Illinois Senate 27th District Democratic nominee: Ann Gillespie

Complete coverage of the local and national primary and general election, including results, analysis and voter resources to keep Chicago voters informed.

Democrat Ann Gillespie is the Sun-Times’ endorsed candidate in the race to win the Illinois Senate 27th District. She’s facing Republican incumbent Tom Rooney in the general election.

On Sept. 25, Democrat Ann Gillespie appeared before the Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Board. Watch the video above on why she’s running for the Illinois Senate in the November 2018 general election. She hopes to represent the 27th district, which includes the northwest suburbs of Palatine, Arlington Heights and Mount Prospect.

The Chicago Sun-Times also sent the candidates running for the Illinois Senate a list of questions to find out their views on a range of important issues facing the state. submitted the following answers to our questionnaire:

Please explain what cause or causes you will make priorities.

Gillespie: Addressing these four issues will improve lives for Illinoisans and make Illinois an attractive place for new citizens. From my experience keeping the CVS Mail Order Production Facility in Illinois, I know firsthand that addressing these four issues will also have a much greater effect on attracting and retaining businesses than corporate incentives and reducing corporate tax rates.

Investing in the future of Illinois by providing a world class education to all students, from early childhood through college. This can be achieved by assuring adequate and equitable funding including reducing reliance on property taxes, expanding opportunities for vocational education, relieving teachers and administrators of overly burdensome administrative duties and excessive testing, and restoring funding to higher education. This should also include career training, particularly in geographic areas impacted by changing industries and automation.

Establishing a fair tax system for the middle class. This will require evaluating the state’s tax system at all levels. Steps to achieve this include establishing a graduated income tax and finding methods to reduce the burden on middle and lower income taxpayers; having the state pay its fair share for education funding to reduce reliance on property taxes; extending the sales tax to discretionary services; and identifying other revenue sources.

Assuring that healthcare is accessible and affordable for all citizens of Illinois. This will require maintaining the affordable care marketplace including opening up Medicaid to users of the exchange. We must also ensure that women continue to have access to affordable reproductive health care and that adequate funds are provided for mental health, addiction treatment, and senior health care.

Continued development of the state’s infrastructure to attract 21st century businesses. We need to develop new strategies for funding infrastructure projects at rates which pay workers a living wage. Developing infrastructure includes the use of green industries and being conscious of our impact on the environment.

Please list three concerns that are highly specific to your district, such as a project that should be undertaken or a state policy related to some local issue that must be changed.

Gillespie: Eliminating the structural deficit in the state budget through tax reform and re-amortizing the pension shortfall so that the state can adequately fund education, health care and social services while reducing reliance on local property taxes. The passage of the new federal tax codes makes this more important in District 27, where real estate values and taxes are higher than the state average.

District 27 is experiencing major demographic changes that affect the need for a stable system of social services to help lower income residents and immigrants assimilate as productive members of our community.

Even though the school districts in District 27 are well off, misapplication of the new funding formula could leave them with less revenue than they currently have. This could cause increases in property taxes, which is the opposite of what this campaign hopes to achieve. Fully funding the evidence based formula every year is critical to meeting its objective, which is to provide more equitable funding for the schools in lower-income areas. Therefore the first step in achieving funding equity is repealing the so-called scholarship program included in the bill and moving the state’s commitment of $70 million per year to the public school system.

Who is Ann Gillespie?

• We the People Mt. Prospect, Liaison with Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky’s office
• Arise Chicago
• Tutor at La Rabida Children’s Hospital
• Site Leader, Lung Force Walk (American Lung Association)
• Northwest Suburban United Way Women’s Leadership Council
• Girl Scouts Troop Co-leader and Service Unit Leader (1990s)
• Election judge

• University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, B.A. history
• DePaul University, J.D.

What are the most important differences between you and your opponent?

Gillespie: I have completed a long career in business, specializing in health care, which gives me hands-on experience with what it takes to attract, maintain, and grow businesses in the state. My opponent has a theoretical understanding of these needs.

My candidacy grew out of a grassroots movement that is fighting for working class families on such issues as demanding a living wage for workers, healthcare as a right, support of voting rights, and upholding women, minority, immigrant, and LGBTQ rights. My opponent’s campaign comes from his appointment by the Governor and Republican insiders.

My personal and business experience is a primary differentiator between me and my opponent. It has led me to recognize government as a positive force for good, a force that can work to build a stronger middle class by addressing structural problems in the society. And I believe that we need to find equitable ways to fund this government to achieve these goals.

Illinois is now the sixth-most populated state, down from No. 5, after 33,703 people moved out between July 2016 and July 2017. What must the Legislature do to make Illinois a more desirable place to live?

Gillespie: Outmigration has been occurring in Illinois since the 1920s but for a number of years, the losses have been offset by immigration, particularly from Latin American, Middle Eastern and Asian countries. Net population almost always increased until 2016, but has been in decline the past two years. Population loss in Illinois can be attributed to two Republican policy decisions: Trump’s immigration policies, which have brought immigration to a standstill; and, Rauner’s budget impasse, which created major uncertainty in the state’s economy.

Two additional issues have increased the population outflow: high property taxes, which especially affects people preparing for retirement and is caused by the current tax system, and the failure to properly fund higher education.

Recognizing these root causes makes reversing the situation manageable. This leads to four policy steps that can reverse this trend: 1) stabilize the state’s economy as described in my earlier answer; 2) reduce the tuition costs of higher education in state universities and community colleges while reversing the brain drain that the budget impasse caused; 3) establish alternatives to college through building the Career and Technical Education Programs in high schools based on the business development needs of the communities; and, 4) invest in people and infrastructure to attract and retain businesses.

In 2017, our state’s unfunded pension liability ballooned to more than $130 billion. What’s to be done about that?

Gillespie: Benefits are not the problem with pension costs; the issue is the failure to fully fund the pension system over a number of years, aggravated by the Edgar Ramp established in 1994. When a balloon payment on a mortgagee comes due, the mortgagee refinances the debt. Like a mortgage, refinancing the pension debt at a flat rate over 45 years would save the state millions of dollars in interest and penalties. Yes, refinancing would be at a higher rate than we’re currently paying, but it would be less expensive in the long run. Therefore, the solution lies in addressing the root cause of the problem, which is the financing not the benefits.

It’s important to remember—and for the public to understand—that a significant portion of the pension costs are in lieu of paying the 7.5% Social Security and Medicare payment. Not counting repayment of the debt, the pension actually costs the state less than an employer paying social security and contributing to a pension plan alternative (e.g., a 401k match). Therefore, any legislative change needs to carefully account for this in order to avoid creating a new set of problems.

With this in mind and recognizing that we have made a promise to state and education employees, I do not support a constitutional amendment that would allow for reducing pension benefits in order to reduce the pension liability.

One last point about pensions. Although this will not solve the pension liability issue, I do not believe that elected officials should receive pensions. Pensions are designed for supporting people in careers, and I do not believe that one should plan on being a legislator as a career. For that reason, I will work to end pensions for public officials and will not be accepting a pension as legislator.

From 2000 to 2016, the number of Illinois residents who enrolled as college freshmen outside the state increased by 73% (20,507 to 35,445). Why are so many more Illinois residents going to college elsewhere? What should be done to encourage more of them to go to school here?

Gillespie: Students are leaving the state due to the increasing costs of tuition and the uncertainty of future funding to state colleges and universities, as well as state funded MAP grants. The first step in keeping students in the state is to allocate more funding for higher education. We should also consider streamlining the state’s university system to reduce duplication in education programs while ensuring that every region in the state retains the programs that students are interested in.

Reducing in-state tuition is critical, as many out of state schools (including Big Ten schools) are less expensive than the University of Illinois. A second source of revenue that helps subsidize in-state tuition is the recruitment of more out-of-state students, which could also help grow the state’s population.

Dual credit for high school work also increases the likelihood of someone staying in-state and reduces their tuition costs. I support expanding vocational education programs to include dual credit programs, especially with community colleges.

What laws, if any, should the Legislature pass to address the problem of gun violence?

Gillespie: Regardless of what happens with gun laws, community violence will not end until we address the root causes: poverty, poor healthcare, and a lack of career training and access to jobs that pay living wages.

The new education funding formula is a first step in this direction. But social service agencies must be able to trust that they will receive fair reimbursement for their services in a timely manner. The Legislature can address this problem by investing in people, through budgetary decisions which support improving the education and social service needs of these communities in cooperation with the cities where they exist. This problem appears not only in Chicago, but throughout the state.

A recent gun trace report compiled by the Chicago Police showed the primary source of illegal guns in the city are coming from gun dealers in Illinois and more specifically, from dealers in the Cook County suburbs that border Chicago. Passage of the statewide Gun Dealer Licensing Act will provide a critical tool to help deter straw purchasing, implement anti-theft measures, and aid local law enforcement in firearm trafficking investigations.

I also endorse establishing criminal penalties for private sellers who fail to confirm if a buyer has a valid FOID card before transferring a firearm. Illinois law today merely provides a weak incentive for private sellers to do this (granting civil immunity) rather than any criminal penalty.

Tighter regulation of firearm transfers and sales is also needed. Intermediaries play a significant role in placing firearms into the illegal market and the absence of effective transfer monitoring make it all but impossible to trace guns back to criminals. Stronger requirements for sellers to track transfers of guns coupled with meaningful criminal penalties – including loss of FOID card – are needed to enable law enforcement personnel to address gun proliferation and violence. In addition, the law should be changed to presume knowledge of a firearm’s loss or theft after a reasonable period of time from when firearm goes missing.

On-demand scheduling software now helps large retail companies determine how many staff members they will need on a day-to-day or even hour-to-hour basis. The downside is that employees may not receive their work schedules until the last minute. Oregon and a number of cities have responded by adopting “fair scheduling” laws. Would it be appropriate for the Illinois Legislature to pass a “fair scheduling” law? Please explain. What would such a law look like?

Gillespie: I do support a “fair scheduling” law in Illinois. My experience running a production facility taught me that a lack of fair scheduling results in higher levels of call-offs, staff turnover, and negative impacts to production quality.

I would support a bill along the lines of “The Schedules that Work Act” promoted by the National Women’s Law Center. This act protects employee input into the scheduling process, provides instances where requests for schedule changes cannot be refused without a bona fide reason, and requires advance notice of schedules in certain industries.

Should recreational marijuana be legalized in Illinois? Please explain.

Gillespie: Yes, and it should be taxed as a new revenue source for the state government. Both through scientific research and statistics from states that have legalized marijuana, it has been shown to have less safety, medical and psychological impacts on individuals than alcohol. Further enforcement has needlessly resulted in disproportionate representation of communities of color within incarcerated populations, even though marijuana use is no more than in Caucasian populations. Legalization with taxation will both increase state revenues and reduce prison populations.

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Opioid overdoses and fatalities continue to rise in number. In Illinois in 2017, there were 13,395 opioid overdoses, including 2,110 deaths. What should the Legislature do, if anything, about this?

Gillespie: Opioid abuse should be addressed from two sides. For patients, opioid abuse should be treated as both a medical condition and a mental health issue. We need a strong mental health and addiction program in the state to provide low cost or free addiction treatment.

From the supplier side, we need to enforce existing laws against bad players. The existing government databases that track the prescription of controlled substances should be used to identify companies and medical providers which appear to supply and/or prescribe larger quantities of opioids. And I support the efforts of the Attorney General who is taking action against companies who appear to be profiting by supporting addictive behaviors.

The Future Energy Jobs Act, passed in 2016, is generating job growth in renewable energy and improving energy efficiency. Do you agree or disagree with the objectives and substance of the Act? What more — or less — should be done?

Gillespie: I agree with the objectives of the Act, which appears to be moving the state towards cleaner energy. As I drive through the state, it is clear that the incentives are working for producing more clean energy including wind and solar energy. To continue the effort, Illinois will need to address the new tariffs on imports of solar energy products from China by creating opportunities to grow solar and new clean energy products within the state. Otherwise, the shortage of supplies from China will curtail achieving the goals of the bill.

What would you do to ensure the long-term viability of the state’s Medicaid program? What is your view on managed care for Medicaid beneficiaries?

Gillespie: Ensuring the viability and expansion of the state’s Medicaid program requires commitment from both the state and federal governments. At this point in time, the federal government may be reducing its commitment directly.

One way to offset this is to permit everyone, or at least everyone who uses the Affordable Care Exchange, to buy into Medicaid. In this scenario, Medicaid would work similar to the way all insurance products work. Expanding the program to the public increases the pool of healthy people participating in the program.

As the former director of a state-wide HMO industry association and lawyer to an early HMO, I know that managed care can be an effective method for holding down costs while providing quality care. So I believe that continued expansion of the state’s managed care program is desirable. However, such expansion must take into consideration accessibility to care, careful monitoring of managed care contractors and insuring administrative overhead does not end up costing the state more in the long run.

Underfunding at the Department of Corrections has led to troubling findings by the auditor general that many inmates don’t receive services or opportunities for work while incarcerated. Is this a legitimate concern? What should the Legislature do?

Gillespie: Access to services and opportunities to work are important to ease re-entry into society and reduce risk of recidivism.

Research from around the country suggests that to succeed, any reform needs to be systemic, addressing a number of issues. These issues include juvenile incarceration in adult populations, pre-trial diversion, indigent defense, sentencing, parole, rehabilitation and asset forfeiture. In addition to these, reform should address the core causes of criminal activity that have resulted from divestment in our low income communities ranging from lack of affordable housing, quality education, and access to healthcare and social services, to a lack of jobs and business opportunities.

I support comprehensive criminal justice reform that takes all of these issues into consideration. I support working in a bipartisan manner to identify and address the root causes and best practices that are developing in other states, changing our laws to incorporate those practices.

One idea being practiced elsewhere that is particularly promising is to provide access for inmates to vocational education programs, similar to those I am proposing for high schools. If we are going to return inmates to productive lives in our society, we have to start by providing then with the skills necessary to reintegrate into the society while they are still incarcerated.

Should the state restore the practice of parole for people sentenced to long terms? Why or why not?

Gillespie: I believe that, given the right support and tools, people have the ability to change and become productive participants in our society. People incarcerated as young adults have the capacity to change, to have and support families, and to contribute to our society. To the extent that the vast majority of the incarcerated population is African-American, out of proportion to the general population, for many, poverty and structural racism created the environment for their crimes.

Assuming that we can reform the criminal justice system as suggested in my last answer, then many of those who demonstrate that they will become productive members of society should be given the opportunity for parole so they can rejoin their families and their communities.

Ahead of the historic 2018 elections, the Sun-Times is teaming up weekly with the Better Government Association, in print and online, to fact-check the truthfulness of the candidates. You can find all of the PolitiFact Illinois stories we’ve reported together here.

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