Janet Yang Rohr: Candidate profile, Illinois State House - 41st District

Democrat Janet Yang Rohr of Naperville is challenging Republican incumbent Grant Wehrli of Naperville for the 41st state house district seat in the Nov. 3 general election.

Yang Rohr, a global data director in financial services, is serving her second term on the Naperville Unit District 203 school board after being appointed in 2017.

To explore her campaign website, visit janetforillinois.com.

The 41st House District includes parts of Naperville and Warrenville.

The Daily Herald asked the candidates a series of questions. Here are Yang Rohr's responses.

Q: Should Speaker Madigan resign from his leadership positions? If he does not resign, will you support him for a new term as House speaker?

A: My top priority is and always will be the residents of the 41st District.

In conversations with these voters throughout Naperville and Warrenville, the concerns that continually rise to the top include women's rights, healthcare, and taxes.

On these and other issues that affect the daily lives of hardworking, middle-class families, I would take the same common sense and data-driven approach I've deployed in my two decades as a business leader - a way of getting things done that has been sorely lacking in Springfield.

I will take the same approach if I'm fortunate enough to have a say in January's House leadership election. I will thoroughly vet all candidates and vote for the man or woman I believe can deliver results on the issues that matter most to our community.

Q: What are the most important components that should be included in legislative ethics reform? What will you do to help them come to pass?

A: Illinois residents have the right to know who their elected officials are working with, and the legislature must update its ethics laws to ensure that happens.

To date, there's been some progress. For example, the Lobbyist Registration Act's new electronic database is a useful tool that empowers citizens and journalists to hold politicians accountable. We need to further these efforts, including enacting additional rules restricting when former elected officials can register as lobbyists after their term in office and further increasing transparency in lobbying practices.

Q: What should the General Assembly do to improve the state's unemployment benefits system?

A: The fact that workers who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic have been unable to access the unemployment benefits to which they are entitled should embarrass all members of our state government.

At the root of the problem: years of shortsighted disinvestment in the Illinois Department of Employment Security, particularly during the Rauner administration.

As business owners and homeowners understand, preventions are cheaper than cures; when we make the necessary maintenance investments, we save money and set ourselves up for longer-term success.

In the meantime, every member of the General Assembly needs to work together to review, analyze, and fix current problems. Working with IDES, we need data to better understand the challenges, caseloads, performance metrics for the companies hired to help with the backlog, and the root causes of these issues.

From what I have heard from residents, these problems are still unresolved and wait times remain long. I will bring my data-driven background and long-term-oriented viewpoint to situations like these in order to understand the full picture and help solve problems.

Q: Should Illinois use a nonpartisan process to redraw legislative districts?

A: I support a fair, bipartisan, and transparent process that (1.) ensures everyone must work together and make sensible compromises, (2.) includes input from the public, and (3.) upholds the highest standards of the Voting Rights Act. The process should also be done at the federal level to ensure that every state has the same rules in place to make the process fair and transparent across the country.

Q: Do you support a progressive state income tax? Why or why not?

A: The Illinois legislature has already passed and approved the tax rates that would apply if voters in November approve a graduated tax structure.

We know that under those rates, 97% of Illinois taxpayers would see their tax bills go down or stay the same. While I've seen the slippery slope argument saying that this will allow for tax increases in the future, voters should remember that our legislators can already do this.

Whether our state retains a flat tax system or moves to a graduated one, we have a powerful tool to keep our legislators in check: voting.

It's incumbent upon us to vote our legislators out if their actions don't reflect our values and priorities. My own priority if elected would be to ensure that the middle class is protected from unaffordable tax increases. I also support any steps to lessening property tax burdens by providing more funding for education at the state level.

This is especially important for retirees on fixed incomes or those facing employment hardships, allowing us to de-emphasize large fixed tax payments in favor of tax policy that flexes better with economic growth.

Q: 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.

A: I've built my career in the investment industry on a foundation of independence and objectivity; this includes a large body of publicly available work. Speaking truth to power when facing multi-trillion dollar asset managers isn't always a comfortable thing to do.

But it's made easier because in my career and in those actions I'm guided by the unwavering principle and mission of helping investors and working men and women save more and retire with dignity.

In that same vein, my guiding principle as state representative will always be to make sure every vote and action I take holds the interests of the 41st District community as my number one priority. As a school board member, I've worked in partnership with all of my fellow board members, and each of us is guided by the goal of making the best decisions for our children. It's a nonpartisan elected office, and we all certainly have varying political opinions. But we look past those differences because of our shared mission - to give our children a world-class education and give them every opportunity to succeed and fulfill their full potential.

Q: How would you rate the governor's handling of the COVID-19 crisis? Does the legislature need to have more input and influence in establishing rules and policies related to stemming the spread of the disease? What would you have done differently, if anything? If nothing, please say so.

A: It's hard to assign a rating amid a truly unprecedented situation. I am grateful that Gov. Pritzker listens to scientists, medical experts and public health professionals.

Doing so may not be politically expedient, but there's no doubt that choosing politics over science results in more deaths and greater economic devastation. Looking back, there are things I would have done differently and decisions I'm certain he would also rethink, such as strengthening the unemployment benefits system to be more responsive and accessible to the needs of the newly unemployed.

Moving forward, the legislature should be more engaged in the decision-making process. These actions have a very real and profound impact on Illinoisans, and lawmakers should be able to provide input and better advocate for their communities.

As we have had time to reflect on the challenges presented by COVID-19 and the various responses, we are better positioned to make decisions based on hard data and facts, rather than the more reactive decision-making nature during the onset of the pandemic.

Q: Regardless of whether the federal government provides assistance, what is the impact of the pandemic on the state's economic outlook and what immediate and long-term actions should be taken to address it? Would you support increasing taxes to pay for COVID-19 response or to make up for lost revenue related to COVID-19?

A: Now is absolutely the worst time to think about raising taxes on the middle class. Families are struggling right now - and they are struggling in every community in our state.

Asking those already-struggling families to pay more in taxes is unacceptable.

When we work together - washing hands, keeping safe distances, wearing masks when close to others - we help keep restaurants and businesses open, which directly strengthens our local and state economies. We all want life to return to normal, but for that to happen, the virus needs to be contained; this can only happen if each of us recognizes the important role we play in prevention and protection.

As we face unprecedented budget challenges, we also need to work together to re-prioritize spending needs. It will require tough decisions and making hard trade-offs.

As someone who builds businesses and products, I make those difficult decisions daily - deciding what we have to do now and what we can save for later.

We must properly invest in our community's most needed resources - like first responders, healthcare and COVID-response measures, and education - while strictly overseeing every single dime spent.