Ethics & Anti-Corruption

Corruption costs Illinois taxpayers over $500 million a year that could go towards health care, schools, and paying down our state’s debt. We need a state government that works for the people, not one that works for special interests. I’m committed to holding myself to the highest standard and representing the people of District 102 only; that’s why I’m not taking any corporate PAC donations for my campaign, and I won’t take lobbyist money in Springfield, either. When elected, I will support legislation to independently audit lobbyist disclosure records, end gerrymandering, establish independent budget watchdogs, enact legislative term limits, and prohibit government officials from lobbying their former colleagues after leaving office.

Economic Development & Protecting Jobs

Hard working families are suffering, and right now, every level of government needs to use the resources we know we have to focus on relief and recovery for workers, families, seniors, and small businesses. My intention as your future State Representative is to advocate for laws that support working families, empower small business owners, and prioritize job creation. My opponent doesn’t believe in any of this, and he has an abysmal voting record for working families. I’ve been endorsed by the Illinois AFL-CIO, the United Mine Workers of America, the UAW Region 4, and local building trades councils, and I plan to work with them to create pathways to high-paying jobs for our young people. I also want to prioritize updating our infrastructure, including enhancing flood and tornado resistant water and sewer systems, to create thousands of jobs for Illinoisans and to keep our communities safe from floods and tornadoes.

Renewable Energy & Agriculture

Our farm has been in my family for generations - that’s why I know the importance of protecting our land and its natural resources to ensure our farmers and agricultural workers can get the best out of their harvest and so our children can enjoy the natural beauty of our land for years to come. We can incentivize green energy measures, such as the use of solar and geothermal energy, for schools and state buildings to increase energy efficiency and lower costs. I also see opportunities for our farmers in Illinois to expand their crop portfolio by growing, processing, and manufacturing hemp for industrial uses, and I want to be an advocate for these new and innovative solutions for farmers across central Illinois. Additionally, I am in favor of continuing Illinois’ goal of 25% renewable energy by 2025 and further expanding the renewable energy sector to meet future goals.

Health Care

80% of rural America is estimated to be medically underserved, and in an underserved area of the country we need to focus on keeping and supporting our local clinics and hospitals. Right now, all of our counties are experiencing a rise in COVID-19 cases, and fixing our health care system must be a priority. We need to protect families from the exorbitant cost of COVID-19 treatment and emergency care and ensure they can get the care they urgently need without worrying about the bill. Illinois families shouldn’t have to worry about the bill for prescriptions, either. Illinois successfully passed the insulin price cap bill but I believe this isn’t enough, and one of my priorities if elected will be to work on legislation that ensures no one in Illinois will have to choose between paying for groceries or their medication.

Veterans’ Rights

My father was a veteran who, like many others, didn’t have the support he needed and consequentially took his life. This is, unfortunately, not an uncommon occurance, and I know how devastating it is for families who lose a loved one because they did not get the care that they needed. Because of this, I plan to champion mental health service expansion in Springfield and support our state veterans programs to ensure that no one who gave their life for this country will be turned away from services because of budget shortfalls. We need to honor our commitment to the sacrifice our courageous men & women in uniform have made for us, and prioritizing mental health care and jobs for veterans will be at the forefront of my decisions if elected.

Disability Rights

I’ve spent a lot of time caring for my family friend’s son who has autism, and I have seen firsthand the struggle families go through to get care for their loved ones. It is extremely difficult to raise a child with a disability in a community where you see no opportunity for them - this is why I am committed to fighting for disability rights, services, and employment as a fierce advocate and as someone with family members with disabilities. We need to ensure our schools have the tools and resources they need to help families and students prepare for successful transitions to college and careers, and we need to improve Illinois’ in-home care system. I also believe that everyone can benefit from better access to career, technical, vocational, and adult education programs, and I’m committed to ensuring our job training is accessible to and inclusive of people with disabilities. Finally, people with disabilities are patriotic, hard-working Americans just like anyone, but far too often they are paid low or even below minimum wage for their hard work. This is morally wrong, and in Springfield, I will fight to hold businesses that pay sub-minimum wages to workers with disabilities accountable.

Budget & Taxes

Illinois’ budget process is the 4th least transparent in the country - that’s not right. I was raised to speak up and lead with honesty and integrity when I see something that’s not right, and I’m prepared to hold both parties accountable for their actions, including my own. I’m committed to devoting funding in the budget to pay down our bills, improve Illinois’ credit rating, and make sure we’re not only financially stable but prosperous. We can do this by capping agency spending growth, freezing pay raises for elected officials, and cutting legislator pay by 10%. I refuse to raise taxes on middle and working-class people, and I believe that we need to enact transparency reforms to ensure our budget process is overseen by independent watchdogs.

Education

After years of unfunded mandates and budget cuts to critical programs in our schools, it is more important now than ever to ensure Illinois schools are fully invested in. We need to make sure we have access to specialized professionals in our rural schools, and to do this I want to push for outreach initiatives and training programs to expand the workforce of special education teachers and social workers. We also must ensure our younger generations have access to high-paying jobs in our communities, and prepare them for these jobs by reinvigorating vocational and technical education in high schools and community colleges. Finally, I want to work to ensure our young people can pursue a college degree regardless of their family’s income by working to expand programs that alleviate student debt.

Civil Liberties

I believe the government has no place interfering in the personal lives of Americans. I will uphold legislation that respects our Constitutional rights, and oppose legislation that infringes upon our citizens. This includes:

• Preventing federal law enforcement agencies from spying on any Illinois resident without a warrant

• Ensuring the protection of gun ownership for responsible firearm owners, while focusing on preventing them from falling into the hands of criminals or those who are a danger to themselves or others

• Enforcing stricter regulations of tech giants such as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Zoom to keep them from harvesting data and personal information from unsuspecting users

• Oppose laws that encourage the development and use of red light cameras at intersections

• End profiling of drivers, pedestrians, motorcycle riders, or other groups subject to discrimination by law enforcement

• LGBTQ+ Illinoisans and people of color have the right to protection, dignity, privacy, respect, and equality like everyone else