Roger Orozco: 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: Carol StreamWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Twitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Orozcofor46/Office sought: 46th District Representative Age: 42Family: Married and father of two wonderful children.Occupation: Police DetectiveEducation: Master's Degree in Latin American Literature and Cultures, Bachelor of Arts Degree in Spanish, both from Northeastern Illinois UniversityCivic involvement: Candidate did not respond.Elected offices held: Former school board member of CCSD 93.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?The Rules of the General Assembly must be changed. For decades, House Speaker Mike Madigan has used the Rules of the House of Representatives to control the legislative agenda of the General Assembly, determining which bills are voted on and which bills aren't. Legislation must receive the Rules Committee's stamp of approval prior to being sent to the appropriate standing legislative committee or the floor of the House for a vote. The majority of members on the Rules Committee (and all other committees for that matter) serve at the pleasure of Speaker Madigan, therefore giving him complete control over all legislation that is presented by members of both sides of the aisle. After decades of playing by these broken rules that empower the dictatorship of Mike Madigan, I will fight for rules that will finally make all members of the General Assembly active participants in state government. I fully support term limits on all elected officials as well as legislative leader term limits. We have seen what a lack of legislative term limits leads to, Speaker Mike Madigan.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?Legislators have one constitutionally-mandated job, to pass a balanced budget. We must hold our elected officials accountable and believe that if legislators fail to do their job, their pay and benefits should be suspended until they do so. I support the Ãâ#128;™No budget, no payÃâ#128;œ amendment to our state constitution. Despite a 32% income tax hike, Illinois' 2018 budget is still more than a billion dollars out of balance. It is time for Illinois to pass a truly balanced budget for the first time in nearly a decade. We can achieve this by enacting real reforms, such as pension reform, better utilizing state assets and procurement reform. However, we must return the budget process to the normal appropriations process so that all members of the legislature have an opportunity to advocate for their priorities.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?I whole heartedly support term limits and believe that an opportunity to serve our state as an elected official should be about public service, not a career. The constitutional amendment should limit the terms of both lawmakers and statewide constitutional officers. I believe we should remove the legislative redistricting process from the hands of Springfield politicians. Voters should be picking their politicians, not the other way around. An independent group bound by rules that do not make partisan considerations while also protecting the integrity of community boundaries and minority groups would be the best fit to elect a General Assembly that is truly representative of the will of the voters, not the political machine or majority party.What approach do you support in fixing public employee pension systems?Politicians in Springfield have been under-funding the state's pension systems for decades. We must take a new approach one that looks at new versions of pension reform that allows state employees to voluntarily opt into new pension plans, either through the proposed Ãâ#128;™considerationÃâ#128;œ model or through moving into a new tiered plan. Going forward, I believe all new state government hires should be moved into a defined contribution plan, as long as the plans provide retirement benefits that are competitive with the private sector and are constructed within the confines of the Supreme Court rulings and our state constitution. A defined contribution plan would help mitigate risk to taxpayers and would give state workers more flexibility.To what extent do you support or oppose legalization of marijuana for recreational use?I do not support the legalization of marijuana for recreational use.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?I want to ensure future generations have an opportunity to grow in our state. With that in mind, Illinois needs to streamline government at all levels to reduce our tax burden, reform our regulations so they are in line with neighboring states to be competitive when vying for jobs, and ensure that our K-12 and higher education systems are preparing students for jobs that exist in the global, 21st century economy.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Bill GatesWhat is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Hard work pays off, and the importance of family.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?After serving four years in the United States Marine Corps (94-98), I would re-enlist to continue my military career.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?English, because it helped me to get ahead in my education and career.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Go to college, and you can achieve anything you put your mind to.