Jim Caffrey: 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: ElmhurstWebsite: www.jimcaffrey.orgTwitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jimcaffrey.il/Office sought: 47th District Representative Age: 52Family: My wife, Mary and I have been married since 1999 and we have lived in Elmhurst since 2006. We have two sons, Jacob (15) and Dylan (12), who attend District 205 schools. My parents live in Schaumburg and I have a sister in Scottsdale, AZ. My sister-in-law and her family also live in Elmhurst.Occupation: Resigned from Clorox (Customer Team Manager - White Space Team) in July 2017 to run for this officeEducation: University of Michigan, AB Political Science, 1987 - American College in Paris, Winter 1986 Boston University, MBA, 1995Civic involvement: My family moved to Elmhurst in 2006. I have been very involved in many community organizations including volunteer work as PTA Secretary at Churchville Middle School, board member of Elmhurst Youth Baseball, and Democratic Precinct Committeeman.Elected offices held: None - never ran for public office beforeQuestions 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?We have a an opportunity to create a more effective legislature by selecting a new Speaker of the House, putting an end to gerrymandering, and pushing party primaries back to August or September. 1.Select a New Speaker of the House: I will not vote for Mike Madigan. Illinois needs a fresh perspective, and a new leader who can build coalitions and compromise with other elected officials. 2.End Gerrymandering: Illinois has districts that look like poorly designed jigsaw puzzle pieces. These districts were created purely for partisan purposes. The current red and blue districts do not serve voters. Purple districts would force legislators to listen to all of their constituents, not just the ones from their own party. 3.Late Primary: Illinois should move party primaries to later in the year. Primaries in August or September would reduce time and money spent on campaigning, and allow more opportunities for cooperation in Springfield. Twelve other states already have a similar primary structure. I support term limits for legislative leaders, but am undecided about term limits for elected officials in general. As a body, the legislature can make its own rules about who leads. However, I am uneasy about the idea of telling voters who can and cannot run for office.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?New leadership in the state is best way to ensure that the budget process is completed on time. As noted in question one, I will be looking for a new Speaker of the House if elected. But Illinois also needs a new Governor. Bruce Rauner caused much of the problem during the budget crisis because he would not negotiate unless he got his Ãâ#128;™Turnaround AgendaÃâ#128;œ passed. Illinois needs leaders who are willing to work together and compromise with the understanding that you never get 100% of what you want. The best way to ensure my spending priorities are reflected in the budget is to forge coalitions with other lawmakers who are willing to work together even if we don't agree on all of the issues. Understanding other lawmaker's needs, and the realities of our funding limitations, will build trust and compromise to that leads to a successful budgeting process.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?As noted in question one, I support efforts to eliminate gerrymandering in Illinois. The legislature should approve a ballot initiative for a legislative redistricting constitutional amendment. One possible method for drawing districts could be based Iowa's process. Iowa has an independent group that draws the maps while allowing the legislature the ability to simply approve or reject what's been proposed. As noted in question one, I'm undecided on the issue of general term limits. I would be willing to listen to both sides about whether we should have a ballot initiative for term limits.What approach do you support in fixing public employee pension systems?I recommend that Illinois begins with the following three steps to fix our public employee pension system 1.Reduce our unfunded liability: Illinois should re-amortize its pension debt over the next 50 years to get it somewhere between 80-100% funded. This process would include paying a level amount each year and spreading out the payments over a longer period of time than is currently planned. Re-amortizing the debt this way would eliminate future payment spikes and reduce the amount paid annually. Illinois should also make it mandatory that pensions payments are paid in full each year. 2.Create a sound retirement system for the future. All options should be on the table including traditional pensions and 401K style plans. I am hopeful that the Tier III pension system (that passed last summer) can be a starting point to constructing a program that offers a stable and secure income for retirees, and a more affordable model for state government. 3.Illinois should phase out the current GARS pension system (General Assembly Retirement System) and replace it with a defined contribution plan. Elected officials in Illinois should not run for office for the pension plan. A defined contribution plan (401K-style plan) during the years that a person is an elected official should be sufficient.To what extent do you support or oppose legalization of marijuana for recreational use?I support legalizing marijuana in a tightly regulated fashion. This action will promote a safer product, reduce crime rates, and allow police to focus on more important issues. Some additional tax revenue will also be raised in the process, but that is secondary to the other benefits noted here.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?There are many other issues that are important to me. Let me highlight a few: - Increase the minimum wage - Pay back our overdue bills - Consolidate our nine university boards like other states with great public university systems (e.g. Wisconsin, California, and New York). This process will streamline costs and enable the 12 state universities to develop their own areas of specialization.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Joe Biden. His basic humanity, and his belief in public service, inspires me to be the best citizen I can be.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?To tell the truth. I once lied to my mother about something trivial. Instead of yelling at me, she explained the importance of being honest.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I would have warmed up before a softball game in college. I tore something in my shoulder that has been a chronic injury ever since.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Social Studies. Learning about what makes America great and what can we do to improve her. It inspired me to be active in my community.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Serve your country. It can be the military, Peace Corps, or as a community volunteer. Give to America. Don't just take what it gives you.