Tom Morrison: Candidate profile

Bio:

Name: Tom Morrison

City: Palatine

Website: www.morrison4staterep.com

Facebook: ElectTomMorrison

Party: Republican

Office sought: State representative, 54th district

Age: 43

Family: Wife Bethany, married 16 years; four children, ages 21 months to 11 years.

Occupation: Full-time state legislator

Education: Hillsdale College; B.A. in History

Civic involvement: Frequent attendee at a wide variety of community functions; Bike Palatine Club sponsor; Son of the American Legion, Palatine Post 690. With young children and a busy family schedule, I've had to cut back regular volunteer commitments for the time-being. I belonged to the Palatine Jaycees before I aged out.

Elected offices held: State representative, 54th district; elected November 2010.

Questions & Answers

Q. Would you vote to approve a graduated income tax? If so, what qualifiers would you impose and where would you set the brackets? What would the top tax rate be?

No, I would not support the graduated income tax. Illinois' population loss (nearly 600,000 over the past decade) erodes our tax base and the economy as a whole. Another tax income hike would further encourage residents to flee to friendlier climates. When proponents claim that it'll bring in additional revenue, they fail to account for the residents who will leave and take their income with them. In turn, as the state actually requires additional revenue, it'll have to increase tax rates on the lower income levels, too.

Q. How big a problem is the level of property taxation in Illinois? If you view it as a problem, what should be done about it?

Illinois has among the highest property taxes in the U.S. We're 2 to 3 times more expensive than our state neighbors like Missouri and Indiana, and some individuals, families, and businesses are literally being forced to move. The legislature should impose an annual 1 percent hard tax cap with allowances for local referendums. The legislature must give local governments much greater flexibility on negotiations with their employees, capital improvements, and consolidation.

Q. What is your evaluation of Gov. Rauner's job performance? Specify what you view as its highs and lows.

Grade: B-. When Rauner took office, I hoped Illinois had finally turned the corner on its failure to correct structural deficits, governmental mismanagement and taxpayer disrespect. The voters elected him to turn around a great state. He brought attention to Speaker Mike Madigan's power over state government and the desperate need to reform state spending. Rauner's biggest mistake was a failure to listen to those of us who had already been fighting for reform in Springfield. We saw that Rauner was challenging Madigan in ways he was bound to lose because he didn't have the necessary trust or leverage in the legislature. Rauner also stumbled because of the obstacles Madigan purposely put in his way. Rauner possibly exacerbated the impasse by keeping state money flowing when there was no state budget in place. A better strategy would've been approving a slimmed-down budget based on actual revenues. Funding for some popular programs may have been shaved; however, that would have been preferable to no budget/no certainty for over 2 years. Alternatively, the governor could have temporarily shut down state government in July 2015. A temporary disruption would've alerted Illinois residents to the crisis, and they in turn, would've forced lawmakers to work with the governor to pass an actual balanced budget much more quickly. Additionally, I co-sponsored the no-budget/no-pay bill for lawmakers that Madigan left in the Rules Committee.

Q. What is your evaluation of Speaker Michael Madigan's job performance? If you voted for him for speaker in the last legislative session, please explain your vote.

Based on the House Rules (passed by Democratic lawmakers every two years, right after they re-elect Mike Madigan as Speaker), nothing gets done in the Illinois House without Madigan's consent. The circumstances go beyond one-party rule. What we really have in Illinois is one-man rule. No bill even makes it to a vote, let alone passes the House, without the Speaker's approval. If your district and your constituents have a need, and the Speaker does not agree, then your constituents have no recourse. No one should have that kind of power. I have asked Democrats to join Republicans in picking a different Speaker. Continuing to keep Rep. Madigan in charge is only serving to enable one-man rule. Rank and file Democratic lawmakers are overdue in standing up to and replacing Madigan. There is precedence for bipartisan power sharing - in 2013, two Democrats joined with the Republicans to take power away from the Democrat majority leader in the State Senate in Washington State. They formed the Majority Coalition Caucus and devised a power-sharing agreement that benefited both political parties. But unfortunately, Illinois Democratic lawmakers continue to keep Madigan in power.

Q. Should there be term limits for legislative leaders? If so, what would you do to make that happen? What other systemic changes should be made to strengthen the voice of individual legislators, limit the control of legislative leaders, encourage bipartisanship?

Yes, as indicated above, there should be term limits for legislative leaders. I would vote for a bill, rules, or constitutional amendment to require it. Additionally, the House Rules are problematic. In other states, legislative rules make it possible for minority party members to at least demand a hearing, debate and/or vote on various bills or amendments on the House floor or in committee. Illinois House Rules give the majority party, and specifically, the House Speaker, the ability to easily quash those efforts. It's decidedly undemocratic.

How concerned should we be about Illinois' population loss? What needs to be done to reverse the trend?

Illinois has lost nearly 600,000 people in the past decade. The outmigration trend is one we should all be concerned about. We could lose as many as two congressional seats in the next census. Illinois is losing its tax base and losing its clout in Washington D.C. We need to lower taxes. We need to start with the repeal of the 32 percent income tax increase approved last year. We also need to make Illinois more taxpayer friendly. Illinois must take steps such as enacting a meaningful property tax cap for residential and commercial owners, while giving local governments the flexibility to operate under them, to reverse the outmigration trends. Illinois is located in the center of the country. We have hundreds and hundreds of miles of interstate highways running through our state and access to one of the busiest airports in the country. If we just make business reforms a priority, we can grow the economy and make Illinois a destination state rather than one in which people are fleeing.

Q. Please provide one example that demonstrates your independence from your party.

I went against many in my party by voting against the budget because it wasn't actually balanced by at least $1.2 billion, probably more. Lawmakers will have to make significant cuts elsewhere, add to the pile of unpaid bills, and/or raise additional taxes or borrow at high interest rates because of our poor credit rating.

Q. What other issues are important to you as a candidate for this office?

I have long been an advocate for real pension reform. Our pension debt continues to grow north of $130 billion, probably higher. We cannot afford to keep ignoring it. Pension debt is affecting our credit rating and making it difficult for the state to meet other financial obligations. We need to follow the example of states such as Arizona where voters gave legislators the tools they needed to find solutions to their pension problems. The courts are not going to allow the legislature to make any substantive changes to the pension system. We must go to the voters to approve a constitutional amendment. This would help give the legislature the ability on a go-forward basis to solve the pension crisis for public workers and the taxpayers who actually finance such a large portion of the benefits.

In addition, here a few questions meant to provide more personal insight into you as a person:

Q. What's the hardest decision you ever had to make?

It's a personal decision my wife and I had to make in regards to our children. Several of the top hardest decisions I've had to make involve our children. They are dependent on us more than anyone else, and my wife and I try to do what's best for them to ensure a healthy and successful future.

Q. Who is your hero?

My father. He taught me how to take risks and stand out for ethical and top-level service as a small business entrepreneur. He sacrificed incredible amounts of his own personal time, interests and treasure so that my brothers and I would have a better future. He and my mother were an incredible team as marriage and business partners for 34 years. He personally cared for her with undying love until cancer finally took her life.

Q. Each amendment in the Bill of Rights is important, but which one of those 10 is most precious to you?

The First Amendment is most precious to me. This is a right that we exercise every day. In so many other countries, individuals are harassed, intimidated, imprisoned, or even executed for their beliefs, their speech, writing, peaceable assembly, or their complaints against the government.

Q. What lesson of youth has been most important to you as an adult?

The importance of expressing gratitude was an extremely important lesson that I learned when I was young.

Q. Think back to a time you failed at something. What did you learn from it?

A cup of coffee and a donut once cost me about $10,000. I was working on an emergency smoke and water damage restoration job at a medium-sized, multi-unit commercial property. We got the call for help at 1:30 a.m., and we'd been hustling through the night and early morning on little sleep to clean up as much as possible before tenants began arriving for the day. At 9 a.m. or so, my employees and I all decided to take a break for donuts and coffee at the truck. There was one tenant in the building who had not gotten any service yet, and our truck happened to be parked right outside their window. While we were catching a breather, he must've gotten impatient and called one of our competitors in to clean up his offices. I don't blame the tenant at all. I could see why he'd be frustrated because his offices were still a wet mess. I would've gladly given my employees the break and kept working myself for just a few more minutes if I'd known we'd lose the contract on the extra work. On future jobs, I learned to rotate crews for breaks instead of everyone at once.