Illinois House 35th District Republican nominee: Herbert Hebein

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The Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Board sent the nominees for the Illinois House of Representatives a list of questions to find out their views on a range of important issues facing the state of Illinois and their districts. Herbert Hebein submitted the following responses:’

Please explain what cause or causes you will make priorities.

Hebein: Lower taxes, less government, and job creation.

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.

Hebein: Taxes, Government spending & education

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

Hebein: I am for lower taxes, less government, no tax money for abortion and second amendment rights.

Who is Herbert Hebein?

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?

Hebein: Let the state become more competitive through businesses against other states, through lower taxes and less regulations Limit the power of politicians. Make it a state where you want to raise your family and to be the best state to start a business. we need more leadership in Illinois.

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

Hebein: For all new hires:

• Increase the retirement age
• limit on maximum pension salary
• no more compounding COLAs
• enroll all new hires in a 401(K) style plan
• politicians must also abide by those new rules

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?

Hebein:

• Give priority to the students of Illinois
• Lower the tuition of schools
• Illinoisans should receive all benefits before any other outside students
• Also reduce the percentage of outside students

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

Hebein: We have all the laws we need. let them be enforced by the police. Let the courts prosecute according to the law.

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?

Hebein: I will not pass the “fair scheduling” law, as it will add to more regulations and costs for businesses.

Should recreational marijuana be legalized in Illinois? Please explain.

Hebein: No it shouldn’t be

• There is evidence legalization of marijuana led to increased unintended exposure to marijuana among young children
• More use of marijuana would occur
• It would lead to use of harder drugs
• It would not increase the state revenue by any great amount
• It would put our young children in harms way, as the state of Colorado has reported

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?

Hebein: Stick with the action plan of the Illinois Dept of Public Health

1. Prevention
2. Treatment
3. Recovery
4. Response

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?

Hebein: I disagree with the act, because the end result will increase the cost of energy

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?

Hebein: It is working will for those who need it. I would eliminate the waste and fraud in the system in order to insure more dollars for medicaid in the future.

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?

Hebein: It is a concern to keep prisons running and funded. To do so legislature should change the management of prisons, fix the problem from within and hold them accountable: make it known there is not an unlimited amount of funds.

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

Hebein: In some situations it should be considered by the offense committed.

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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