Nic Zito: 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: wayneWebsite: www.niczito.comTwitter: NicZitoFacebook: Facebook.com/Zito4IllinoisOffice sought: 49th District Representative Age: Candidate did not respond.Family: I am the oldest of 4 siblings. I have 2 younger sisters and a little brother. We have different skills and personalities and are very close. We also recently welcomed my first nephew into the world who is already 2 years old! My mom and dad have raised me to stand up for my values, maintain a strong work ethic, and be respectful to everyone. I am grateful for my family's support in everything I pursue.Occupation: CEO- Rev3 Innovation Center. DuPage County's first coworking space to encourage entrepreneurship.Education: St. Patrick's Grade School, St. Charles. St. Francis High School, Wheaton. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Agricultural and Consumer Economics with a focus on Public Policy and Law.Civic involvement: Board of Directors- DuPage PADS Homelessness Awareness. Young Professionals, Vice Chairman. Board of Directors- International Business Innovation Association Keynote Speaker for high school students in the IncubatorEdu business program. Mentor and Judge for Junior Achievement and VEI business skills high school program. Republican Committeeman in West Chicago. DuPage Young Republicans- Membership ChairmanElected offices held: Current Wayne Township Trustee representing portions of 6 cities: St. Charles, Bartlett, Wayne, Hanover Park, Carol Stream and West Chicago.Questions 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?It's not the structure that needs to change however, to make it more effective, the legislative makeup and performance needs to change. The amount of influence at the top causing fierce partisan divides negatively affects the representation of districts within the state. The limited successes that were had, were had because there were legislators willing to go beyond partisanship to break legislative deadlock. Those solutions weren't perfect, and I don't agree with some of the results, but state operations cannot be held hostage by partisan politicians. We elect representatives to work for us in the capitol, not to argue over who is more wrong and blame each other. Negativity accomplishes nothing. Residents should demand their officials work together to achieve meaningful reform for our future. During a stalemate session, I believe Leader Jim Durkin was among the most responsible of the Leaders. Based on this I would support him as Leader if I'm elected. Based off my own opinion and more importantly what I hear from residents of the district while I walk door to door- I support sensible term limits for legislators between 10-12 years and I support 6-8 years for Leadership term limits.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 of all, I maintain the perspective that it is much costlier to be operating without a budget as opposed to negotiating and enacting a legitimate and fair budget proposal. People I've met are fed up with excuses as to why the state can operate without a budget when this is something they cannot do in their homes or businesses. I would encourage members to represent their districts and submit their proposal for votes and negotiation. These conversations require strong representatives to bring up the concerns of their district. Members must then in turn hold leadership accountable, who can then hold the Executive branch responsible for a timely budget.ÃÅ#160; All districts have spending priorities, but we must be careful with the approach to this process by ensuring only the most critical are brought up or else we will end up in another budget crisis. For the critical needs, I will work diligently in the committee process to identify these and see that they are addressed early enough in the process. By bringing up issues early and often, we can ensure that they are considered and included in the bills that move out of committees to the floor. On the other hand, unnecessary spending that gets to the floor or is discussed in committee meetings will meet opposition from me. I believe we have to be concerned with addressing spending. Households cannot operate for too long by spending more than they make, why should the State?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?Absolutely. I believe in a ballot initiative on constitutional amendments for both legislative redistricting and term limits. Structurally, redistricting occurs after 2020 so that would need to be pursued quickly. I constantly hear the theme from residents as I walk neighborhoods that they're unhappy with the current system which lets elected officials choose their voters instead of the other way around. This practice is obviously backwards and I believe in fair maps which are not gerrymandered.What approach do you support in fixing public employee pension systems?As mentioned in the budget process above, this pension discussion needs to be a cooperative one with all parties. Instituting a tier 2 assists in reducing our growing unfunded pension liability and adds some relief. However this is not a quick fix and requires regular review by knowledgeable parties. I would have a council to review our options including studying some other states like Michigan who went through this problem as well. The Illinois Supreme Court already stated benefits can't be diminished in the systems per the protection clause in the 1970 state constitution. Government irresponsibility and inaction has gotten us here and now insolvency is a threat, the system requires funding to live up to it's promise. My council approach would bring everyone including pensioners to the table to talk about the issues going forward. An insolvent fund is a horrible option for all involved and especially for people who were made false promises. These funds should be fairly paid into and not abused such as in the past by borrowing. This has not been an overnight problem and will not be solved in a day's work but I think this crisis proves the need for regular review of such programs to make sure they run transparently and efficiently.To what extent do you support or oppose legalization of marijuana for recreational use?Our state is currently in the middle of regulating and more importantly understanding the effects and benefits of Medical Marijuana in the state. I believe we should be analyzing all the strengths and threats of such policy. Since there are other states in the US we now have a model which can be studied. In the states that have legalized recreational marijuana we can examine the health effects, revenue generation, and public safety outcomes of such policy. People I have met would like to see expansion of Medical Marijuana to more people suffering incurable or chronic conditions where this can help to alleviate their symptoms or pain. I am performing a poll in my district to gauge resident's thoughts on this issue. This is another area where I would establish a roundtable council consisting of health professionals, residents, elected leaders, and law enforcement to have an open conservation about such policy.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?My main campaign theme is Ãâ#128;™Bring elected officials back in touch with the people they representÃâ#128;œ. This is why I take listening to resident's concerns very seriously, I have a survey on my website where people respond to issues. The district I live in cares about their soaring property tax costs and the negative effect it is having on people leaving Illinois. Residents care about the environment, protecting open space, and protecting it for future generations. They care about protecting constitutional rights like 2nd amendment. Residents also care about business expansion and economic growth. I want Illinois to be a destination state because I have seen too many of my peers leave without considering raising their family here or seeking a great job instate. People are seeking opportunities elsewhere because taxes and regulations have made IL a less desirable business environment. My private sector job is devoted to creating economic opportunity in the collar counties. I work with entrepreneurs looking to expand their small business idea or company and these are people we need to encourage to grow here locally. We need a long term view of how to give our youth great education here and rev up our economy so local skilled jobs are in demand when they graduate. I do not want to see young future leaders continue to succeed elsewhere while not giving Illinois any consideration. I was born and raised in Illinois, and would like to keep our greatest resource which is our people here.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.The trait of leaders I most admire is the ability to listen. Leaders can have their own opinion but the strongest solutions come from teamwork.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?My parents taught me to have a strong work ethic and not take anything for granted. Life is a blessing.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I would learn the native language of my grandfather so I could ask him about his upbringing.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?I enjoyed creative writing, specifically poetry. It taught me how to see things from another person's view.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?People will always remember how you make them feel, so treat everyone with respect.