Issues
We have many issues facing our country and just as many here at home in our district and communities. I plan to step in and take charge of areas that are most definitely in need of improvement, lending solutions that positively benefit the people with the most impact.
Community
I will work to develop the streets in my precinct. We need to see repavement, drainage improvement and work towards getting sidewalk repair and installation.
I am also looking to move toward forming neighborhood watch groups to keep our streets safer.
Education
Illinois schools need to prepare our children for the future. Better methods of student assistance, new technologies and additional funding are just a few steps that I would implement to bring a better quality education to our children. Improving Illinois’s schools is a top priority and I will work tirelessly to make sure that our school system is a model for the 21st century and beyond.
- Too many educators are having to pay excess amounts of out of pocket costs. I will work to reduce these costs by initiating funding/reimbursement programs.
- Standardized testing has moved in a direction that almost creates a barrier for our educators to adequately teach our students. I will push to implement new strategies of standardized tests that are less invasive and lend themselves assets to our children and the educators who teach them.
- I pledge to donate a portion of my salary back to the community by using it as scholarship money for students looking to attend college in the district.
Health Care
Health care costs continue to rise! While our pockets shrink the insurance giants continue to grow. I will stand up for the people and make changes in our current health care policies to lower costs and work to make affordable coverage available to our honest working Illinois residents and those 1.8 million Illinois residents who currently go without any insurance at all.
Since the year 2000, health insurance premiums in Illinois have increased by more than 85 percent. So not only do these unnecessarily high costs affect the people on an individual basis but are detrimental to our businesses. While most businesses pay for much of their employees health insurance costs it is becoming increasingly harder for them to stay afloat as these premiums continue to rise.
Taxes
Taxes are always on the peoples mind. Mine too.
Too many times are bills passed that increase taxes which are already extremely high. I will work to cap tax increases and utilize more efficient methods of disbursement and funding to make sure that what we do give is used properly and fairly.
Many businesses are also being overtaxed and I plan on working to lower these taxes allowing businesses to grow and create more much needed jobs.
Recently the government passed a bill to aid the struggling auto industry and new home buying incentives. Which is good, but Congress also decided to drop proposed funding for a state fiscal stabilization fund from $79 billion to $39 billion. This creates a problem when our state needs to balance a budget.
There are other alternatives and with your help I can make the changes necessary to keep our taxes down and our jobs safe.
Employment
Over the past couple years millions of people have lost their jobs due the recession.
I will work to implement policies that allow ease of entry for new business in the area, creating more jobs and a better economic environment.
Many of our local businesses are struggling due the economic climate as well. I plan to work with these companies and develop strategies that will allow these businesses to grow, create more jobs and stimulate the local economy.
Environment
I am very passionate about keeping our environment clean and that means coming up with and utilizing new clean technologies for renewable energy, transportation and energy efficiency.
Right here in our district we have teams that work to produce cutting edge solar solutions, a National Corn-to-Ethanol Research facility and state of the art recycling centers. I am committed to assisting these groups in their efforts to improve on our environment and will work to implement even greater strategies that better benefit our environment.
