Nancy Zettler: 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: AlgonquinWebsite: http://www.NancyZettler.comTwitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: 66th State House District Age: 58Family: I am married and have two daughters.Occupation: Attorney, retiredEducation: BS in Art, Illinois State University, 1980LD, Chicago-Kent College of Law, 1990Civic involvement: I started volunteering in the Algonquin area community almost from the minute we moved here. I am active in the local schools and in 2005 began work as Chair of Advance 300, a local community group dedicated to supporting Community Unit School District 300 (D300). In 2011, Advance 300 was instrumental in fighting to get D300 a seat at the negotiating table when the legislature was working to pass legislation to renew the Sears Economic Development Area in Hoffman Estates. These efforts enabled D300 to negotiate an additional $3,000,000 per year in recovered property tax dollars.Elected offices held: NoneQuestions Answers What needs to be done structurally to make the legislature more effective? Will you vote for your current legislative leader? What is your position on term limits in general and specifically for legislative leaders? Do you support the ongoing drive for a constitutional amendment on redistricting? What will you do to promote implementation of any changes you recommend?We clearly need more transparency and more accountability. We need legislators that are willing to stand up to their leaders. I've stood up to the Speaker in the past (and won!), when I fought to keep D300's tax money in the school system (and not in corporations' pockets), and I plan on doing it again when necessary. As for my vote for legislative leadership, I will vote for what I believe is best for the people that I am going to represent. I am open to a discussion on term limits. The reality is that there are are some very good legislators in Illinois who have been in office 20 years and there are some very bad legislators who have been in office one or two years. Further, research has shown that in states that have term limits, these states often end up just consolidating power into the hands of unelected staff and lobbyists. With that said, I am not completely opposed to term limits, and I would support term limits on legislative leaders. I support independent maps. Gerrymandering is bad for democracy, and its bad for Illinois. We need real and true redistricting reform, locally AND nationally.Would you vote for an increase in state income taxes or sales taxes? Would you vote for new taxes, such as on services? What is your position on a graduated income tax?I refuse to vote for any tax on the lower and middle classes, and believe that we need to find ways to lower the tax burden of the middle class. I support removing many of the corporate loopholes that allow corporations to pay little/no taxes in Illinois. I also want to eliminate further handouts to corporations. I have fought against these corporate handouts in Springfield in the past (and won), and I'm committed to doing it once I am in Springfield.I am open to voting for a graduated income tax, where there are higher rates on higher incomes and lower rates on lower incomes, as long as it does not mean a tax increase for the middle class.What changes, if any, do you support in education and education funding in Illinois? Please be specific.I believe that the fairest funding formula for Illinois schools would be along the lines of the Evidence-based Formula set out out in SB1403 wherein funding would be determined per child, based on their educational needs. No matter what funding formula changes occur, it is important that all school districts be held harmless, which obviously means that more money will need to be injected into the system.On Illinois' budget, specifically, where do you believe cuts need to be made?My number one priority in terms of cuts is eliminating corporate welfare and tax loopholes. This is a statewide AND local issue, and we are spending hundreds of millions that could be better spent on services for seniors, children, education, etc. The reality is that human services have been slashed to the bone, and the provider network is already crumbling. We need to be very aware of what is happening as the State continues to slash the budget for essential services.What approach do you support toward fixing the public pension systems?The Supreme Court has ruled that the State cannot reduce pension benefits that have already been earned and promised. Therefore, the best fix is to change our funding schedule (i.e. the "ramp") so we can essentially "re-finance" our pension debt to make it more affordable for the State. I also support exploring the option of allowing individuals to buy out of their pension plan. In order to get a good handle on how this would impact the current system, I'd support a pilot program where inactive individuals in the pension systems would be able to buy out of the system.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?My top issues as a candidate are protecting our public schools, lowering property taxes, ending corporate welfare and protecting working families. We simply cannot continue to hand hundreds of millions of dollars to corporations when working families and the middle class in this state are struggling and we're not properly funding education, while we're cutting home care for seniors, and cutting funding for victims of sexual assault.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Senator Elizabeth WarrenWhat is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Don't be afraid to fail.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I would have gone to law school sooner.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?There really wasn't any single subject. My entire education gave me the ability to think critically, question everything and love to keep learning.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Trust yourself, work hard and don't be afraid to take advantage of every opportunity that comes along.