Soojae Lee: Candidate profile

Bio:

Name: Soojae Lee

City: Buffalo Grove

Website: www.lee4senate.com

Twitter:

Facebook: @SoojaeIL30

Party: Republican

Office sought: State Senate District 30

Age: 49

Family: Married to Judy with three children

Occupation: Attorney

Education: J.D., Chicago-Kent College of Law

MBA, University of Minnesota – Carlson School of Management

B.S. Accounting, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Civic involvement: Korean American Association of Chicago

Elected offices held: None

Questions & Answers

Would you vote to approve a graduated income tax? If so, what qualifiers would you impose and where would you set the brackets? What would the top tax rate be?

No, I do not support a graduated income tax. Illinois had been a flat tax state for a long time and if it weren't for the mismanagement and over-spending, Illinois would not be in debt.

How big a problem is the level of property taxation in Illinois? If you view it as a problem, what should be done about it?

Illinois is the second highest property tax state just behind New Jersey. The rising property tax is a huge burden for homeowners as they are struggling to pay the property taxes. While I am an advocate of great schools, we need to address the growing property tax.

In order to reduce and control the high property tax, we need a pension reform because Illinois' current pension contribution is about $9 billion is 2018, which is almost 25% of Illinois' annual budget of $38.5 billion. By reducing pension liability, we can redirect part of our annual budget for more school funding. We also need to consider consolidating school districts. Simply we have too many school districts which leads to excessive costs. We can reduce unnecessary expenses by consolidating school districts.

What is your evaluation of Gov. Rauner's job performance? Please specify what you view as its highs and lows.

Governor Rauner had his hands tied during last 3+ years because both Illinois senate and house was super-majority Democrats. His efforts for reform were stymied by speaker Madigan. However, even with this disadvantage, Governor has continued his push for reform and brought attention to the corruption prevalent in Springfield. Illinoisans are starting to realize the depth of corruption in Springfield and are working to root out the corruption in Illinois. Governor also spearheaded the Janus case which allowed the state of Illinois workers to opt out of paying dues to government unions. These are two important efforts that will pave the way for Illinois to move in the right direction.

What is your evaluation of President John Cullerton's job performance? If you voted for him for president in the last legislative session, please explain your vote.

Senator Cullerton has to be independent from speaker Madigan and serve the people of Illinois. So far, he has allowed speaker Madigan to control the Illinois politics and raised tax at every level.

Should there be term limits for legislative leaders? If so, what would you do to make that happen? What other systemic changes should be made to strengthen the voice of individual legislators, limit the control of legislative leaders, encourage bipartisanship?

Yes, there should be terms limits and I will commit or sponsor legislation or constitutional change for the legislative leaders and legislatures. An overstay in one position leads to stale environment and invites corruption.

How concerned should we be about Illinois' population loss? What needs to be done to reverse the trend?

On average, for last four consecutive years, Illinois has lost 30,000 to 35,000 each year. That totals minimum 120,000 people. We should be very concerned because population loss has multiple negative effects ranging from loss of tax base, loss of businesses and opportunities, and loss of Illinois' voice in Washington DC with reduction of congressional seats. In order to reverse this trend, we need to attract new businesses and keep existing businesses by reducing government red-tape and making Illinois business friendly. Illinois already has great resources, talent pool, and strategic location to potentially attract new businesses. However, high taxes and government bureaucracy are two major factors that we need to control and eliminate.

Please provide one example that demonstrates your independence from your party.

I am socially moderate and willing to work across the aisle with the legislatures from the other side. I am willing to consider all options on table so that it will benefit the Illinois as a whole. I am in favor of working towards common goals even if we do not agree on other matters. We co-exist in Illinois and a few differences should not prevent us from working together to make Illinois a better place live and raise our family.

What other issues are important to you as a candidate for this office?

Pension reform and fair re-districting. We currently have $250 billion pension liability but our annual budget is only $38.5 billion. This deficit is so large that the economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago suggested in May 2018 that Illinois should consider levying one percent surcharge on everyone's property value for thirty years. To put this into perspective, a modest home in Buffalo Grove worth $400,000 has property tax of about 3% or $12,000. If one percent surcharge is levied, the annual property tax will go up to $16,000 for thirty years. We cannot raise taxes on hardworking taxpayers of Illinois without eliminating corruption, patronage jobs, and wasteful government spending. I also advocate fair re-districting. Current Gerry-mandering of district is completely unacceptable as it allows politicians and the party select their voters rather than the voters selecting their elected officials, which is why we need to take the drawing out of the hands of the politicians and put it in the hands of an independent commission.

In addition, here a few questions meant to provide more personal insight into you as a person:

What's the hardest decision you ever had to make?

My hardest decision was when I decided to change my career and attend law school at 33 years of age. Up until that point, I had worked as a financial analyst and a consultant. It was a huge leap of faith as I had to forego my income and went back to school. However, I am glad that I made that decision.

Who is your hero?

My parents who immigrated from South Korea to give me and my siblings an opportunity for better future. They did not speak English and the assimilation process for my parents were very tough. However, they sacrificed to give me and my siblings an opportunity to succeed and achieve American Dream.

Each amendment in the Bill of Rights is important, but which one of those 10 is most precious to you?

Without a question, the First Amendment. Without it, the people are not able to speak freely against the tyrannical government.

What lesson of youth has been most important to you as an adult?

Hard work and not giving up. As an immigrant from South Korea, I was taught to work hard, fight for things I believe, and achieve an American Dream.

Think back to a time you failed at something. What did you learn from it?

When I was in my teens, I wanted to become a major league pitcher. I thought I was pretty good pitcher playing little league ball in my neighborhood. However, when I went to high school, I soon realized that I was not fit to play professionally. While I was quite disappointed, once I realized my limitations, I refocused my efforts at school work and other activities to improve myself.