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E. Dale Litney: 2022 candidate for Illinois House District 56

Bio

Party: Republican

Office sought: Illinois House District 56

City: Schaumburg

Age: 52

Occupation: Sports official, self-employed

Previous offices held: None

Q&A

Q: What needs to be done structurally to make the legislature more effective? What is your position on term limits in general and for legislative leaders specifically?

A: Illinois needs common sense solutions-budget and ethics reform, and term limits. Our families can't spend more than we have, the legislature must behave the same. The law requires adhering to a revenue estimate in the State Budget process, but the supermajority Democrats violate that law. The public must be able to see & comment on spending bills, passing billions in spending within minutes of proposing it at 3 a.m. is not a transparent way to conduct the people's business. Common sense rules prohibiting legislators from serving as lobbyists, implementing a revolving door ban, and empowering the Inspector General to be able to do their job and investigate wrongdoing are way overdue. As State Representative, I will sponsor and fight to pass meaningful ethics reform. Term limits are needed from the statewide offices down to legislative leaders and legislators themselves. The only serious opponents of term limits are incumbent politicians and the special interest groups that support them.

Q: Federal assistance has enabled the state to make important advances toward improving its budget. What will you do to ensure these advances continue when the federal aid is gone?

A: Illinois politicians relied on federal aid earmarked for budget revenue and mismanaged it to the tune of several billion dollars. Democrat legislators passed 24 new tax and fee hikes and tried to pass the largest tax hike in Illinois history, opening the door to taxing retirement income. Voters overwhelmingly said "NO" to the new taxes and rightfully so. We already pay too much in taxes and it is making it hard for families to stay in Illinois and for seniors to stay in their homes.

Legislators should be a voice for their district, not a political machine and special interests. We need sensible solutions that prioritize key functions, cut duplicative and wasteful spending and finally eliminate the automatic pay raises for politicians.

Q: To what extent are you happy or unhappy with the evidence-based model for education funding now in place in Illinois? How would you define "adequate" state funding for Illinois schools and what will you do to promote that?

A: I support state funding for public education, so every child has an avenue for success. The EBF (evidence based funding model) is a good start to ensuring schools are appropriately funded by our state, but the governor and legislature must make it a budget priority.

We must have accountability, innovation, and engaged partnerships between parents, teachers, school boards, and other stakeholders. If you want to know why schools have a crushing burden of unfunded mandates and in some cases are falling behind, just look at incumbent Rep. Mussman's voting record. National studies have placed Illinois 11th in the nation in K-12 spending and 20th in funding. The policies passed by entrenched politicians like Rep. Mussman are not working.

Q: Do you believe elections in Illinois are free and fair? What changes, if any, are needed regarding election security and voter access?

A: Illinois needs to ensure our elections are free and fair. Bolstering election integrity will help increase voter confidence and participation. I support election integrity bills like House Bill 1920, which removes voters from rolls who have moved, and House Bill 2598 which standardizes removal of deceased voters from rolls.

Q: How well has Illinois responded to Supreme Court indications that it considers abortion, gay marriage and other social issues to be state, not federal, responsibilities? What if anything needs to be done in these areas and what would you do to make your vision come to pass?

A: No changes occur to Illinois' abortion laws under the U.S. Supreme Court's Ruling in the Dobbs case. In fact, in Illinois, abortion laws remain among the most permissive in the nation, allowing abortion at all stages of pregnancy.

The only thing that has changed is last year Democrat legislators repealed the Parental Notification of Abortion Law. This removed a parent's right to know if their minor child had an abortion. A child needs to get a note from a parent to be given aspirin at school but Democrats passed a law that parents can be kept in the dark about a major medical procedure involving their child. That's just wrong. I support a parent's right to know about medical procedures for their children, with protections in place for children who have been abused.

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