On the Issues

Every American deserves access to quality affordable healthcare. Our nation’s current system needs repair.  The Affordable Care Act now has tendrils in all business sectors and communities, and it cannot be repealed. So, it must be repaired! There are positive aspects to the ACA, such as eliminating restrictions around pre-existing medical conditions, and allowing children to remain on their family’s insurance until the age of 26. But having a medical insurance card does not guarantee access to quality healthcare, since very few providers accept this form of insurance. This issue is particularly common in underserved and underrepresented communities. 

Promoting insurance policies that work, and revising the ones that do not, is the first step to achieving better access to healthcare for all. Universal Healthcare is not free, just prepaid, and not the answer. The average tax bracket is over 40% in many Illinois counties that sponsor socialized medicine. My main interest and passion are policy and legislation, particularly for the underserved (rural and urban) and historically disadvantaged communities. I am certain I have a great deal to offer, through thought leadership, regulatory, and business acumen. I am confident that I can leverage my decades of expertise to effectively progress major legislative initiatives that will benefit my constituents. 

 MENTAL HEALTH 

We need to do our part and recognize the importance of adult and children’s mental health care. There needs to be an awareness and normalization of the concept since many are still fearful of mental health fluctuations. There is still a stigma around mental health issues, but we need to increase awareness of the ways they surface. Trying to help people feel less alone or teach them how to engage in self-critical thinking requires access to health care providers and services to foster appropriate treatment. There are many barriers to accessing mental health services. Getting more information is part of this; education can help decrease internal barriers to seeking care. Mental health is an important part of overall health, including physical health and quality of life. Whether the patient suffers from post-traumatic stress, clinical depression from isolation, or the stress of everyday living, long term care is urgently needed.

Strong education from early childhood through college or career is the greatest building block for individual success, and the foundation for our country’s long-term economic strength. To have a strong education policy, we must have a competitive and diverse K-12 education system with meaningful options to meet the needs of a diverse population of students and families. I support giving families the freedom to choose the very best education for their children, including public and private schools, charter schools and homeschooling. Every student deserves educational success, and I will work to increase the opportunities for our families and students. The cost of college tuition has soared faster than the cost of food, energy, real estate, or healthcare. 

If we are to compete on a global level, support for STEM programs will be vital. It is hard for American college age students to compete when, in other countries, Engineering degrees are 3-year programs that start at age 16, Medical Degrees are awarded with just 5 years of education that can start as early as the age of 16 and full-fledged Law degrees are granted to students who have attained a level of education equivalent only to a US bachelor’s degree. There are many other paths that a student can take, and there are more than 7 million jobs available across the country, that do not require a four-year degree. We may have to revise our system and focus on job specific education and vocational training that can be delivered through community colleges, trade schools, apprenticeship programs and online resources.

We must foster a pro-growth economic environment where businesses and workers of all levels can thrive with minimal government intrusion. Lowering taxes, deregulating markets, and encouraging innovation in all industries is necessary. We need to cut overreaching regulations, eliminate burdensome mandates, and reform and simplify the tax code by closing loopholes and cutting rates.  We must incentivize businesses to stay in Illinois and the United States, to ensure America remains globally competitive. We need to stop allowing taxpayer dollars to be thrown at ineffective programs. We must invest wisely in infrastructure, leading to large tangible gains and creating thousands of well-paying jobs. The government needs to step out of the way and let the American people drive innovation, open small businesses, and expand existing businesses. 

We have been a country that welcomes those who legally come to the

United States in search of freedom, democracy, and opportunities to pursue the American Dream.  We are a nation of immigrants and, as such, we welcome all that come through the legal and proper channels. There are many channels to enter, live, and work in our nation, such as visas for H1 (technical) and H2 (agricultural) workers and asylum in special and limited circumstances (currently only 25,000 annually). We must, however, maintain border security and keep our communities safe and secure. We must restrict human and drug trafficking. The opioid epidemic has claimed over 100,000 deaths, 77,000 from Fentanyl alone. We must start by enforcing the current laws that we have at all levels of government. We need to emphasize the value of safe and secure borders, as well as the need for legal immigration, because a country without borders is no country at all.

Infrastructure maintenance and improvement is a critical part of our District’s needs. Much of our current infrastructure was built in the 50s and 60s with a life span of 50 years. We need funding to improve roads, bridges, and highways should be spent on just that improving roads, bridges, and highways. Broadband, power grids and EV Charging stations are needed in the entire district, particularly in the rural communities.

Farming is not only important but is the heart of our district. Corn, Soybeans and ethanol production is a major part of our economy. They supply the growing global demand for commodities arising from developing economies and world population growth. We need to decrease new government mandates and regulations, revise global trade policies on food/ commodities security supply and demand. We need to encourage the Development and use of bio-based fuels.  Improving Insurance by adding July and RMA subsidies

Estate Tax to keep the farm in the family CDL vs changes to J51 (to allow river access/interstate)

Emanate domain private to govt, not private to private (winners/losers) EPA Wotus drainage.