Community Comments

Community Comments gives you an opportunity to hear about the issues and concerns that are most important to our neighbors and my response to frequently asked questions.

What are your thoughts on the General Assembly’s failure to pass a balanced budget?

The General Assembly should have never left Springfield without passing a balanced budget. Rather than considering the impact on our communities, our children, and our future, the leadership in Springfield placed the priority on protecting their political careers. We pay them good salaries to do a job for us, and they let us down. Now we, the taxpayers, are on the hook. That’s not leadership and that’s certainly not why we elected them.

The members should have told Speaker Madigan that they were prepared to stay in Springfield until the job was done — a job that they were elected to do — no matter the political consequences. Rank and file members must take control and prioritize spending and propose cuts. They should be more concerned with getting the job done than whether or not they will win their next election. We need members who will stand up to leadership and do their job in the best interest of the people they represent, even at the cost of their elected positions.

Do you support an income tax increase?

Illinois should not raise the income tax, sales tax, or impose any additional taxes on working families and small businesses. First, raising taxes would only further hurt the economic situation in Illinois. Too many families are struggling to make ends meet and living paycheck to paycheck. A tax increase would further harm these families and push some over the edge. Second, elected officials have not proven that they can be relied upon to make the right choices with taxpayer dollars. Rather than properly funding our schools or paying vendors who provide care to those most in need, our elected officials continue to create new programs and provide salary increases for state workers. At this time, I do not trust putting additional revenue in their hands. Third, and most important, there is no guarantee that revenues from an income tax increase would be used to improve our schools or be used to pay down our bills.

Instead of increasing taxes, we must focus on making Illinois a business friendly state so that we can retain current jobs and attract new ones.

Why don’t you identify a political party on your literature?

As a voter, I like to learn about the candidates and support the person I think will do the best job, rather than simply voting to support a political party. As a candidate, I want to give the voters a chance to learn about me, where I stand on the issues that impact Illinois, and what I can do to help our community. My hope is that, come Election Day, the voters will choose the person they believe can best represent their interests, regardless of political affiliation.

While I am the Democratic candidate, my political orientation is Independent. Like most people I meet every day, I believe we've been let down by both parties, and that we need to elect people who understand that and will put the failed partisan politics in the past to better focus on the challenges confronting our state. I do not agree with many of the issues supported by party leaders, and in fact, I have publicly taken a stand against an income tax increase and for limiting the amount of control held by the Republican and Democratic legislative leaders.

More important than being a democrat or a republican, I am a mother who understands the struggle working families face and the tough choices we all must make in this difficult economy. We need to get Illinois back on track, and that means elected officials must start putting people before politics. Illinois has real problems and we need people who will put partisan politics aside and actually do the work they were elected to do. As State Representative, my priority will be the best interest of the people of the 56th District, not those of a political party or legislative leader.

What do you think Illinois should do to promote job creation?

The fact is our elected officials have created an unstable environment that is unfriendly to businesses. For decades, politicians have mismanaged taxpayer dollars, financially ruined our state, and harmed the economic future of Illinois. It is no wonder that small and large businesses looking to expand or relocate go elsewhere, particularly given the fact that the Governor continues to call for a tax increase and the members of the General Assembly failed to adopt a balanced budget.

Illinois must elect representatives willing to make the tough choices and reign in our spending habits. We must learn to live within our means and pay our bills on time. We must find ways to ease our fiscal pressures and create a stable environment for those that do business with and in Illinois. We must demonstrate that we want to grow and improve our relationships with businesses and that we want businesses in Illinois to succeed.

Creating jobs and putting people back to work must be a priority for the people of Illinois, and we must demand that every single person elected this November commit to policies that encourage job growth and economic recovery. If I am elected State Representative, I will oppose efforts to increase the income tax on families and businesses. I will fight for financial incentives that encourage companies to hire unemployed workers and expand their operation in Illinois. I will push legislation that holds corporations that receive tax breaks and then move jobs out of the state accountable by requiring them to refund their tax breaks.

How can we improve the education system?

The people of the 56th District are fortunate to live in a community with excellent schools, but we can always do better for our kids. Through my work with the PTA, I’ve learned that parents and teachers, working together, can tremendously improve our schools. Improving the performance of public schools is critical and requires that all parties — parents, teachers, administrators, and members of the community — work together to make education a priority. Parents must take an active role in their child’s education and establish an attitude within their children that success in school is important. This isn’t always easy, but as parents we must get involved, whether we help with homework, meet with teachers, or volunteer at the schools. Teachers and administrators must ensure that our schools are safe and that the atmosphere encourages learning. The community must take an active role in supporting our children by providing adequate after school programs, such as sports and educational activities.

If you are elected, will you vote to support or eliminate the General Assembly Scholarship Program?

I believe that everyone should have the opportunity to further their education and have the ability to compete for public university scholarships awarded by both governmental and non-governmental entities; however, the program commonly known as the General Assembly Scholarship Program should be abolished immediately. Individual legislators have no business awarding scholarships, particularly when reports have shown some award the scholarships to friends and political supporters. Much like all aspects of state government, our public universities are struggling to find the funds to maintain a standard of quality that families in Illinois have come to expect. Decisions regarding scholarships should be left to the professionals at each university. Additionally, we cannot allow this special privilege for members of the General Assembly to continue. We must send the message that we will scrutinize every tax dollar to ensure that it is going toward services that benefit the public rather than as a slush fund for politicians.

What is wrong with Illinois’ budget process?

I have several issues with the current budget process. It is my understanding that the leaders of each chamber generally control the entire budget process and that the state’s multi-billion dollar budget is the result of negotiations between a few people. This is absolutely unacceptable. The days of legislative leaders drafting a budget in a backroom must end.

Members must be involved in the budgeting process from day one. They must go through the budget line by line to remove items that no longer help Illinois residents and the public must have adequate time to review a final budget before the General Assembly votes. The public and rank and file members should have a minimum of 7 days to review Illinois’ multi-billion dollar budget. The General Assembly should make specific line item appropriations for programs and expenditures rather than giving the Governor a blank check. This is the equivalent of a parent giving a credit card to a child and expecting the child to pay the mortgage and buy groceries instead of buying toys.

We must revamp the budget process, even if such a change is politically dangerous for the legislative leaders and rank and file members.

What do you think Illinois must do to reduce spending?

There are so many ways that government can help people, but we must learn to live within our means. We need to maximize every dollar and make sure that taxpayer dollars are spent on projects, programs, and jobs that move Illinois forward. We must go through the budget line by line and reduce spending. We must find a way to review each and every penny that we spend to ensure we maximize hard earned tax dollars and identify the areas in which there is a pattern of waste or overspending.

I have several recommendations and I am open to any and all suggestions to cut or eliminate state spending so that Illinois can balance its budget and reduce taxes. We must put an end to taxpayer funded programs that aren’t working or taxpayer funded jobs that are unnecessary or duplicative. In 2007 the Office of the Auditor General attempted to inventory all of the state programs and discovered the State funds approximately 1,750 programs, and that some are duplicative or could be consolidated. Also, Illinois should rebid state contracts and award them to the lowest bidder. It is time to put an end to sweetheart deals and special favors for insiders and campaign contributors.

I believe there is merit in zero based budgeting, which would mean that Illinois could only spend incoming revenue. Implementation would be somewhat difficult, but I support efforts to change the way Illinois currently operates.

Do you believe members of the General Assembly should receive pay increases?

A person should not enter public service to get rich, but rather should do so because they believe in helping the people of their community. Serving your community is a privilege, not a right. I have spoken with far too many people in our community who have had their hours cut or who are out of work all together, yet the members of the General Assembly automatically receive a pay increase each year.

We have too many politicians in Springfield who are insulated from the hard choices average Illinois families are making right now. Most of us have cut our spending and gone without in this economy. We pay our legislators a full-time salary, but many serve part-time and collect another full-time paycheck. I believe elected officials need to share the pain that the average Illinoisan is experiencing.

We need to implement a 10% reduction in salaries for elected officials. I also believe that pay raises for high ranking political appointees should be rescinded and future raises should be eliminated. These reductions will not result in significant savings, but will demonstrate that officials are sharing the pain many Illinois families are currently experiencing. Future pay raises for elected officials should be voted on by the taxpayers.

Contact me at Michelle@VoteMichelle.org if you would like to discuss an issue or submit a question.