Ted Gradel, 14th Congressional District Republican candidate profile

The Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Board sent candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives a list of questions to find out their views on a range of important issues facing their districts, the state of Illinois and the country. Ted Gradel submitted the following responses:

Please tell us about your civic work in the last two years, whether it’s legislation you have sponsored or other paid or volunteer work to improve your community.

I have coached suburban youth girls’ sports for nearly two decades. I’ve coached nearly 2,000 girls’ basketball and soccer games throughout our community, including cities like Geneva, St. Charles, Gurnee, and Oswego. I have coached for organizations like the YMCA, St. Raphael’s school, and the Illinois Rockets. In addition, I have been a board member and the Girl’s Program Director for the Illinois Rockets. All this work has been done strictly as a volunteer. I started coaching my three daughters and have continued my involvement to help build our community and pass along lessons of commitment, determination, and teamwork.

What are your views on the decision by the U.S. House to impeach President Donald Trump? Has the impeachment process been fair or not? How so? If, in your view, the president should not have been impeached, would you have supported censure? Please explain.

The impeachment is a political circus that hides a political agenda. It is disappointing that Socialists like Congresswoman Lauren Underwood are racing to remove our President less than a year before the next election.

How would you reduce the federal budget deficit, which now stands at about $1 trillion for 2020? What changes, if any, to the U.S. tax code do you support and why?

I believe it’s immoral for us to pass down this extraordinary debt to our children. Both Democrats and Republicans are to blame for the record deficit. The issue is simple: Congress continues to spend and borrow and then spend some more.

If I’d run my business this way, I’d have been out of business.

Our tax code is too complicated. I would like to see a simpler tax code that lowers the rates on the middle class so that we can grow our economy from the ground up.

What changes would you like to see made to our nation’s healthcare system? Would you shore up the Affordable Care Act or work to repeal it in full? What’s your view on Medicare for All? And what should be done, if anything, to bring down the cost of prescription drugs?

Our healthcare system needs more freedom and choice for patients. People should have the freedom to choose a plan that makes sense for them, they should be able to keep their doctor, and we need to encourage price transparency and competition to lower costs. Socialists like Lauren Underwood want to eliminate the private health insurance programs so many people in our district depend on.

The Trump administration is awaiting a ruling from the Supreme Court as to whether it can end the DACA program — Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals — which shields young undocumented immigrants from deportation. Do you support or oppose DACA and why? Should a path to citizenship be created for the so-called DREAMers? Please explain.

Our immigration system is broken, and amnesty is not the answer. The first step in any solution must be bolstering our border security. Without a secure border any further conversation on immigration reform is totally irrelevant.

What are the three most important issues in your district on which the federal government can and should act?

We need term limits to get rid of career politicians in both parties.

On education, we need to do two things.

We need to teach our students American history and civics. Too many of our children do not understand that America is the greatest country in the world and that freedom has created the largest Middle Class in our world’s history. Yet, too many students are taught either little about American greatness, or worse, taught a Socialist ideology that would destroy our country and our Middle Class.

Additionally, on education, our schools need to teach our children the skills they will need to succeed in a 21st-century economy. Rising wages are strongly correlated to the right education skills whether it’s vocational education, a college, or a number of other paths. But, simply earning a degree does not guarantee American success. Our children need to learn the skills to be successful in a global economy where we are competing with countries across the world.

Finally, we need to audit every dime. The federal government wastes billions and creates a corruption tax we all pay. We can eliminate the deficit which will allow us to lower taxes and rebuild our military while preserving important government services.

What is the biggest difference between you and your opponent(s)?

I haven’t spent a career in Springfield or Washington, DC. I’m a political outsider, not a politician. I’ve spent my life as a husband, a father, a coach, and in the private sector.

What action should Congress take, if any, to reduce gun violence?

The violence we’ve seen in our schools and in our communities is a real tragedy, but we need to get the politics out of this conversation. We have major problems with mental health and crime that need to be at the forefront of this debate.

Is climate change real? Is it significantly man-made? Is it a threat to humankind? What if anything should Congress and the federal government do about it?

As soon as Lauren Underwood and the Socialists took control of Congress they openly stated their “Green New Deal,” isn’t about the environment.

In fact, one of its authors—Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s chief staffer—said, “The interesting thing about the Green New Deal, is it wasn’t originally a climate thing at all… We really think of it as a how-do-you-change-the-entire-economy thing.” Their proposal they said was really about, “social, economic, racial, regional and gender-based justice and equality and cooperative and public ownership.”

Their price tag for this? $93 trillion.

We should not destroy America’s Middle Class in exchange for picking a few select billionaires who will profiteer off of this. I am disappointed with how this serious issue has been distorted.

What should Congress do to ensure the solvency of Social Security and Medicare?

If Congress can rein in their wasteful spending on unnecessary programs and a bloated federal government, then we can use our tax dollars to shore up important programs like Social Security and Medicare.

What should Congress do to address the student loan crisis? Would you use the word “crisis”?

Student loan costs are too high and government intervention continues to drive those rates even higher. We need to bring the same principles that make our economy thrive into student loans. Promoting competition and choice will bring costs down naturally.

What should our nation’s relationship be with Russia?

When there is mutual interest like combatting terrorism we should work together, but Russia has not been a friend to the United States and we need to hold them accountable for their aggressions against the free world.

What’s your view on the use of tariffs in international commerce? Has President Trump imposed tariffs properly and effectively? Please explain.

Chinese aggression against our country has gone on for too long. The Chinese government steals American intellectual property, commits currency manipulation, violates trade agreements, not to mention the oppressive treatment of their own people.

Does the United States have a responsibility to promote democracy in other countries? Please explain.

Americans are fortunate to live in a beacon of freedom and opportunity for the world. I support the promotion of those principles and hope that one day every person in this world has the same wonderful gift of freedom that we enjoy every day.

What should Congress do to limit the proliferation of nuclear arms?

I support the use of sanctions and other economic pressure points to keep nuclear weapons away from dangerous terrorist states.

Please list all relatives on public or campaign payrolls and their jobs on those payrolls.

Zero.

What historical figure from Illinois, other than Abraham Lincoln (because everybody’s big on Abe), do you most admire or draw inspiration from? Please explain.

Ronald Reagan – a true patriot who defeated communism and led our nation through 8 years of peace and prosperity.

What’s your favorite TV, streaming or web-based show of all time. Why?

I love the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary series, the show highlights athletes and teams overcoming adversity. Sports have always brought my family together. Whether it’s cheering on my daughters as they shoot hoops, run, or box, I am proud of their hard work and accomplishments.