Illinois has 18 congressional districts, and each one features a contested race this year. Several include third-party candidates.
Congressional districts are determined by overall state population. Illinois, due to shrinking population, could lose a seat in the U.S. House, possibly two, following the completion of the U.S. Census.
To learn more about the candidates running for Congress, read their Tribune questionnaires here:
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Why should voters elect you and not your opponent(s)? Please limit this to policy and approach, not a biography recitation.
I have lived in the 4th District almost my entire life, raised my family there, led a non-profit organization and represented my community in elective office — I live in my district and my opponent does not. Unlike my opponent who supports Donald Trump and his policies that perpetuate the generational disinvestment in Black and Latino communities, I have fought to advance policies that would strengthen and protect working families, immigrants, and communities of color my whole life.
What are your highest priorities for Illinois and the nation?
We must enact significant immigration reform which must include a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients and DACA-eligible individuals, the decriminalization of immigration, and the restoration and protection of civil liberties and for refugees seeking asylum.
We must get a handle on COVID-19 which includes robust testing and contact tracing capacity, and a far more coordinated response and relief effort to the health and economic crisis that the virus has posed. This includes rent and mortgage relief, moratoriums, and extended unemployment benefits at the full $600 per week level. This also means we must significantly ramp up the availability and production of PPE and worker protections. Individual economic relief in the form of stimulus checks is also key for so many families in my district.
Finally, we must tackle the scourge of racial inequity that pervades our economy and society. This includes criminal justice reform and education reform to close the achievement gap and give all students a fairer playing field. It also means disrupting the school-to-prison pipeline to the criminal justice system. We must tackle the racial gaps we see in health outcomes and invest in more wealth building strategies in communities of color. In Illinois specifically, these investments can play a major role in reducing gang activity and the violence that plagues Chicago.
Assuming your victory, choose a single issue you would prioritize in the coming term – name it and describe what you want to accomplish.
I am hopeful and optimistic that 2020 will bring about a significant shift in political power in Congress — specifically the Senate and the White House. Assuming my own re-election, I would among other priorities, place an emphasis on building the necessary coalitions, political will, and political pressure to advance real immigration reform. For years, a pathway to citizenship for DREAMers (or DACA-eligible young people) has been the sole focus for many in the Democratic Party. While a legislative pathway to citizenship is critical, much more must be done. Congress must eliminate 5 and 10 year bars that have a profound effect on undocumented individuals and their families. Additionally, we must take key steps to repeal 1325 and 1326 to effectively decriminalize the act of immigration and return the adjudicative process to the civil code and away from the criminal code. Immigrants and refugees who arrive in the US are seeking a better life — we should treat them with dignity and compassion, not as criminals.
In 150 words or fewer, make a pitch for the presidential candidate you support.
Our nation cannot afford to re-elect Donald Trump and instead needs the steady, experienced leadership of Vice President Joe Biden to steer America out of dire straits. We are facing the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression, unprecedented electoral interference from foreign adversaries, a deadly global pandemic with over 190k Americans already dead, and a crisis of national leadership and corruption under President Donald Trump. Unlike Donald Trump, Vice President Biden understands, and more importantly — cares — about the suffering and fear that working people face in these pressing times. With experience from the 2008 crisis, and with Senator Harris at his side, a Biden-Harris Administration offers us hope, leadership, and a chance to build back better than before. This includes tackling the coronavirus with policies informed by science and addressing inequities in our society through smart, robust investments in communities long overlooked.
Are you prepared to take up real reform to Social Security and Medicare to ensure their future solvency? What specific reforms would you be willing to support?
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Yes, but ensuring the solvency of Social Security and Medicare starts by understanding that they are earned benefits and that cutting or reducing earned benefits for those who have already paid their part, is not an option.
In order to achieve future solvency, we must first reverse the 2017 GOP tax cuts, which place an extreme burden on our federal budget, cut back on run-away military expenditures and procurement, and make sure we prevent President Trump from circuitously cutting these programs by Executive Order.
I also support a Medicare for All system, which would take the success and affordability of the Medicare system and apply its benefits, and risk-pool sharing with all Americans. Doing so will further protect the solvency of the program.
What do you view as the government’s obligation, if any, to help American workers secure health insurance? Do you support the creation or continuation of a program, such as Medicare for All or Obamacare? Do you have a different idea? If you support a government-related insurance plan, how would you pay for it?
I support a Medicare for All system because I believe health care is a human right and a key responsibility of any government to provide.
In the United States, insurance companies are profiteering off the backs of working people while leaving more than 20 million Americans uninsured. Many more remain underinsured.
Additionally, the Coronavirus pandemic has shown that tying workers’ health care to their employment undermines the health of the entire society. The US is one of the only advanced economies without universal health care coverage. Our people would be healthier and our economy would be stronger with universal coverage like Medicare for All.
By cutting out the middle-man, insurance companies, and reversing the 2017 GOP tax scam, government-provided healthcare is more than feasible.
Identify 3 national security threats to the United States. Choose one and explain your approach to dealing with that threat.
Coronavirus and misinformation about the spread of COVID-19
Electoral Interference from foreign adversaries like Russia and China
Climate Change
Climate change is anthropogenic (man-made) and poses an existential threat to humankind. According to the Pentagon in a 2019 report, climate change poses a significant national security threat. Additionally, we know that climate change poses an immediate threat to communities of color and working class communities already facing the impacts of global climate change and environmental injustice.
Low-income communities face significant health consequences from dirty air and water. They also lack the resources to recover from the increasing extreme weather events like the flooding throughout the Midwest, the fires in the West, and the devastating storms that battered Puerto Rico.
The U.S. must lead the world in addressing climate change. We must implement plans to be carbon neutral and be leaders in the green economy to restart a manufacturing base and lead in green technology innovation and production.
As a member of the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, I am well aware that the transport sector is now the leading source of greenhouse gas emissions. That is why I created the Future of Transportation Caucus, whose mission is to push for equity, access, and sustainability in transportation policy. Our caucus was instrumental in fighting for innovative reforms in the Moving Forward Act (H.R. 2) including the unprecedented inclusion of a greenhouse gas emission performance metric to be used in constructing new roads.
COVID-19 has destroyed jobs. The economy needs to be rebuilt. What policy steps should Congress take (beyond stimulus money or bailouts) in the next year to create as many jobs and as much prosperity as possible?
First, the government must give working families and small businesses the assistance they need.
That involves the following:
Issue stimulus checks on a recurring basis for families who continue to struggle to make ends meet during the pandemic. Immigrants and children of undocumented parents should be elgibile for stimulus checks.
Cancel rent for workers who have lost their jobs, or provide at least $100B in rental assistance, as well as extend eviction moratoriums at the federal level.
Provide additional relief to small businesses, including restaurants and mom and pop shops, especially minority and women-owned businesses. Prioritize help for small businesses to keep employees paid and keep operations afloat through the end of the shutdowns.
Extend unemployment insurance at the full $600 a week. Anything less will hurt families and send harmful ripple effects throughout the economy.
In order to support economic recovery, the government must effectively manage the spread of COVID-19. We should advocate mask-wearing, support workers’ ability to isolate after being exposed, massively increase testing capacity and reduce testing result wait-times.
All of these initiatives were included in the HEROES Act passed by House Democrats on May 15. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s and the Senate Republicans could help the economy and families now by passing the HEROES Act.
When have you shown independence from your party on an issue of major import?
Throughout my first term in Congress, I have consistently voted against the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) despite a Democratic Majority in the House which has written some of the most progressive iterations of the legislation in years.
Despite efforts to reduce military spending, and increase military accountability, I cannot support a federal budget that prioritizes military spending, including a bloated Overseas Contingency Operations budget, over the aggregate of all domestic discretionary programs including funding for programs like Head Start, the Legal Services Corporation, or affordable housing programs.
Before we spend billions abroad, we must provide our constituents with the basic services they deserve and are entitled to, including quality and affordable education, healthcare, and housing.
If you are an incumbent, tell us the most significant accomplishment of your current term. If you are a newcomer, tell us how you as a rookie would keep from being a backbencher.
As an incumbent I am proud to have written and included over 14 provisions in the House-passed H.R. 2, Moving Forward Act. Through the creation and advocacy of the Future of Transportation Caucus, I was able to advance transformative as well as practical reforms to our nation’s transportation policies. These transformative reforms include: The establishment of an Office of Transit-Supportive Communities within the Department of Transportation (DOT). This is an office that will promote the planning and implementation of equitable transit-oriented development projects. The creation of a new ‘access’ performance metric that will help prioritize transit, bike, and pedestrian mobility while more accurately accounting vehicle traffic.
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Why should voters elect you and not your opponent(s)? Please limit this to policy and approach, not a biography recitation.
Our country is at a crossroads and we need bold, new leadership to fix the problems affecting our communities. Entranched politicians have passed harmful legislation that make it difficult for families in our district to prosper. We need bold policies to bring back jobs into our district, affordable health care, and true educational opportunities for every student.
What are your highest priorities for Illinois and the nation?
Bringing back jobs, making health care affodable, and promoting real educatinal opportunties are the highest priorities I will focus on as a congressman.
Assuming your victory, choose a single issue you would prioritize in the coming term – name it and describe what you want to accomplish.
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Passing pro-growth, pro-job policies, reducing red-tape, and allowing businesses to prosper will be priority. Providing job opportunties will allow us to fix crime and poverty and other issues affecting our communities.
In 150 words or fewer, make a pitch for the presidential candidate you support.
Every presidential administration is under tremendous pressure from the voters to make good on promises of economic prosperity. Unfortunately, their efforts, hastened by the next election, are all too often incomplete, misdirected, and corrupted by the influence of special interests. President Trump has done everything in his power to rid the system from corruption and special interests.
Are you prepared to take up real reform to Social Security and Medicare to ensure their future solvency? What specific reforms would you be willing to support?
We need to acknowledge that previous generations made promises to future generations that will cause significant socioeconomic disruption if not upheld. But we also need to understand that in order for these programs to remain solvent, significant changes must be made. We will ensure the solvency of Medicare through measures to significantly reduce health care costs. We also need to understand that when Social Security was enacted, the average life expectancy at birth was 65 years. Today, it is 78.5 years. Congress and voters need to acknowledge that it is only fair to the younger generations – who are trying to save and raise their own families while supporting retirees – to gradually adjust the retirement age upwards until it again matches the average life expectancy in the US. However, those who choose to take an early retirement at 65 should be able to do so with reduced payments and with no penalties if they choose to pursue work to supplement their social security check.
What do you view as the government’s obligation, if any, to help American workers secure health insurance? Do you support the creation or continuation of a program, such as Medicare for All or Obamacare? Do you have a different idea? If you support a government-related insurance plan, how would you pay for it?
We need to recognize that in order for quality health care to be affordable, the balance of Supply & Demand must be restored.
We have to expand the supply of health care professionals by ending regulatory bottlenecks & implementing innovative apprenticeship programs. Reduce the demand for services by offering every American access to no frills insurance plans, streamlining prescription refills, requiring copay for Medicare & Medicaid, and eliminating redundant distribution channels. Update the tax code to facilitate individual policies. Ensure that persons w/ pre-existing conditions can obtain coverage while economic balance is restored to the system.
Identify 3 national security threats to the United States. Choose one and explain your approach to dealing with that threat.
China, Iran, and North Korea are major security threats to the United States.
Due to the status of the dollar as the world reserve currency, the US has been running a consistent trade deficit for decades. But the deficit for manufactured goods began to skyrocket after China was admitted to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001. In the 1960s, manufacturing made up 25% of U.S. gross domestic product. It’s barely 11% today, and more than five million well paying manufacturing jobs have been lost since 2000.
We need to reshore critical manufacturing industries and confront China.
COVID-19 has destroyed jobs. The economy needs to be rebuilt. What policy steps should Congress take (beyond stimulus money or bailouts) in the next year to create as many jobs and as much prosperity as possible?
Every presidential administration is under tremendous pressure from the voters to make good on promises of economic prosperity. Unfortunately, their efforts, hastened by the next election, are all too often incomplete, misdirected, and corrupted by the influence of special interests.
When have you shown independence from your party on an issue of major import?
When Gov. Rauner signed HB-40 I was critical about his decision to sign the legistation.
If you are an incumbent, tell us the most significant accomplishment of your current term. If you are a newcomer, tell us how you as a rookie would keep from being a backbencher.
Entrenched elected officials have destroyed our communities because of lousy policies and I will ensure that Main Street Americans have a voice in the legislative process.
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email [email protected].
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