John Cunningham: Candidate Profile

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:BioKey IssuesQA Bio City: AuroraWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: 11th District U.S. RepresentativeAge: 73Family: 2 children, 2 grandchildrenOccupation: Kane County Clerk, elected 3rd term Owner, Hidden Cove Marina, Seneca, IL LawyerEducation: BA, Chicago State (Political Science) MA, Governor's State (Business/Public Administration) JD Lewis College of Law JD NIUCivic involvement: Former Board member, Community Contacts, Inc. John Ericsson League Past Chairman, Aurora Civil Service Commission Aurora Navy League Past President, National Association of Clerks and RecordersElected offices held: Kane county clerk 2002-present former Commissioner, City of Aurora 8 years Republican Precinct Committeeman 1962-presentHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: Candidate did not respond.Candidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Job creation and reducing unemploymentKey Issue 2 Balancing the Federal budgetKey Issue 3 Protecting Social Security and MedicareQuestions Answers What would you do to help ease partisan gridlock? Are you willing to compromise on sticking points including spending cuts and taxes to produce results' How can Congress move from being a "crisis-driven" institution?As an elected official at both the local and county levels, I have had the opportunity of working across party lines on many occasions. While I am willing to negotiate and compromise in some areas, I would also hold true to my core beliefs and would not yield on issues of life and liberty.The only way for Congress to reduce partisan gridlock and the appearance of being "crisis-driven" is for members to be elected who will look beyond the quick, temporary fix and the next election to truly find long-term solutions to the issues that face us.Should tax breaks be extended? Why or why not? If so, for whom? What should Congress do to improve unemployment? Why do you support or oppose President Obama's jobs plan? What cuts or revenue increases do you support for deficit reduction?As proven in the 1980's and on other occasions, reducing taxes on individuals and businesses leads to overall economic and job growth.The nation doesn't have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem.We can no longer continue to spend beyond our means and pile more debt onto future generations. As an initial step to reducing Federal spending across the board, I would work for a comprehensive forensic audit of all Federal programs and agencies to weed out duplicative efforts and to justify each department's spending.I have opposed the President's job creation efforts as being piecemeal, wasteful and misdirected.What steps should the country now be taking in the war on terrorism? What policy should the U.S. have toward Iran and North Korea? What is your view of terrorism policies that pit public safety against civil liberty?Steps need to be taken to further protect our border security as well as points of entry (ports) and other transportation infrastructure.In addition, our military capabilities for small unit response must be enhanced as opposed to a military based on the outdated "cold war" model.Our policy toward Iran and North Korea as well as other "rogue' states should be to work with our allies and other countries to further isolate them economically - with the goal of restricting their abilities to acquire new technologies that could have military applications.Any and all new anti-terror policies that could possibly infringe on the personal liberty of U.S. citizens must be open to a rigorous and open debate before implementation.How should Medicare and Medicaid be changed overall to fix fund gaps' How should Medicare be changed for those currently enrolled? How should it change for the Baby Boomer generation?Medicare and Medicaid must be made solvent through a move to a more competitive system based on existing private managed care models, not on additional government interference or moves toward a "single payer" program.As mentioned in regard to both budget and gridlock questions, no good solution to the systemic problems facing Medicare can be achieved without Congress first reviewing what currently works and fails and then taking the time to study alternatives without setting arbitrary politically-motivated time constraints.What is your position on concealed carry gun laws' How do you believe marriage should be defined legally? What is your position on abortion? What, if any, abortion exceptions do you support? Should abortion clinics receive government funding?I believe in a state's right to set its own concealed carry laws, and would favor its adoption in Illinois.I believe in the current definition of marriage as adopted under DOMA.I am strongly pro-life and believe that no Federal funding should be used to pay for abortion. <div style="margin:8px 8px 0 8px;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.congressionalprimaries.org/static/primaries/js/widget_api.js"></script><script type="text/javascript">document.write(CongressionalPrimaries.tweets("www", "www", "D1129646BCBE92C41681", "John", "Cunningham"));</script></div>