Katie Miller: Candidate Profile

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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: Mount ProspectWebsite: https://millerforillinois.com/Twitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MillerforIllinois/Office sought: 53rd District Representative Age: 39Family: I have been married to my husband Greg for 16 years. We have three children. Joey is a Freshman at Prospect High School, Tommy is in 8th grade at Lincoln Middle School, and Bethany is in 6th grade at Lincoln Middle School.Occupation: Registered Nurse at St. Alexis Epilepsy Clinic and Clinical Care Coordinator at Northwest CommunityEducation: BSN from University of Illinois at Chicago, Urbana Regional CampusCivic involvement: Cub Scout Den Leader for Pack 55 Mount Prospect, 2010-2015 Religious education teacher, 2013-Present Basketball coach, 2017Elected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Questions Answers What needs to be done structurally to make the legislature more effective? Will you vote for your current legislative leader? What is your position on term limits in general and for legislative leaders specifically?I think the problem is not a structural issue, but rather an issue with the people we have serving in the legislature. I will need to look at who the Republicans have for a leadership position. I would then decide who is best to lead us to improve our state and be advocate for the taxpayers in Illinois. We need to have term limits in Illinois. State representatives should be limited to serving 10-12 years, at most. Enacting term limits would create a genuine environment for change and new ideas in government, and help eliminate the power of special interests and money. We need a legislature focused on service, as opposed to entrenched incumbents who are self-interested and less interested in what's best for the people of Illinois.On budgeting, what should be done to ensure that the state does not again go through a period of time without a budget in place? What will you do as a legislator to help ensure that the spending priorities you espouse during your campaign are reflected in the budget?I think we need leaders in Springfield who realize that a legislator's purpose is to work for the people of the state. If our legislature cannot pass a balanced budget then they are not doing their jobs and should not get paid. Lawmakers also need to reign in spending and put more scrutiny on where state funds are being allocated. My spending priorities are to invest in schools, hospitals and infrastructure, and help the disabled and most vulnerable citizens of our state.Should the legislature approve ballot initiatives either for a constitutional amendment on legislative redistricting or one on term limits? If so, how would you recommend the issues be structure? If not, why not?I think that we should have constitutional amendments for both redistricting and term limits. I support a full overhaul of the current process of redrawing legislative districts, and I would advocate for computerized redistricting. Race, color, creed, political affiliation and geographic considerations would not be part of the formula. Population density and commonsense rectangular, squared areas would be my chief criteria. And, most importantly, politicians would not be involved in the process. I think term limits would bring positive change to the culture of our state government. I'm running as an independent voice who genuinely cares about the people in my community and the state of Illinois. Term limits will help ensure our lawmakers are focused on public service, rather than special interests and their own political careers.What approach do you support in fixing public employee pension systems?The underlying principle for our approach to pension reform should be to create a system that is fair. We need a pension system that rewards state employees for their hard work, but mirrors what individuals in the private sector have. The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that we must keep the promises that have been made to state workers, however, we need to make some changes so we can fund the system without the extreme burden on Illinois taxpayers. I support reforms that move government employees to 401(k)-style retirement plans. I will work with legislators to rein in unfair pension benefits, using whatever tools we can: assessing COLAs, retirement ages, changing benefits for new employees, etc.To what extent do you support or oppose legalization of marijuana for recreational use?I oppose legalization of marijuana for recreational use. It is against federal law and we cannot pick and choose which laws to follow. Also, I don't think we should condone drug use. Marijuana stays in the system for anywhere from one week to one month. With that variation how can society know when someone is driving or working under the influence of marijuana? It creates a difficult and dangerous situation. We can test BAC if someone has been drinking, but there is not a similar test for marijuana.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?We need to decrease the tide of people and businesses leaving Illinois. We need to revoke the 32% income tax increase that was passed last summer, which is a critical first step to relieve the immense financial burden on families in Illinois. We need to enact a 1% flat property tax, meaning homeowners would pay 1% on what their property is worth. We should also enact a Taxpayer Bill of Rights to put handcuffs on politicians so that they must spend within their means, just like most households. We need to reduce regulations and cut the red tape that handcuffs businesses and makes it difficult and more costly to set up shop in Illinois. In order to make Illinois more competitive and business-friendly, we need to lower workers' compensation costs, enact right-to-work laws, and identify common-sense regulatory reforms to make it easier for businesses and entrepreneurs to grow and thrive.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.It is really hard for me to pick a leader who inspires me. All of our leaders have flaws.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?You need to stay true to your values.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I would spend extra time with my brother and my best friend. Their deaths has taught me the need to appreciate the present.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?I love science. It has helped me in my nursing career and also helped spur my love of nature.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?The most important thing in life is to be honest. You need to be true to who you are.