Bob Bednar: Candidate Profile

Back to 51st District Representative

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: MundeleinWebsite: www.BednarForIllinois.comOffice sought: 51st District Representative Age: 57Family: Wife, Jo Ann, and daughter EmilyOccupation: School Bus DriverEducation: Lewis University -- Romeoville, IL - Bachelor of Science -- AccountingNorthwestern University -- Chicago, IL - attended CFP classesIllinois Property Assessment Institute -- Normal, IL - CIAO-ICivic involvement: Lake County Republican Committeeman - 1992 to PresentTreasurer for Lake County Republican Party - 04/2010 to 07/2013Member of Republican Assembly of Lake CountyMundelein Farmers Market VolunteerElected offices held: Lake Bluff Park District Commissionner - from 2003 to 2005Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: N/AQuestions Answers Why are you running for this office? Is there a particular issue that motivates you, and if so, what is that?The essence of this job is to Represent your District. My District is NOT being represented right now. The incumbent has become the poster child for the special interests and lobbyists that control Springfield. The Party leaders on both sides have sold out their constituents in favor of campaign donations and personal power, and the State of Illinois continues to suffer.What differentiates you most from your opponents in the race?The incumbent is a double dipper. He holds two government jobs that pay full time salary, benefits, and a double State pension. He is enriching himself at taxpayer expense. The incumbent is everything that is wrong with Illinois politics.Unlike the incumbent, I believe in the Republican platform, and all that it stands for. The incumbent has made most of his votes without consulting with the wishes of his constituents.The 51st District is the most Republican House District in the State of Illinois, and yet we have the most liberal Republican in the state representing our District. The incumbent is out of touch with the desires of the District, and until being challenged in this primary, he has made no effort to find out the needs and opinions of the constituents. He has taken money from almost every institution and every lobbyist in Springfield.Would you vote to make Illinois' temporary income tax hike permanent before it expires in January 2015? If not, how will you replace the billions of dollars the tax hike brought in, or what cuts would you make?NO PERMANENT INCOME TAX HIKE - AND NO PROGRESSIVE INCOME TAX TO REPLACE IT. As a State, we need to learn to live within our means. We have no alternative than to make spending cuts.I would do the same thing Texas and other faster growing states have done, lower taxes by holding the line on spending and easing regulation, particularly with tort reform and by cutting fraud and waste in Medicare and Workers Compensation.Please outline your views on public pensions in Illinois.The legislature was given only 3 days to look at very complex legislation, while outside groups, like our teachers whose pension are affected, were not given a chance to comment or testify. Within days after the bill was passed, outside analysis showed it had much less savings than it proponents advertised. It was the typical sham from Illinois politicians in Springfield.What changes would you make to the state's new concealed carry law, if any? Would you change the number of exempted places where people cannot carry? In what way? Would you change the training requirements? In what way? Do you support restricting assault weapons? High-capacity magazines?The new law has too many restrictions in it. We need to get reacquainted with the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution.Illinois citizens have been denied the right to defend their families and property for too long. The criminals will continue to ignore ANY AND ALL gun laws. We need to give better tools to law enforcement so they can go after the gangs and shut them down.Which of the following do you support: New casinos, slot machines at horse racing tracks, gambling on the Internet? Would you approve legislation that includes all of the above in order to compromise and get the parts that you want?NO MORE EXPANSION OF GAMBLING IN ILLINOIS. I will not compromise or 'SELL OUT' to the gambling industry to get anything passed.On what issues would you would break with your party, or have you broken with your party, and why?The Republican Party needs to stick to its principles and stop becoming liberal minded. Liberal thinking (and liberal spending) got us into the hole we are in.What is your position on limiting how much money party leaders can give candidates during a general election?As long as Mike Madigan is the majority leader in the House, we will see no reforms in campaign donations. It will continue to be business as usual - you vote the way Mr. Speaker wants you to vote, or you won't get campaign money from the Party.If elected, do you plan to vote for the current leader of your caucus? Why or why not?I can't answer that yet. Minority leader Durkin will have to earn my vote. He's not getting it for free just because he's a Republican.What is your view of the tax breaks granted to companies like Motorola Mobility, Navistar and Sears, and should state tax breaks be given to companies moving from one Illinois municipality to another?I do not favor special tax breaks for big corporations like Caterpillar or Archer Daniels Midland. For every one job we save with these tax breaks, we lose 2 jobs from small businessmen that are being driven out of the state because they can't afford the lobbyists to lower their taxes like the big companies. Big companies can also more easily manage our state's onerous regulations.I favor broad based tax cuts in corporate and individual taxes that are paid by the small businesses that are the backbone of our economy.Do you favor changing how Illinois sets new legislative district maps every 10 years? If so how?Our current mapping procedures are corrupt - so my answer is No. The Legislative District mapping is controlled by one man, Mike Madigan. Our state is in a fiscal mess and on the bronk of bankruptcy thanks to one man, Mike Madigan.If we developed Fair Map techniques, we would start to see more even representation.Finally, is there anything we haven't asked about that you feel we should know?I support the idea of school vouchers and charter schools.I support school vouchers for low income students and in school districts that are failing to teach their students. Part of the reason we are broke in this state is an education system that rewards failure and incompetence. More money is not the answer.The answer is to give low income parents the same choice that higher income students already can afford to have, a choice to move to a better school.I'm a political realist. I know a lot of people hate the idea of tax money for 'religious schools', even if that is the parents choice. I would support charter schools in low income, poor performing school districts that parents would choose with state vouchers.