Q&A with Sweeney

1. Why are you running for this office, whether for re-election or election the first time? Is there a particular issue that motivates you, and if so, what? What will be your main priority?

I am running for the State Senate because I am disgusted with how our money is being mismanaged in Springfield and how the 33rd District is being misrepresented. The legislature passed a budget in the eleventh hour that they knew was $2 billion in the red. The State has more than $3 billion in unpaid bills and cannot pay its bills on time; some bills are not paid for 6-8 months. The state is in financial crisis and legislators continue to give themselves pay raises and continue to raise our taxes to pay for their irresponsible behavior, but tell us they are working hard for us. They are smiling at us while they are picking our pockets and voters are fed up with politics as usual. The residents of the 33rd district deserve better than what they are getting. The 33rd senate district needs thoughtful independent leadership. My first priority is to work to bring common sense back into the State budget process. The State legislators need to live within our means and set priorities in order to balance the budget. The State's priorities must be education, veteran's benefits, pension obligations, road & bridge maintenance and public transportation not wasteful pet projects. If families are expected to live within their means and have to tighten their belts when times are tough, we should expect nothing less from our elected representatives.

2. For incumbents and non-incumbents. If you are an incumbent, describe your main contributions. Tell us of important initiatives you've led. If you are not an incumbent, tell us what contributions you would make.

I will work hard toward a responsible balanced budget. A responsible budget that will not list debt as revenue or include money received from fund raids. My opponent voted for Senate Bill 788, a bill that would allow the state to borrow $16 billion to pay down pension debt and pay for some of the State's operating expenses and passing the bill off to future generations. This bill would be similar to an individual using one credit card to pay off another. My opponent also voted for House Bill 473 and Senate Bill 790 which gave the governor the authority to raid more than $500 million from hundreds of special funds including the Sex Offender Registration Fund and the Toll Highway Revenue Fund. These votes are irresponsible and Gov Blagojevich cannot be trusted with billions of dollars he can spend at his discretion. I will actively advocate getting our State's spending under control. The governor has had to make painful budget cuts because he and the Democrats in the House and Senate spent more than the state brought in over the last five years. These cuts include $55 million to combat drug and alcohol addiction, the largest cause of violent crime in Illinois. Gov. Blagojevich's cuts also mean that Illinois will lose out on an additional $55 million in matching federal aid to combat drug addiction. Millions of dollars of wasteful spending is included in the State's budget every year and I will work to put an end to it. Members of the legislature need to learn that if you don't have enough money to pay the mortgage, you don't go on a spending spree. Our pension system is severely underfunded, education is clearly in need of reform, and our infrastructure is crumbling, but the spending habits in Springfield have made it nearly impossible to address those problems without mortgaging our kids' futures. Somebody needs to put the brakes on, and I plan to be vocal and persistent ... not just tow the line of my party leader and the governor when it comes to this out-of-control spending.

3. Under what circumstances, if any, would you support raising the state income or sales tax? Please explain.

There are no circumstances in which I would vote to raise income tax or sales tax as my opponent did. The State does not have a revenue problem the members of the legislature who control the budget process have a spending problem. Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes reported that from fiscal year 2003-2007 general revenues increased nearly $5.5 billion or 5.5% per year driven by an increase of 24% of income and sales tax. The state has sufficient funds to meet its financial obligations if the members of the general assembly set priorities and spend wisely. Cook County has the highest sales tax in the country and that is not a fact we should be proud of. Families and businesses are already struggling to pay their astronomical taxes, the last thing we need is higher taxes.

4. Do you support the expansion of gambling by adding slot machines at racetracks? Do you favor licensing and building new casinos? Please explain.

I will not support gambling expansion to fill budget gaps created by irresponsibly out of control spending. If we are looking to expand gambling to solve the state's fiscal problems the members of the legislature are not doing their jobs. You can't budget based on individual behavior. People would have to pay the State's bills at the slots just like people have to buy tobacco to help pay bills. It's an unreliable revenue stream at best. Raising money through gambling expansion to fill budget gaps will only be effective if spending is under control. If the state receives and influx of new revenue and legislators use this money on new projects they will only prolong the problem and we will have the same problems in five to ten years.

5. Would you support giving voters the ability to recall elected officials?

Voters should have the ability to recall elected officials. Senate President Emil Jones stood in the way of a recall amendment in Illinois. Emil Jones is Governor Blagojevich's biggest ally in the state legislature and Dan Kotowski can claim he voted for the recall amendment but at the end of the day he can't hide the fact that he voted for Jones to become Senate President. I would vote for a leader willing to get state spending under control and make fiscal responsibility a priority and I would hold them accountable if they refuse to do so. The ability to recall elected officials is not just about Gov. Blagojevich, it's also about irresponsible politicians like Todd Stroger that abuse their power at the expense of the taxpayers, who just keep getting nailed, year after year.

6. Did you support the suburban tax increases that were used to keep the public transportation trains and buses running without cuts or fare increases?

I did not support the sales tax increase passed to bailout the CTA. The state sales tax increase, which my opponent voted for, in conjunction with the Cook County sales tax increase, made Cook County the highest sales tax in the country at a time when families are struggling to put food on the table and gas in their cars. The sales tax increase put an unfair burden on suburban communities versus Chicago. Chicago receives about 52% of the new monies generated but only 33% of the new dollars are generated in Chicago. In addition State resources already provide $470 million to the CTA while Chicago pays only $3 million to its own public transportation system compared to; New York which spends $240 million on their public transportation system; San Francisco spends $324; Washington D.C. spends $205 million; Boston spends $128 million. The amount of the Chicago budget appropriated to the CTA is less than one half a percent, .49 %, compared to San Francisco's budget that appropriates almost 50% of its budget to public transportation. The CTA's bus operations need improvements. Ridership is down 45% since 1979 while miles driven are only down 14%. Total route miles have grown 143% from 1042 miles to 2529 miles in 2007. The CTA is running far too many routes for too few riders. Before any new money is sent, Chicago needs to pay its fair share and the CTA needs to be reformed.

7. If you are elected, will you vote for the current party leader of your legislative chamber? Why or why not?

It is too early to tell who I will vote for as the leader of the Senate Republican Caucus. I am not a member of the caucus and I don't know what my choice will be when it is time to make that decision.

8. What do you think of the idea, widely circulated, of impeaching Gov. Blagojevich?

I have already publically supported impeachment proceedings of the Governor. For five years, we have witnessed what can only be called a disastrous period in the history of our state. Gov. Blagojevich has refused to lead. The Speaker and Senate President have fought continuously. And we the taxpayers are left with millions in unpaid bills, a failing business climate, hundreds of millions in budget deficits, crumbling roads and bridges and a severely underfunded pension system. There is no sign of hope for the coming years due to the childish antics of our Democratic leadership. It is truly an embarrassment. I have publically called on my opponent to stand with me in supporting impeachment proceedings and to stop enabling Gov. Blagojevich and Senate President Emil Jones and he has refused to do so. Emil Jones, Gov. Blagojevich's closest ally in the state legislature, killed the effort that would allow voters to recall Blagojevich while my opponent stood by and quietly watched it happen. My opponent voted for Emil Jones for Senate President and his silence on his leader's outrageous behavior regarding recall has been deafening. I will NOT judge the merits of specific impeachment charges until the appropriate constitutionally-specified time and as State Senator, I plan to fulfill the required role as an impartial juror should House action eventually result in a trial. However, I WILL support the appropriate constitutional process when our leaders clearly fail the people they have sworn to serve, whether it's this instance, Cook County Board President Todd Stroger, or any other in the future.