In January 2024, Chicago Sun-Times/WBEZ editors emailed a questionnaire to candidates in contested March 19 primary races for the Illinois General Assembly, requesting biographical information as well as their views on issues ranging from corruption in state politics to Illinois’ longstanding pension crisis. Answers have been lightly edited for typos, minor grammar and consistency in styling, but not for content or length. Age was calculated as of Feb. 6, 2024.
William “Billy” Morgan: The people of Illinois deserve honest people representing them in Springfield. Recent federal cases have laid bare the ways in which greedy insiders have been able to use the system to their own personal benefit, and a juror interviewed after a recent corruption trial made clear that she viewed this as “a first step” because “we’re tired of political corruption.”
Illinois has no provisions banning conflict-of-interest voting, and recent reporting shows that millions of dollars have been paid out in pensions for lawmakers who are felons. This is just plain wrong. The Illinois General Assembly needs to create strong ethical standards for Illinois elected officials and take seriously the lessons learned from revelations in recent years. It needs to empower the Legislative Inspector General and enact wide-ranging whistleblower protections to ensure those who come forward do not face retaliation.
In addition, the General Assembly should consider legislation to create an Ethics Initiative to empower the voters to initiate and vote on ethics reform proposals. We should also fully explore public financing of judicial races in order to ensure that we do not face a crisis of confidence in our courts as has happened at the U.S. Supreme Court.
I will be releasing my income tax return as a part of this campaign, with full schedules, and ask that all of the other candidates in the 79th District do the same.
William “Billy” Morgan: The state must fully fund the pension systems every year and continue to pay a supplemental appropriation over and above the required amount.
For years in the past, the state did not treat a pension as a promise, regularly using gimmicks in the state budget that underfunded the pension system in order to pay for pet projects.
No more gimmicks, no more pet projects: we need to get back down to basics, balancing the budget, improving the credit rating, and doing what’s right by state employees. Fully fund and add a supplement.
William “Billy” Morgan: Creating jobs is no easy task. It requires building relationships with entrepreneurs and business owners, offering incentives that make Illinois and our local communities more attractive than our competitors, and an education effort that makes it clear that Illinois has be best, most educated, most hardworking workforce in the nation. Illinois must not impose overly burdensome red tape or bureaucracy on businesses, and cultivate a culture of innovation, experimentation, and entrepreneurship.
Gotion, which will create jobs for hundreds if not thousands of people in the 79th District, is an example of the hard work that goes into creating jobs. This new employer is on the cutting edge of next-generation technologies that are safer than previous technologies, and it is looking toward the future of manufacturing in the United States.
William “Billy” Morgan: Yes. The voters should chose their elected representatives, not the other way around.
William “Billy” Morgan: We need an economy that works for everyone and the infrastructure to make sure our region can compete. Too often, grown children of aging adults are finding it difficult in today’s economy to have the time or financial resources to take care of their parents. Young families, struggling to make ends meet, need a Child Tax Credit at the state level, that will make it just a little easier to provide for their children in the way they need. Property taxes in parts of the 79th District are among the highest in the state, and the people need relief. We need to focus our sights on these economic issues and not get distracted, not even for a minute, by the nonsense that’s surrounding us in the media.
William “Billy” Morgan: In 2019, when my local school board proposed a controversial plan to restructure the district, I worked with friends new and old to keep two schools open in Park Forest and University Park. Signs saying that “CSK MUST STAY” popped up across the district. It became a grassroots movement, with residents rallying for their right to have a say in such significant decisions.
Together, we stood up for Coretta Scott King Magnet School in University Park and Talala Elementary in Park Forest and against disinvestment in minority communities. We forced an advisory referendum, born out of tireless petition-passing and community solidarity, and the people rose up to ensure that any fundamental restructuring would be subject to the voice of the people. The people were going to have their say — after much hard work, 80% of voters agreed with us, and those buildings are still standing today.
The victory was a testament to the strength of our community. The people came together to make their voices heard.
The 79th District needs someone who will work every single day for the people, and who isn’t afraid to stand up to the forces who have forgotten that “we the people,” not the politicians, are the real power in a democracy.
