 Capitol copper doors and $53M for Quinn's Neighborhood Recovery Initiative and other dubious grants which tells me we have not cut to the bone" as some claim.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?Illinois' education system could be so much better for all students rather than the few who attend great but expensive-to-run schools. We need more school choice for students and families to create competition among public, private and charter schools for prospective students. Illinois should explore innovative ways of attracting, empowering, and rewarding capable, motivated teachers and administrators, some of whom may be called to education as a second career. I would support a cost-shift only with significant pension benefit reforms and/or mandated employee contribution increases. Also, districts must be released from burdensome unfunded mandates.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Illinois has numerous advantages over its neighbors in the Midwest and other states across the country and yet, our economy remains weak, too many of our citizens are unemployed or underemployed, our state and local government budgets are severely strained, and confidence in our leaders and the prospects for a better future remain dim. We need to focus on job growth and create a better environment for small businesses, which are the economic engine of our economy. We can do better. Illinois will continue to struggle as long as we continue to embrace the failed policies of the past.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Peter RoskamWhat's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?ThriftIf life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I would have treated my parents, particularly my mother, with greater admiration and respect when they were still living.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?History. It helped me to have a greater perspective on the past, present, and future.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.