Democratic candidate for Illinois House in the 19th District: Jeffrey S. La Porte

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The Chicago Sun-Times sent the candidates seeking nominations 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. Jeffrey S. La Porte submitted the following answers to our questionnaire:

TOPIC: Top priorities

QUESTION: Please explain what your specific cause or causes will be. Please avoid a generic topic or issue in your answer.

ANSWER: We are a community of working families finding it harder and harder to make ends meet. Sadly instead of helping to make that easier, elected officials tend to make it more difficult via taxation. Tax after tax makes it difficult for Illinois families to get ahead. Of course just saying I want to lower taxes brings up another question, how will we pay for programs that are also important. And that is a problem that will never go away, but we need to work it out. Because raising taxes without cutting spending is only a short term fix in my opinion. So my main cause will be to work hard to reduce our State Income Tax and Cap Property taxes.

Jeffrey S. La Porte

Legislative District:19th District State Representative

Political/civic background: Former Director for the Gladstone Park Chamber of Commerce, former Parent Representative for Onahan Elementary LSC.

Occupation: Police Officer

Education: Master’s Degree in Public Safety Administration.

Campaign website: N/A

TOPIC: Top district needs

QUESTION: Please list three district-specific needs that will be your priorities. This could be a project that is needed in your district, or a rule that needs to be changed, or some federal matter that has been ignored.

ANSWER: No response

TOPIC: Pension debt

QUESTION: In 2017, Illinois’ unfunded pension liability ballooned to at least $130 billion. Do you support re-amortizing this debt? Please explain your answer. And what is your position on a constitutional amendment that would reduce the liability of the pension debt?

ANSWER: How can Illinois politicians ask working families to come to the table to renegotiate their pensions when they are collecting hefty pensions for what is essentially considered a part-time job?

Most if not all of them have full-time jobs and can invest as they wish to plan for their retirement. The complete elimination of pensions for elected officials must be the first step toward a good faith negotiation to reform the system.

Elected officials should not be retiring on the backs of taxpayers and should not collect a pension at all. If elected, I will not accept a pension for the office of State Representative. I do not support a constitutional amendment. The solution to the problem has to be negotiated with the families who will be impacted by any change to benefits.

TOPIC: Minimum wage

QUESTION: Cook County and Chicago are on their way to paying a $13 hourly minimum wage. Many suburbs in the county, however, have opted out of the wage increase. Should Illinois raise its minimum wage from $8.25 an hour? Please explain. And if you favor an increase in the state minimum wage, what should it be?

ANSWER: I do support an increase in the minimum wage, but I believe it should be done at the federal level to maintain a level playing field for business owners. Forcing a business to raise their wage when another business in the next town over is paying a lower rate will negatively impact employees in the higher wage town. Businesses will simply do more with less. Raise the wage for 3 employees and fire the 4th in order to keep costs down to compete with neighboring towns.

TOPIC: Pot

QUESTION: Should recreational marijuana be legalized in Illinois? Please explain.

ANSWER: No.

TOPIC: Casinos

QUESTION: Would you support more casinos in Illinois, including in Chicago. What about casinos? Please explain.

ANSWER: I support a casino for Chicago with revenue designated for reducing pension liability.

TOPIC: Property tax freeze

QUESTION: A property tax freeze in Illinois has been proposed frequently since Gov. Bruce Rauner took office. What’s your position? If you favor a freeze, how many years should it last? Should the freeze exclude property tax increases to service the debt, make pension payments or cover the cost of public safety? Again, please explain.

ANSWER: I do support a freeze and I believe it should remain in place until the voters vote to eliminate it.

Bookmark the Sun-Times 2018 Illinois Primary Voting Guide

TOPIC: School funding

QUESTION: A revised school funding formula was approved this year by the Legislature and the governor, but a bipartisan commission has concluded that billions more dollars are needed to achieve sufficient and equitable funding. Should Illinois spend more on schools, and where would the money come from?

ANSWER: We can’t spend what we don’t have. So we either need to cut somewhere else to come up with the money or we just can’t do it at this time. I haven’t seen the commission report to give an informed response to the conclusion.

TOPIC: Guns

QUESTION: Do you support a state ban on gun silencers? Please explain.

ANSWER: Yes, there is no useful purpose for anyone to have a silencer.

QUESTION: Should all gun dealers in Illinois be licensed by the state? Please explain.

ANSWER: Yes, I believe that gun dealers should be licensed.

QUESTION: Should family members be empowered to petition courts for the temporary removal of guns from emotionally or mentally disturbed people who may be a danger to themselves or others?

ANSWER: Yes, I think its self explanatory. People with mental illness should not possess firearms.

TOPIC: Medicaid

QUESTION: What would you do to ensure the long-term viability of the state’s Medicaid program? Do you support continued Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act? Should the state continue on a path toward managed care for Medicaid beneficiaries? Should everyone be permitted to buy into Medicaid?

ANSWER: Medicaid is a mess and we really need to crack down on the abuse that causes us to lose millions each year.

TOPIC: College student exodus

QUESTION: Illinois is one of the largest exporters of college students in the country. What would you do to encourage the best and brightest young people in Illinois to attend college here at home? Does Illinois have too many state universities, as some have argued?

ANSWER: No response

TOPIC: Gov. Rauner

QUESTION: Please list three of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s principles, or decisions he has made, with which you agree. Also please list three of the governor’s principles, or decisions he has made, with which you disagree.

ANSWER: No response