Michelle Darbro: Candidate profile
Bio
Party: Democratic
City: Chicago
Office sought: Illinois House 20
Age: 42
Family: Married
Occupation: Firefighter Paramedic
Education: BA in Environmental Studies from the University of Chicago
Civic involvement: None
Previous elected offices held: None
Incumbent? If yes, when were you first elected?
Website: None
Twitter: None
Questions and Answers
1. What is your position on placing a ‘Fair Maps' amendment on the November ballot? If the amendment makes the ballot after the primary, will you support it? Why or why not?
Fair maps need to be addressed at the federal level. Allowing some states to not have fair maps, like the 21 Republican-controlled states that often do the worst partisan gerrymandering, while mandating that others have to have fair maps would exacerbate the issue and be an even more unfair system than we already have.
With so many important issues at stake, like a woman's right to choose, allowing special interests to have a voice in the mapmaking process could be disastrous. Anti-choice advocates could redraw district boundaries in Illinois to give pro-choice candidates a massive disadvantage, and since Republican-controlled states have shown no signs of wanting to slow down their gerrymandering, the assault on women's right would only intensify.
Regardless of how districts are drawn, mapmakers must focus on keeping neighborhoods in the same district. If we are serious about making sure that communities with similar backgrounds and values are being kept together, we must make sure that we are not splitting up neighborhoods into various districts. To truly empower all voters, we must look at all possible solutions, including campaign finance reform and expanded voter participation, in addition to redistricting.
2. What are the most important components that should be included in legislative ethics reform? What will you do to help them come to pass?
The Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying Reform has pointed out that there needs to be an expansion of the lobbying registration system. Those who lobby the state government, Cook County, and the city of Chicago are required to register, but those who lobby other units of government do not. Requiring lobbyist registration for all units of government will increase transparency and ensures that lobbying will be better regulated. I also support restrictions on the practice of lawmakers being lobbyists or immediately becoming lobbyists after leaving office. Public officials should use their time in office to serve their constituents, not to line up lucrative lobbying gigs off their connections made while being a lawmaker.
Unfortunately, there will always be those who try and game the system, which is why it's important that everyone works to help identify and close loopholes in our system. We must work across the aisle to figure out where our laws are failing and what we can do to strengthen them.
The people of Illinois deserve to have a government that they can trust is working for them, which is why we must crack down on corruption through strengthening penalties on those looking to exploit the system. Stripping pensions from elected officials charged with a felony, increasing penalties for politicians who commit acts of misconduct in office, and not allowing legislators to become lobbyists immediately after leaving office are all steps I will fight for to stop rampant corruption in Springfield.
3. What should the state do to address the still-growing problems with its key pension programs?
First, we need to ensure that we are not exacerbating the problem by not making our payments, which is why I will work to pass a balanced budget that has enough resources allocated to paying off our pension bill.
To address the growing problems with our pension program, we must work together to find common ground. The last pension reform attempt was doomed by its lack of consensus among the stakeholders and ended up being struck down by the courts as unconstitutional. We must learn from the mistakes of the past and find solutions that work for all parties, acknowledging both the promises that have been made to workers as well as the financial challenges the state is faced with.
4. Describe at least two circumstances in which you have shown or would show a willingness and capacity to act independently of the direction or demands of party leadership. Do you support term limits for majority and minority leaders in both chambers?
I am not a career politician or well-connected political insider; I am a firefighter who has worked for years to protect my community. I am not running to serve party leadership; I am running to continue my service to my community by expanding jobs training, getting a tax break for middle-class families, and putting more resources into supporting women. The working families of my district need relief, and I want to be in Springfield to help them, not other politicians.
I am open to a discussion on term limits. However, these discussions must address voter empowerment and having safeguards in place to ensure that term limits do not increase the power of lobbyists and nonelected government insiders but instead increase the accountability that elected officials have to the voters.
5. What should lawmakers be doing to stem out-migration from Illinois?
One of the main problems that Illinois faces in regards to out-migration is the continued loss of Illinois high school students who attend college out of state. Each year, Illinois loses hundreds of millions of dollars in lifetime tax revenue due to the loss of students, which doesn't even take into account the lost opportunities that come with having educated young people. Restoring our investment in college financial aid, which was harmed during the state budget crisis, which in turn increased the number of students leaving the state, will go a long way in keeping our students in the state and addressing our out-migration issues.
We must also address our tax system that has been pushing middle-class families out for too long. High property taxes have long been a contributing factor to people leaving the state due to not being able to afford to stay in their homes, which is why I am committed to easing the property tax burden on middle-class families and enable them to live comfortably in Illinois. Making health care more affordable and allocating resources to help support women are also ways that we can incentivize people to stay in Illinois.
6. Do you believe climate change is caused by human activity? What steps should government be taking to address the issue?
The science on climate change has, for years now, been very clear: climate change is happening, it is caused by humans, and we have to act soon to stop the worst effects from being inevitable.
Climate change is a massive issue that needs to be tackled federally, but there are ways for Illinois to be a positive contributor in saving our environment. I plan to sit down with environmental advocates along with the business community and labor groups to find ways we can responsibly expand our renewable energy use and create new jobs while doing so.
7. The graduated income tax is designed with the intent to reduce taxes for 97 percent of Illinoisans. Do you believe that will happen? Why or why not? What assurances can you offer voters?
Our current tax system is an enormous strain on middle-class families. Allowing the voters to decide whether or not the Fair Tax is the right solution is a good step, but there is much more work that needs to be done to bring tax relief to the middle-class. Finding ways to reduce property taxes and ease the burden on working families will be a priority of mine, regardless of whether or not the Fair Tax is approved by the voters.