Mark L. Walker: 2024 candidate for Illinois Senate District 27

Bio

Party: Democrat

Office Sought: Illinois Senate District 27

City: Arlington Heights

Age: 76

Occupation: Illinois Senate District 27

Previous offices held: State Representative Illinois

How should the state respond to the influx of migrants bussed here from Southern states?

The numbers of immigrants crossing the Southern border has greatly diminished in recent months, so this specific issue is beginning to become more manageable.

The whole issue of immigrants and refugees is very complex and has a lot of significant impacts. America has mostly been a nation of opportunity for immigrants, and they have helped build our society. Our general approach should be to manage immigration as an opportunity for us all. We need to identify and process people more quickly to determine their legal status and appropriate next steps. We need to maintain places to stay temporarily to reduce the likelihood of homelessness. We need to get children enrolled in schools regardless of their temporary residences. Our local school districts have done a good job with this.

Economically, our local businesses tell me their biggest issue is lack of labor. We need to get these people a way to work, so that they can support their families and pay taxes.

Are you satisfied with the state's existing ethics policies for senators and representatives? If so, what about the policies should reassure Illinoisans that elected leaders abide by high standards? If not, what changes need to be made?

The best approach to achieving an ethical government is to hire honest people in the first place. Of course some can get led off track by ambition, a sense of privilege, and the attraction of power. We should consider the following controls: A greater prohibition on legislators working for companies, organizations, and advocates with government contracts or regulation, both during and for at least one year after government service. We need to better define conflict of interest for legislators, and require upfront reporting, recusals, and sanctions for breaking those rules. When donors give money for campaigns, office holders should not assume they can spend that on anything not related to winning office. That breaks trust with most honest donors.

Maybe most importantly: we should stop overly honoring public servants, with special titles, trappings, and anything else which adds to their sense of personal privilege. We are only “special” to the extent we sacrifice for the public good.

Would you support a requirement that election petitions include a line asking candidates for their campaign email address?

Sure, it helps people contact us. Most of us do this already.

How well do you think criminal justice reforms made in recent years are working? What, if any, changes need to be made?

The SAFE-T Act and all related reforms have so far been a remarkable success. All of the dramatic claims of the public safety apocalypse it would create were just so much fear mongering. Violent crime is significantly down. Part of that is improvement in the general economy, but part is also from addressing some of the root causes of crime. The bail reforms, where likelihood to be a danger to the public is the determining factor for pre-trial jail, rather than the ability to pay, has made us safer. Wealth should never have been the reason a dangerous person is not in jail. And those let out without bail have the same rate of showing up for trial as those who had posted bail.

There are many more improvements we need to make in criminal justice, including getting a better handle on gangs who commit retail theft, and car-related crimes. We will continue to work with local police to ensure our criminal reforms work as intended.

We now have an assault weapons ban in Illinois. What if any changes should be made to the law? What more can be done to improve gun safety?

I grew up with guns in my household, for personal protection and hunting. They were securely stored and unavailable to me as a child. I am well familiar with semi-automatic weapons designed for military use, having used them. I am shocked that we think we need them in our civil society. The days of needing a militia ready at a minute's notice, to help our small regular army fight against a foreign invader, are long gone. I will continue to support serious restrictions on personal ownership of assault rifles, machine guns, and grenade launchers.

We need to support all efforts to identify those who might pose a lethal threat to others, especially school children who are suffering mental and emotional challenges. That is why school counseling and social workers are so important. We need to get guns out of the hands of those who've already shown signs of deliberate abuse and threats to those around them, such as those with legal protective orders. Police can be our allies in this.

Illinois is the only state in the nation that mandates regular behind-the-wheel tests for senior drivers. Do you support any changes?

I support removing the mandate simply because national data shows that this age group is among the safest drivers on the road.

What personal qualifications do you bring that would make you an effective legislator?

I worked at various jobs to put my way through college (along with the GI Bill), and therefore can understand the hard work at low pay that much of our society does, as well as union membership. I spent decades as a senior corporate executive and strategic consultant in the financial services arena, and can apply understanding of operations management, leadership, and financial control in the legislature. I worked with and in multiple countries, and can understand the dynamics of international trade for Illinois. I have also had my own company, and understand the needs of entrepreneurs. There isn't much that goes on in Springfield that I have not personally experienced in entirely different environments.

Finally, I am committed to partnership and mediation, and spend a lot of time constructively working with Republican legislators, regardless of the national political mood.