Garrett Peck: 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: PlainfieldWebsite: http://www.Peck4Senate.comOffice sought: 49th District SenateAge: 33Family: Candidate did not respond.Occupation: Small Business Owner Magiktech Technology and Consulting Inc.Education: B.S Western Illinois UniversityCivic involvement: Knights of ColumbusElected offices held: Village of Plainfield TrusteeHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Economic growth and job creation. The debate over tax breaks and incentives for businesses threatening to leave reveals how poorly we have managed our local economy. Instead of attracting new employers to Illinois, our leaders are scrambling to prevent the max exodus of those that are already here. Large firms are the ones who seem to always get the special incentives, while the small businesses that employ a far great number of Illinoisans are left in the cold. While there may be special emergencies that require exceptions, as general practice, I will support a uniform tax policy that provides a level playing field for all employers to compete. I support the immediate repeal of the massive tax increase on individuals and employers. And I support additional reforms to worker?s compensation, unemployment insurance, and tort litigation.Key Issue 2 The state budget. Spending is out of control in Springfield. The ruling majority believes it can tax, borrow, and spend our state to prosperity, but the results have proven otherwise. Reigning in the state budget requires significantly reforming the major cost drivers of the budget, including Medicaid and pensions. There are a number of cuts that I would support to bring spending in line with revenues. I support the Medicaid Recapture Audit, which can save taxpayer dollars through identification of fraudulent or inappropriate Medicaid payments. The Medicaid Recapture Audit was signed into law, but no action has been taken to actually complete it. I support moving eligibility levels in some Medicaid programs to the national average so that those truly in need have access to a solvent Medicaid program. The recent court ruling on national healthcare allows Illinois to go back to a Medicaid level that our budget can actually afford without being penalized by the federal government. I support eliminating the General Assembly retirement system. I will not take a pension when elected because I will not contribute to the problem I am trying to fix. I support combining the Treasurer and Comptroller?s offices saving the taxpayers $12 million. I support reducing the number of government appointments and commissions. We should reduce the salaries of State Board Commissions by 50%.Key Issue 3 Meaningful pension reform. We are in this mess because politicians over promised with little or no regard for what the state could actually afford. To make matters worse, the politicians then failed to adequately fund the pension programs leading to the crippling $130 billion liability we face today. For pensions to be solvent and the promise of future retirement benefits to be kept, we must find a sustainable solution for public employee pensions. One of the greatest benefits of a 401K style system is that politicians could no longer raid retirement funds as has been the practice for so many years. Under a 40K style plan, the money would be in the worker?s control. Obviously, abuses of the system, like the many reported by this paper, need to be addressed ? no six figure pension for one day?s work. I am so committed to solving Illinois? pension problem that I publicly pledged during the Primary that I would not accept a pension when elected. I will not contribute to the problem I am trying to fix.Questions Answers How would you fix the state's pension gap? Should pension costs be shifted to suburban school districts? Why or why not? Should this issue be voted on in a lame-duck session? Why or why not? How can partisan gridlock be eased to solve the crisis?As I said above, we are in this mess because politicians over promised with little or no regard for what the state could actually afford. To make matters worse, the politicians then failed to adequately fund the pension programs leading to the crippling $130 billion liability we face today. For pensions to be solvent and the promise of future retirement benefits to be kept, we must find a sustainable solution for public employee pensions. One of the greatest benefits of a 401K style system is that politicians could no longer raid retirement funds as has been the practice for so many years. Under a 40K style plan, the money would be in the worker?s control. Obviously, abuses of the system, like the many reported by this paper, need to be addressed ? no six figure pension for one day?s work. During the Primary election, I pledged to refuse a state pension if elected because I will not contribute to the problem I am trying to fix. I completely disagree with shifting costs on to suburban school districts in order to cover pension payments. I disagree because rather than solving the problem, it simply shifts the funding burden from the state to property taxpayers. I am not opposed to voting on meaningful pension reform even in a lame duck session because we cannot afford to delay any longer as credit agencies threaten additional cuts. Obviously, I would not support a vote on a half-hearted attempt to solve our pension crisis. As a business owner, I approach problems with the desire to find data-driven solutions. My approach to public policy will be similar in that I will keep an open mind and work with anyone who will help advance a reform agenda.How, specifically, would you cut the budget? What does Illinois need to do to fix its status as a "deadbeat state?" How will you vote on future gambling bills? What is your view of slots at racetracks? Casino expansion?Spending is out of control in Springfield. The ruling majority believes it can tax, borrow, and spend our state to prosperity but the results have proven otherwise. Reigning in the state budget requires significantly reforming the major cost drivers of the budget, including Medicaid and pensions. There are a number of cuts that I would support to bring spending in line with revenues. ? I support the Medicaid Recapture Audit, which can save taxpayer dollars through identification of fraudulent or inappropriate Medicaid payments. The Medicaid Recapture Audit was signed into law, but no action has been taken to actually complete it. ? I support moving eligibility levels in some Medicaid programs to the national average so that those truly in need have access to a solvent Medicaid program. The recent court ruling on national healthcare allows Illinois to go back to a Medicaid level that our budget can actually afford without being penalized by the federal government. ? I support meaningful pension reform to all five systems. I support eliminating the General Assembly retirement system. I will not take a pension when elected because I will not contribute to the problem I am trying to fix. ? I support combining the Treasurer and Comptroller?s offices saving the taxpayers $12 million. ? I support reducing the number of government appointments and commissions. We should reduce the salaries of State Board Commissions by 50%. In addition to cuts, we must increase our tax base through economic growth. Dropping our state?s unemployment rate even to just the national level would dramatically increase revenue. To send the signal that Illinois is open for business, I support the immediate repeal of the massive tax increase on individuals and employers. And I support additional reforms to worker?s compensation, unemployment insurance, and tort litigation. I do not support further gaming expansion as I consider putting the state in the position of betting against its constituents an unseemly way to fund our budget priorities..What can you do specifically to help the economy in your district? How can you help create jobs in your district and statewide? What is your view of the tax breaks granted to companies like Motorola Mobility, Navistar and Sears?One of the easiest ways in my opinion to promote business growth in a poor economy would be to lower corporate taxes on our state?s employers. High taxes force more and more job creators out of Illinois every year to places like Indiana, Iowa, and Wisconsin due to their business friendly environments. These high tax rates also prevent citizens from starting small businesses, which are vital to our local economy. Between the high corporate tax rate and the 67% income tax increase, people just can?t afford to open their own business in Illinois anymore. In spite of all that, as a Village Trustee, I fought to bring Diageo, an International consumer goods distributor, to Plainfield, creating hundreds of jobs. As a small business owner I am more inclined to grant incentives to entire industries rather than specific companies such as Motorola, Sears, and CME. A uniform tax policy levels the playing field for all businesses to compete no matter if they can afford to hire an army of lobbyist. Additionally, when deals such as these are made it?s always symptomatic of a bigger problem. In this case, these companies were all threatening to leave Illinois after decades (in the case of CME over 150 years) of being headquartered here. Why? Because that?s how hostile this state is to businesses right now, big and small.Do you favor limiting how much money party leaders can give candidates during an election? If elected, do you plan to vote for the current leader of your caucus? Why or why not? Do you support or oppose campaign contribution limits? Please explain.I do believe in the idea of limiting the amount of contributions candidates receive from party leaders. One of the reasons Illinois is in the current predicament is due to powerful party bosses who hand pick someone they know will vote however they tell them, rendering dissention moot. I do plan on supporting Leader Radogno if elected to the Senate. She has proven to be a champion of common sense ideas in the face of tremendous opposition. The campaign finance laws need a major overhaul. Over the last 10 years, over 95% of incumbents have been re-elected. You would think this would be impossible in a state run so poorly. The biggest problem is that it is easiest for incumbents to raise money. Challengers rarely have a chance to win because of the disparity in cash. Some PAC's only give money to incumbents. I would prefer a fundraising "season". At the end of an election, residual money should be returned to donors or donated to charity with only a minimal amount that can be kept in someone's campaign fund. Right now, elected officials often build up large war chests, become lobbyists, and use their former campaign fund to peddle influence. Two former local legislators have done this.Should gay marriage be legalized in Illinois? Should it be voted on in a lame-duck session as civil unions were? Should Illinois define life as beginning at conception? How would you vote on a concealed carry plan? Should the death penalty return?Civil unions are now the law of the land in Illinois. I do not support going even further to redefine marriage. Unlike pension reform, I do not see the merits of voting on an issue like this during a lame duck session. I understand there are issues that motivate certain voters and defining life at conception is certainly one of them. I would argue that we are facing too many fiscal challenges to divert our attention to social issues that routinely divide us. My focus remains on solving our long term pension liability, paying off our backlog of unpaid bills, balancing the budget, putting an end to wasteful borrowing, and lowering our overall tax burden to facilitate economic growth. Illinois is currently the only state that does not have some form of concealed carry legislation. There have been a number of proposals brought forth and a vote is likely, perhaps as soon as next year. My support for any proposal would hinge on whether or not the proposal had the full backing of the law enforcement community and fully addressed their concerns. While I support the death penalty for the most atrocious criminals, I would only support its return if I could be assured that the punishment would only be delivered based on the most conclusive evidence and without bias.