5th congressional hopefuls air views on health, education, energy

Two candidates vying for the Republican nomination in the 5th Congressional District covered a wide range of issues, including health, education and energy policy, at a recent League of Women Voters forum at the Barrington Area Library.

Tommy Hanson, a commercial real estate broker who has run five times against incumbent Democrat Mike Quigley, beginning in 2018, faced off with Barry Wicker, a licensed engineer with 10 years of experience in the financial sector, at Saturday’s event.

The third candidate in the Republican primary, Kimball Ladien, could not attend.

Among the issues discussed was Medicaid funding. Hanson believes Medicaid must be purged of fraud, adding qualification should be based on gross income, rather than adjusted gross income. Wicker is concerned older Americans are not properly insured and recommended forming a group to formulate and send a policy to Congress.

Other issues involving health policy were addressed, including the World Health Organization. Wicker said the organization is important, because it protects everyone.

“Without it, everything would be haphazard, and you would be having bubonic plagues running all over the world, like we had centuries and centuries ago,” he said.

Hanson said the organization has damaged the U.S., saying it was involved in COVID policies that shut down businesses and schools.

“If you go to downtown Chicago, all the office buildings are going broke because everybody’s staying at home. They’re not going to work as a result of COVID,” he said.

Hanson said Medicare for all does not make sense. He said medical insurance must be competitive in the same way as auto insurance.

“Medical insurance for everybody is imperative. How we do it is another case,” Wicker said. He would ask constituents for input to determine a preferred policy.

In the area of education, Hanson favors charter schools and supports tax deductions for families choosing a private or charter school, adding, “We should support vocational schools, too, for kids that don’t necessarily want to have white collar jobs.”

Wicker said one of his top priorities is educating children, saying, “Any allocations that I get as a Congressman I would weed into the school systems.” He also supports trade schools.

On the topic of renewable energy, Hanson favors it to reduce pollution, but not as a political tool. He doesn’t believe wind farms have proven efficient. He said the U.S. needs a lot of energy, including some renewable, but also oil and coal.

Wicker said federal engagement for better renewable energy is very important, citing his background in energy, including running data centers.