Susan Malter: 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: Lake ForestWebsite: www.malterforIllinois59.comTwitter: @malterforIL59Facebook: Susan Malter for Illinois 59Office sought: 59th District Representative Age: 53Family: Bruce Alan Malter, husband Stephanie Anne Malter, daughter Joseph Morris Malter, son Marlene Sandra Wieselman Shatkin, mother Henry Saul Shatkin, father Robert Slate Shatkin, brother Judith Shatkin, sister Norman Malter, brother-in-law Andrea Tick, sister-in-law Jeanne Malter, sister-in-lawOccupation: AttorneyEducation: University of Michigan Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) 1986 Loyola University of Chicago Law School Juris Doctor 1991Civic involvement: Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Shift Leader for T.A.P. at O'Hare DACA renewal volunteer Hosted Muslim/Jewish Talks Delegate, Illinois Dem Convention Tenth Dems Steering Committee (2004) Precinct Committeeman (2004) Girl Scout leader (Daisy through Girl Scouts) Deputy Voter Registrar Past board member, SHALVA Chicago Community Trust Young Leadership Group Here and Now Board, McCall Family Foundation Founded not-for-profit in CPS that served at-risk families Grand Boulevard Federation, member Green Tie Committee, Green Tie Ball Past board member, Theater Building University of Michigan member of the Free South Africa Coordinating Committee University of Michigan member, Latin American Solidarity CommitteeElected offices held: Precinct Committeewoman Steering Committee Member, TenthDems Delegate, Democratic Convention - ILQuestions 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 for legislative leaders specifically?On term limits, my primary concern is our right as Illinois voters to have our voices and our votes count. Leadership term limits in the Illinois House and Senate are a common sense option that will not compromise citizen voting rights. In some corporate boards of directors, members can serve as many terms as they wish, but terms for officers are limited with required breaks after a certain number of sequential terms. The Illinois General Assembly should take the same approach. The advantage to leadership term limits over term limits for citizen elections are manifold. Democratic rights to vote are in no way inhibited.On budgeting, what should be done to ensure that the state does not again go through a period of time without a budget in place? What will you do as a legislator to help ensure that the spending priorities you espouse during your campaign are reflected in the budget?First, all legislators must keep their constituents and all Illinois voters in mind when making basic decisions at the state level. A state representative's first obligation is to consider the best interests of all Illinoisans. When the state allocates funds for the services the state promises to its citizens, we must remember our obligations to all of the citizens of the state. Increased transparency will help educate the public and oblige legislators to fulfill their obligation to keep Illinois financially strong. One change toward that end would be to have all legislators' governmental websites include a standardized, annual budget page that discloses budget percentages based on the legislators' espoused spending priorities and actual budget allocations by percentage. Second, I am inspired by examples of participatory budgeting. I would adapt and adopt the practice to get input from my constituents about the specific priorities and resource allocation priorities of District 59. I would augment that information with broader input from citizens, experts and researchers about the return on investment of public services. Using that information, I would make budget decisions that help meet the needs of District 59 directly and meet our District's needs indirectly through programs and projects that benefit the state as a whole. Finally, I would seek changes through expanded disclosure practices from the Illinois Comptroller such that citizens would have bi-annual, detailed reports on tax collections and spending. Together these steps would increase citizens' ability to follow the budget process.Should the legislature approve ballot initiatives either for a constitutional amendment on legislative redistricting or one on term limits? If so, how would you recommend the issues be structure? If not, why not?The right to vote is our bedrock and it should be limited only in the rarest circumstance. The issues of legislative district drawing and term limits for district representatives are related but separate. Article IV, Section 3 of our State Constitution already requires state legislative districts to be Ãâ#128;™compact, contiguous and substantially equal in populationÃâ#128;œ. I am heartened by recent federal court decisions, and the United States Supreme Court attention to the insidious practice of partisan gerrymandering. I believe Illinois should work on changing its approach to redistricting but not through a constitutional process. One option might be a legislative, judicial and executive appointed Combined Redistricting Committee of ordinary citizens and elected officials. I am not in favor of constitutional amendments for redistricting, because there are more direct and effective routes to solve the political forces that drive gerrymandering. As to term limits, I am motivated to become a State Representative because I am passionate about one person, one vote. This is the essential promise of democracy, and I am determined to make that principle my touchstone as a public servant. I am therefore opposed to term limits for elected officials although I think that term limits can become a useful tool for leadership transitions and bringing fresh air into Illinois' political backrooms.What approach do you support in fixing public employee pension systems?Pensions are a promise to every citizen who chooses a career in government service. In Illinois, we are constitutionally bound to keep our promise and I am against taking away retirement income from current Illinois state retirees. Retirement health care benefits, however, should be examined-- especially in light of Obamacare and other moves toward expanded access to health care. Looking forward, we need to take two major steps. It's time to start paying on our I.O.U. Illinois must invest in building the pension funds back to required levels of funding. This will not be painless. We have accumulated too much debt to our pension funds. We need to find new sources to replenish our public pension coffers. We can look to New Jersey, which just allocated a substantial slice of their state lottery to pensions. We also need to explore adjusting amortizing pension schedules to make near-term payments more achievable. Without crossing any constitutional constraints, we need to explore adjustments such as tweaking payout rates, COLA adjustments and other changes that can ease the short-term pressure, without taking on more debt. To avoid this financial battery drain in the future, Illinois has to make a new deal with current and future state employees. Guaranteed annual pension increases are not realistic in today's economy. And, we should give greater control to employees over their retirement savings.To what extent do you support or oppose legalization of marijuana for recreational use?I am an investor in PharmaCann, a company that grows cannabis and seeks to dispense it. Therefore, I plan to recuse myself from voting on legislation addressing this issue. I support legalization. Illinois has already taken important steps toward full decriminalization of marijuana. Governor Rauner signed bills to lower criminal penalties for pot use. I support legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes. Illinois will generate badly needed tax revenue from the legal sale of marijuana. New jobs and business activity will sprout from retail sales of marijuana. And, as a state we will save millions of dollars spent for incarcerating people for illegal marijuana sales.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?I am deeply concerned about domestic violence and other trends making our communities dangerous for men, women and children. I support the Gun Dealer Licensing Act.This will give Illinois the ability to encourage better business practices among gun dealers and hold corrupt dealers accountable. It will help curb a major source of illegally trafficked firearms from entering our communities. I support the lethal violence order of protection. In many recent shootings, community members noted warning signs beforehand but there was nothing they could do to remove the shooter's access to guns before the tragedy. The lethal violence order of protection (LVOP) would allow an immediate family member or law enforcement official to petition a court for an LVOP, which will reduce access to guns by individuals with mental health issues. It is important to me that Illinois government earns back the public trust by separating itself from corporate and private interests that pour money into campaign coffers only to take more money out of our revenue in contracts that overpay and under-serve. We need to have career government workers whose incentives are not at odds with the well-being of our community. I will work for campaign finance reform and continued improvements to state ethics laws.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Iman Boundaoui built bridges between non-immigration lawyers, CBP, and unseen foreign visitors by offering thoughtful and patient leadership in a crisis.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Small acts can make big differences. When you see a problem, think about a solution and then make it happen. I think and then act.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Through Profamily I came across flaws in policies that stopped families from succeeding. I would spend more time on policy as an advocate.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Literature. Great writers have enhanced my perspective by adding their experiences to mine. Listening and reading help me understand people who are different from me.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Read more! Read everything. Read books.