59th District hopefuls talk finance caps, political maps

Republican Dan Sugrue, 46, an attorney from Green Oaks, is challenging incumbent Democrat Carol Sente, 49, a business owner from Vernon Hills, who was appointed state legislator in the 59th District about a year ago to replace Kathy Ryg, who resigned.

The 59th District includes portions of Buffalo Grove, Green Oaks, Gurnee, Indian Creek, Lake Bluff, Lake Forest, Lincolnshire, Long Grove, Mettawa, Mundelein, Northbrook, North Chicago, Park City, Riverwoods, Vernon Hills, Waukegan and Wheeling.

What follows are the candidates' answers to a Daily Herald questionnaire. They have been edited for spelling, grammar and style.

Q. Where do you stand on campaign finance caps for legislative leaders and parties? Will you vote for your current caucus leader? Do you support an amendment for a different political map system? Why or why not?

Sente. I support limits on campaign contributions. I was proud that one of my first actions in Springfield as state representative was to help pass Illinois' historic campaign finance reform law a measure that had the backing of Change Illinois, the state's leading campaign finance reform organization. I think that this initiative, especially the limits on leaders' and party expenditures during primary campaigns was a major step forward; I would like to find a way to extend those limits to general election campaigns, while ensuring that outside special interests groups are not given an unfair advantage in terms of their abilities to spend money on campaigns and influence election outcomes.

With the current way the legislature is organized, I believe that too much power lies with legislative leaders and believe that through new budget reforms, rank and file legislators should have more input on setting budget priorities and spending through bipartisan committees. I also believe in term limits for leaders and further efforts on campaign finance reform.

I am focused on hearing from my constituents to do what I believe is in their best interest. At this time I am unaware of who will seek leadership positions in the 97th General Assembly, but would support whichever candidate I believe will work with me to best meet the needs of residents of my district.

The ethical violations of our previous two governors are a tragedy for our state and have caused taxpayers' money to be misspent at a time of terrible financial crisis. Well-qualified people have been denied jobs in favor of the politically connected, businesses have been discouraged from coming to our state, and frankly it is an embarrassment for our state. We have to send a strong message that corruption will not be tolerated in Illinois government. I will support legislation to require mandatory jail time for serious ethics violations and strip public pensions from officials who commit crimes while in office.

I believe that the voters will approve a constitutional amendment authorizing a new recall provision for governors, but I would also like to see that expanded to all levels of government. The peoples' ability to recall officials in the middle of their terms should also provide a greater disincentive to unethical behavior and, more important, give citizens the power to take matters into their own hands.

I support a constitutional amendment to give voters the right to reform the redistricting process. The Paul Simon Public Policy Institute plan (passed by the House in 2008), or the use of a computer-generated map (similar to the method used by our neighbors to the west in Iowa), would be viable options. In addition, the League of Women Voters' Fair Map proposal merits thoughtful consideration. Any of these plans would ensure that the remapping process is fair and remove the winner-takes-all coin flip that is used to resolve deadlocks under the current system.

Sugrue. I support campaign finance caps for parties and legislative leaders. Last September, the Daily Herald asked my opponent if she favored caps for legislative leaders. She refused to answer the question. In my opinion, this demonstrates the power that legislative leaders hold over their legislators, where a legislator is reluctant to defy a legislative leader, even though such a position may be popular with her constituents. This is an example of what is wrong with state government in Illinois; legislative leaders are able to intimidate representatives into voting against the best interests of their constituents. Legislators comply for fear of being cut off from the campaign war chests used by leaders.

I have not made a commitment to vote for the current caucus leader of my party, if elected. If I am elected, I will vote for the candidate possessing the greatest leadership skills and solutions to solving Illinois' most pressing crisis jobs and a balanced budget.

Redistricting reform is required in Illinois and I supported the efforts of the Fair Map Amendment committee. Voters should choose their legislators, instead of legislators choosing their constituents. Computer-generated maps keeping communities intact and following natural borders make the most sense. Competitive districts will encourage quality candidates from both sides of the aisle to compete and provide taxpayers with the best choices.

The current system is another way that legislative leaders exert their influence over legislators and deprive constituents of true representation in Springfield. It's unfortunate the arrogant and insular nature of our leadership in Springfield took precedence over allowing the public input into how our legislative map is drawn for the next 10 years.