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Michael Clark: 2022 candidate for Illinois House District 58

Bio

Party: Republican

Office sought: Illinois House District 58

City: Lake Bluff

Age: 63

Occupation: Construction Manager

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: 1. I support Term limits = The "changing-out" of People on a regular basis allows for new views and ideas and reinvigoration of the process.

I believe in Term-limits for both the Individual Legislator and the Leadership.

I do not believe it is in the best interests of our State to allow for permanent Politicians. Term-limits is a good start.

2. I would also like to review the "Voting process" of the legislature, to allow for more time to read and review bills and more time for Public input. More "Sunshine" on the details and impact and real costs of the Legislation.

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: I disagree with the Premise, "Federal Assistance" is simply more Taxation of Americans. The real problem is the Budget and the Spending.

The State spends too much and The Federal Money simply allowed for easier and more spending.

I believe the Budget needs to be structurally and systematically audited. It needs a more thorough review and then streamlined in order to be more accountable, more efficient and more affordable for the Taxpayer.

Revenue is not our problem. We already take too much money from the Private Sector for Public spending.

We should focus on the "Expenditure- side." The continued high-cost of the Government should not be accepted as a baseline for the next year's budget. But rather, managed more efficiently - this may mean reductions, reassignments, outsourcing, or even reduction of programs and services.

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 disagree with the focus- "Funding" should not be the Focus, but rather "Quality."

The first and most important goal of the State should be to provide a high-level of education for our students. This level should be "measurable" to assess the success or failure of the Goal.

The Funding should be secondary and viewed only in context of how it helps achieve the Primary goal.

More Funding does not always equal better education. The costs of the whole system - at each stage should be analyzed to see how it contributes to the end goals.

Let's focus on the quality of Education.

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

A: We need safe, secure Elections so that All Citizens can have faith in the results.

1. Eliminate Mail-in Voting as it is too easy and ripe for fraud.

2. Implement Voter-ID. This is a simple and easy way to protect the integrity of Voting. All Airlines, Banks, Major Institutions use Picture ID's. If Citizens need help in securing an ID, we should focus on delivering them this protection.

3. All Votes should be tallied and reported on the same night as the election. This extended counting period is problematic and creates doubt and uncertainty with reliability of results.

4. All Areas of voting should be equally accessible for both sides to observe the process in its entirety. All sides should be allowed to monitor and enforce compliance to laws.

5. All voting-related Documents should be legally and completely secured and easily audited for either side in the case of a dispute.

6. Finally, Election laws must be strictly enforced and violations punished.

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: In General, I support the State having the final word on many of these Social/ Culture issues. Our 50 states vary and their approaches to issues should more closely reflect their citizens. It seems to me that the Supreme Court has allowed the States to determine many of these issues and I support that trend.

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