Yehiel Mark Kalish, Illinois House 16th District candidate profile

Candidate profile

Yehiel Mark Kalish

Running for: 16th House District

Political/civic background: Appointed to the 16th House seat in January of 2019. I have worked in issue advocacy for a duration of seventeen years prior with a focus on Education.

Occupation: I serve as state representative of the 16th house district in Illinois.

Education: Bachelors in Talmudic Studies from Hebrew Theological College; Master’s Public Administration with focus of Non-Profit and Leadership from Walden University.

Campaign website: www.kalishforrep.com

Facebook: @kalishforrep

Twitter: @kalishforrep

The Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Board sent candidates for the Illinois House of Representatives a list of questions to find out their views on a range of important issues facing Illinois and their districts. Yehiel Mark Kalish submitted the following responses:

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

During my first legislative session, I backed a bold progressive agenda for Illinois. I supported a number of progressive reforms including Senate Bill 1, to increase the minimum wage to $15; House Bill 156, which reins in the cost of prescriptions drugs; House Bill 471, to cap skyrocketing healthcare premiums; Senate Bill 262, a budget that provides more than $350 million in new funding for public schools; House Bill 687, which would set the rates for a progressive income tax in Illinois and finally require the most affluent to pay their fair share; and House Bill 1438, which legalizes cannabis and passes social justice reforms to ensure that thousands of non-violent drug offenders receive a second chance.

Please list three concerns that are specific to your district, such as a project that should be undertaken or a state policy related to an important local issue that should be revised.

While I go door to door I hear many concerns from my constituents including making healthcare more affordable, ensuring that our local schools have the funds they need to thrive and improving public transit.

Our area is in dire need of more funding for infrastructure in order to rehabilitate roads, waterlines, and public transportation.

I would prioritize public transit as the first priority, as the 16th District has no Metra stations. For example, people who live in Lincolnwood are forced to take two busses and a train in order to get downtown.

What are your other top legislative priorities?

During the last legislative session the only bill I introduced that did not pass both chambers is HB122, the Behavioral Ombudsman Bill. This piece of legislation would create the office of Ombudsman under the Department of Human Services that would ensure mental health patients are receiving the exact benefits they are afforded under the law. I hope to pass this legislation through the senate in this coming Spring session with the help of Senator Fine.

In addition to passing this important proposal, I intend to continue my work to enact a bold progressive agenda to build a better future for Illinois by making healthcare more accessible and affordable, giving our schools the resources they need to thrive, and creating an economy that puts middle-class families first.

What is your position on Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s proposed graduated income tax? Please explain.

I co-sponsored and supported the Fair Tax Act. We must protect working families and make our tax system fairer and the Fair Tax will do just that. Under Governor Pritzker’s plan, 97% of taxpayers will see some tax relief while providing the state with the needed funds to meet our pension obligations, pay our bills and fund social services, education and other important services. It’s past time for the wealthiest residents in Illinois to pay their fair share so we can fund our schools and fully fund other vital state services.

Illinois continues to struggle financially, with a backlog of unpaid bills that tops $6 billion. In addition to a progressive state income tax — or in lieu of such a tax — what should the state do to pay its bills, meet its pension obligations and fund core services such as higher education?

I am a strong supporter of the Fair Tax and believe this will help the state pay its bills, meet its pension obligations and fund core services including higher education. I also support the reinstatement of the Corporate Head Tax in Chicago and think it will help many programs in need of additional funding, including but not limited to higher education.

Additionally, I supported a budget that commits more than $1 billion dollars to paying down the state’s backlog of bills and prioritizes vital state services like breast cancer screenings and childcare.

Should Illinois consider taxing the retirement incomes of its very wealthiest residents, as most states do? And your argument is?

I am opposed to a retirement tax. First and foremost I believe the state should adopt a Fair Tax that will finally require the wealthy to pay their fair share.

What can Illinois do to improve its elementary and high schools?

Good school systems should be a top priority for every mayor and elected official. This starts by fully funding our schools, the budget that I supported provided $350 million more funds to local schools.

While this is a good first step there is still more work to be done. We need to reform our TIF programs to ensure that more funds from TIF surpluses are allocated to our local schools, so that we can hire an adequate amount of staff and provide needed services. We must give our children the educational opportunities that they deserve.

Mass shootings and gun violence plague America. What can or should the Legislature do, if anything, to address this problem in Illinois?

Mass shootings and gun violence is one of the issues I am most passionate about. High-caliber guns with no sporting purpose have no place in our communities. Further, the best way to keep violent offenders from obtaining guns is to require comprehensive background checks. I want to work with Illinois law enforcement to make sure every gun purchase undergoes a thorough background check and ban military-assault weapons. These are two common sense reforms that would have a major impact. We cannot continue to lose so many people and children to senseless gun violence.

Do you favor or oppose term limits for any elected official in Illinois? Please explain.

I support the idea of term limits generally, however, I think that it’s important that we closely examine any proposal to ensure that it does not have unintended consequences that will give more influence to lobbyists and insiders who are not able to be held accountable by voters.

Everybody says gerrymandering is bad, but the party in power in every state — Democrats in Illinois — resist doing anything about it. Or do we have that wrong? What should be done?

I believe that partisan gerrymandering is not the way the system should work and I support Governor Pritzker’s idea to amend the state constitution to create an independent commission to draw legislative maps to ensure we have fair maps in the State of Illinois. However, any conversation about redistricting reform must start with ensuring that minority voters and voices are not disenfranchised or silenced.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago is investigating possible official corruption by state and local officials. This prompted the Legislature to pass an ethics reform measure to amend the Lobbyist Registration Act (SB 1639). It was signed into law in December. What’s your take on this and what more should be done?

I voted in favor of SB 1639 and agree that the ethics reforms included in the legislation were long overdue. I think more transparency in lobbyist and legislators’ disclosures is a step in the right direction and moving forward it is important that we continue to ensure that there is transparency in our statehouse for both lobbyists and legislators.

When people use the internet and wireless devices, companies collect data about us. Oftentimes, the information is sold to other companies, which can use it to track our movements or invade our privacy in other ways. When companies share this data, we also face a greater risk of identity theft. What should the Legislature do, if anything?

We must protect our privacy and data from being sold to third parties and other companies. We have a right to privacy when using the internet and wireless devices that must be protected by internet and wireless providers as well as the manufacturers of the devices. I would like to see legislation at the state level that puts limits on what types of information can be shared and to who as well as ensure that citizens know exactly who is being given their data.

The number of Illinois public high school graduates who enroll in out-of-state universities continues to climb. What can Illinois do to make its state universities more attractive to Illinois high school students?

It is critical that we adequately fund all of our public universities so that they have the ability to compete with the institutions in other surrounding states. Illinois has much to offer high school graduates not just from Illinois but also from other states. Ensuring our universities have funding needed to improve facilities, hire the best staff and professors and provide a wide variety of services and programs to students will enable our universities to retain more in-state high school graduates and attract out-of-state high school graduates.

Additionally, we need to prioritize funding programs like MAP grants that will help ensure that young people can fulfill their dreams of going to college.

What is your top legislative priority with respect to the environment?

My top legislative priority with respect to the environment is passing the Illinois Clean Energy Jobs Act (HB 3624). I am a co-sponsor of this legislation that would promote jobs and economic opportunity as well as ensure that Illinois reach 100% renewable energy by 2050. The legislation would also achieve a carbon-free power-sector by 2030 and empower local communities to develop Community Energy and Climate Plans. A lack of federal action to address climate change and the environment requires that the states act quickly to prevent any further damage from being caused and start to reverse the damage that has already been done.

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.

I admire Hillary Clinton greatly as she has been an inspiration to me throughout my career and personal life. I have had a chance to work with her and on her behalf, and witnessed firsthand her intelligence, courage, and leadership. Her resilience is an inspiration.

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

While I do not watch much TV, one show I have followed is VEEP. I love the show primarily because of its comedic nature and the satiric resemblance to real-life politics.