Policy Positions
Here are some of the ways I will fight to make Illinois the best it can be.
Cutting Taxes
We all know it. Taxes are too high. I am going to fight to bring our gas tax back to where it was at the beginning of 2019. With inflation and fuel prices at record highs we should not be planning on raising gas taxes but lowering them to help the poor and working classes.
Reduce income taxes by reducing wasteful spending at the state level. Stop the bills that spend our taxpayer dollars on people from out of our state. Work on pension reform so that our state can honor it’s obligations and remain solvent.
Reducing Crime
Violent crime in the state of Illinois is higher than the national average. The people of Illinois deserve better than that. For example, cashless bail reform is a good idea on paper, it preserves the presumption of innocence that is foundational to our justice system. However, when people are committing any sort of violent crime, have missed a court appearance, or are a repeat offender, they should remain behind bars until a judge can give them a proper hearing to determine if they are eligible for release before their day in court.
Another way we can protect Illinois citizens’ rights and reduce violent crime is by enacting a Stand Your Ground law. Research has proven that Stand Your Ground laws along with allowing citizens to use their right to self-defense and to own guns for self protection lowers violent crime. I will fight for our rights to protect arms of law abiding citizens, protected by the United States constitution, and our right to defend our life, liberty, and property.
Fighting Inflation
Inflation has hit our entire country and everyone is feeling it. Much of this is due to our politicians in Washington. But there are things that we can do at home to help everyday people weather this inflation. Illinois is the 3rd most regulated state in the United States when it comes to business. In terms of our business friendliness, Illinois has dropped 10 places in the rankings over the past 5 years to rank 36th in the country. While we may not be able to control what they do in Washington, we can make the economy in Illinois strong so we can better withstand the storm. I will fight to make it easier for everyday people to start businesses and to have those businesses thrive in the state. Higher rates of self employment have been linked with lower rates of poverty and lower unemployment rates.
Allowing businesses to immediately deduct the deprecation of equipment in full the first year they buy it will help new businesses cut back on costs for starting up and existing businesses to expand in our current economic circumstances. This will match the Federal taxation rules.
Further we should be making Illinois as business friendly as we can to bring wealth into the state. I will fight to end the taxation of foreign dividends by the state. We should not punish businesses for bringing wealth into the state. We should be encouraging it so that there is more investment in our communities and in our state. This will not only help Illinois be the best it can be but also help our citizens fight back the inflation that is happening so they can put food on the table.
Responsible Government Spending
The taxes the government does collect should be used responsibly. It is a sacred trust that government too often abuses by not following a budget and funding side projects that don’t help our citizens thrive. Where I see the state failing the worse is in the area of our state’s education system. Teachers unions have made it so Illinois teachers are the third highest paid teachers in the country. We have seen teacher’s wages increase 75% faster than the wages of the average Illinois worker. Public employees shouldn’t have their wages increasing faster than the average citizen’s wages. While teacher’s wages have increased, our kid’s math and reading skills have decreased over this same period. The teachers union is now trying to gain the ability to strike over things not related to wages or work conditions. This is an overreach and it is irresponsible of politicians to allow teachers to hold our children’s education hostage over things not related to education.
Our politicians also need to be responsible with the tax dollars that are collected for education by making sure that, at the very least, half of the taxes collected go directly to students for education. As it stands, more than half of the tax dollars slated to education go to retirement benefits for teachers who have overseen the declining quality of our children’s education while they bring in more money for their own benefit. This is the opposite of responsible spending and it is a breach of the public’s trust. We need to make the state spend your money more responsibly. I will fight to bring trust and responsible spending back to our government.