Candidate for U.S. House of Representatives - Illinois 18th Congressional District in 2018 Illinois 2018 Primary Election.
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Get StartedI support abortion options in cases of rape, statutory rape, threats to the mother’s health, fetal anomalies. Learn more
Objections to “Plan B” type drugs, because in rare cases they could possibly abort a fertilized egg, are akin to “straining a gnat and swallowing a camel”. Title X funds should be available to groups that effectively make contraceptives available to low income women. Learn more
Government can help by never financially penalizing marriage. Governments should eliminate any marriage penalty in assistance programs so that two people don’t lose assistance by getting married to each other (e.g. the EITC). We can help families stay together by reforming our criminal justice that sends a parent to jail for a nonviolent drug offense (The U.S. has 5% of the world’s population and 25% of the world’s prisoners. Every parent who goes to jail has a family that becomes economically disadvantaged.) Learn more
Supports restoring Glass-Steagall type rules that separate banking and proprietary investing activities Learn more
Supports limiting the size of the largest financial institutions Learn more
Some want to drop the “forgiveness” component of this option. Let’s, rather, administer it better to help those it was intended to help. Learn more
Taxpayers should not subsidize school loans for schools with very low student success rates. Learn more
I support continuing funding for Pell grants. Learn more
I support more acres to be eligible for enrollment in CRP (as high as 40 million) or establishing a short term conservation initiative (Soil Health and Income Protection Initiative, SHIPP). SHIPP enrollment would be for 3-5 years, pay 1/2 the county CRP rate, be limited to 15% of a farm. Learn more
I could support a revenue neutral carbon tax. Learn more
If North Korea dismantles its nuclear program, the U.S. would sign a peace treaty ending the Korean War and accept an internationally recognized boundary between the two Koreas. As North Korea gradually dismantles its nuclear weapons, the U.S. would gradually withdraw from the peninsula. (U.S. has 15 bases in Korea.) This does not mean ending the U.S. alliance with South Korea or removing the U.S. nuclear umbrella from its allies in East Asia. North Korea would be free to keep its alliances. Any reunification would only happen under peaceful terms. Learn more
Sales of guns that are very lethal and have no use in sportsmanship, that are designed to effectively kill people rapidly, should be restricted. Learn more
People should not have unrestricted access to highly lethal guns. Learn more
Most people agree we don’t want unstable individuals or people with violent backgrounds to have guns. Until someone comes up with a better way than background checks to achieve that, we need background checks. I support no exceptions for background checks except for exchanges between family members. Learn more
Something no one should object to is ending the prohibition on the CDC collecting and maintaining data on gun violence so that we can at least have a more informed discussion about gun violence. Learn more
Supports universal Health Care Learn more
Supports making improvements to the Affordable Care Act Learn more
Both parties agree that foreign students who earn degrees from U.S. universities in science, technology, engineering, or math should receive green cards so they can use their education here and benefit the U.S. economy. The U.S. is only hurting itself and benefiting our competitors when we don’t permit such needed skills to be used in our country. Learn more
8 of 10 Americans oppose deporting these immigrants (DREAMERS) who essentially know no other country; immigrants who for all practical purposes are Americans. I, along with most other Americans, urge congress to get this done with a pathway to citizenship for these immigrants. Learn more
Both parties agree we need a new guest worker program. Americans are eating more and more fruits and vegetables but we are growing less and less. Labor intensive agricultural production, like fruit, is being plowed up and the production moving off shore because it is becoming too difficult to source immigrant labor here in the U.S. I support moving administration of agricultural workers’ visas from the Department of Labor to the USDA. The Department of Labor has proved itself unable to adequately administer these visas. Learn more
In early 2014 House Republicans drafted legislation for a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants who meet certain conditions. That or similar legislation is desperately needed now to stop these deportations. Learn more
Both parties agree there should be more visas available for workers with special skills that American companies cannot find domestically. However, we do need to confirm that America does indeed lack such skilled workers and that companies are not simply refusing to adequately pay for U.S. labor. Learn more
Programs I am aware of and support: Women Infants and Children, at home nursing initiatives to serve low-income first time mothers, child care subsidies targeted to low-income families (60% of poor children are in single mother households), universal pre-K targeted for disadvantaged families (which I assume is an expanded Head Start or a replacement of Head Start), nontraditional student education and training for working persons. Learn more
I am convinced that poverty in the U.S. would be far worse without programs launched during LBJ’s Great Society. Learn more
Ronald Reagan’s 1983 reforms were based on Social Security taxing 90% of our country’s income. We presently tax only 85%. To return to taxing 90% of incomes, Social Security income caps need to be raised to about $190,000. To Republicans who object, this was Reagan’s plan. Learn more
Cash transfers (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) and in kind supports (food stamps, housing assistance, Medicaid) are needed to maintain the welfare of low income people. But unless assistance builds opportunity, it will never be enough. Learn more
Supports cutting defense spending Learn more
Supports a higher minimum wage with targeted carve-outs Learn more
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