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John Elleson: Candidate Profile

9th District U.S. Representative (Republican)

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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: Arlington HeightsWebsite: www.JohnElleson.usTwitter: @johnellesonFacebook: @JohnNotJanOffice sought: 9th District U.S. Representative Age: 55Family: My wife Sue Elleson, 7 kids, Christa, Ben, Shawna, Nathan, Sara, John David, Amanda.Occupation: PastorEducation: 4 year Pastor Theology Degree from Christian Life College, Mt. Prospect, IL. Supplement courses from Trinity University, Deerfield, ILCivic involvement: I've been working in the community for 35 years helping people. https://www.facebook.com/JohnNotJan/videos/147954975837259/Elected offices held: I've never ran for public office before.Questions Answers What do you think is the government's responsibility in assuring that citizens have health care? To what extent does the Affordable Care Act address this responsibility? What, if any, changes are needed in the act.The government does have a role in ensuring that everyone have access to healthcare insurance, but not the provision of it. It also has a role in ensuring that everyone has access to healthcare, if they cannot afford it. I would agree to appealing the ACA, while the government doing everything it can to make health insurance more affordable and accessible to all.What immigration policies do you support? Where, if at all, do you see room for compromise to produce an effective policy on immigration? What, if any, responsibility does the government have toward immigrants referred to as Dreamers who were brought to the United States illegally as children and are now adults? How will these policies affect your district?I support a comprehensive immigration policy that requires the border to be enforced and all known immigration loopholes dealt with. We need to have a better system to track and deal with those who over stay their visas. Once we get a true handle on this, I then think we then ought to grant the dreamers the opportunity to permanently come out of the shadows, with the possibility of a pathway to citizenship. But only after the border is truly secured.What military or diplomatic roles should the United States play to promote peace and stability in the Mideast? Under what circumstances should we have military forces actively operating?I believe in staying engaged. If we originally kept bases in Iraq, we would not of had to start all over again. We should keep bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, just like we have in other parts of the world. There is nothing wrong with having bases in the modern day hot spots. I do not believe in the complete concept of nation building, but we should help where we can, to promote peace. I do not think we should be doing foot patrols after we obtain our objectives, but stay engaged in training and assistance to the nation which we have military bases. This will be the best way to keep and maintain world peace. And the least costly in all areas.What should the United States be doing to reduce the threat of potential nuclear conflict from North Korea?Staying with the pressure of economic sanctions. Trying to get China and Russia to come our way, and support our objectives. The goal should be the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, but that maybe an unrealistic tall order at this point. If all fails, we may have to make it known that Japan, may need to acquire their own nuclear deterrent themselves, under nuclear North Korea, which would not bold well with China, or their interest. We have tools in the tool bag, we need to use them smartly and cautiously, with the goal to change North Korea's behavior.How would you describe the effectiveness of Congress today? If you think Congress needs to be more effective, what would you do to promote that?I think Congress has done a pretty good job this year, under the circumstances. It's hard under the polarization climate we have today. I am friends with many congressman from both sides of the aisle, and if elected, I would make it my chief goal to build bridges and work tirelessly with everyone. The church I pastor is 2/3's democrat and 2/3's of color, and we get along great. I enjoy working with people of diverse opinion and background, it comes naturally, maybe due to all the life experiences, the work I've done, and places lived. Building bridges would be my number one priority. This seems foreign in today's climate, but it's possible. I'm a strong conservative, but I believe in building relationships and making friends.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?We need to stay on the jobs issue, and do everything we can to promote Good Job Creation. We need good high paying jobs for those who get out of high school and college. When I got out of high school, if you didn't want to go to college, you could go to work at caterpillar, start out at $22.00 and hour, and that was 1980. We have to change this and get back to good high paying jobs. I also think we need to be working harder on the addiction issue. Our kid's futures are getting hurt with bad choices and the traps of addiction. Education, skill and vocational trade training. Personal responsibility for our all areas of our lives, especially the younger generations, so they could have the best future possible. We should investing in a decade of rebuilding our national infrastructure.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Pastor Joel. Very disciplined, honest and nice to everyone. Always looking for the best in others.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?We grew up in the small town bakery business, getting up at 2:00am before school, 7 days a week. We were taught to work hard.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?To not make the same mistakes, to live a life of no compromise, and kind to all. To be noble in all areas of life.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Math? I quit high school, senior year, went through Teen Challenge, then after putting myself through college, working midnight shift at Continental Bakery, Mt. Prospect.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?To live a life of integrity, to not take short cuts, to be honorable, to treat people with respect, and to love and fear God.