2020 Voter Guide

Candidate Q&A

Why are you running?

As a mother, I cannot sit by and watch the great people of IL-02 being used, abused, ignored, and taken advantage of any longer. The blood of our children are being poured out on our streets on the south side of Chicago and in the South Suburbs, while the Incumbent Congresswoman and the State’s Attorney ignore their cries. Our leaders talk about gun control, knowing full well that they are not even prosecuting people who violate current gun laws. New laws will amount to nothing more than words on paper.

Also, as a mother, I am disturbed and appalled by the epidemic of school closings in our black communities. Poor test results and attendance rates are often cited as the reasons. Closing these schools amount to giving up on these children, while shuffling them around, disrupting their lives. You don’t solve problems by giving up on the children! You dig in and find better ways to actually bring solutions so these children can prosper, not slip through the cracks.

At a time when the rest of the country is experiencing an economic boom, our district is stagnant with the highest property tax rates, lowest economic investment, and cripplingly low median household incomes. Representative Robin Kelly, who is heavily backed by New York (Bloomberg) money and is controlled by Michael Madigan, focused more on towing the party line than fixing the massive problems hurting our district! She has proven to be an ineffective leader and has failed our communities and our people in IL02. We need someone with solutions already drafted from a common-sense perspective to lead out district out of despair and into prosperity.

What is your vision for this office?

My vision includes working with our state and local leaders to make sure we are reducing taxes. There is NO EXCUSE for the excessive taxes in Illinois. Our government’s failure to live within it’s means is NO EXCUSE to pass the bill to the hardworking people of Illinois.

My vision to transform our district from a depressed district into one of prosperity where our children are safe, our working adults are thriving, our seniors are respected and honored, and where people from other areas of the state and the country WANT to come to visit or to move.

I believe it is not too late. I believe that when we invest in our people and in commonsense solutions, there is no limit to the heights that our beloved Americans in IL02 can soar! We just need someone who has the vision to draft solutions (which I have already done) and the guts to turn those solutions into reality.

What do you think is the most pressing issue facing your constituents and how do you plan on addressing it?

It is impossible to pick one “most pressing issue” for my constituents because our district has been ignored, used, and abused for decades, leading to multiple crises that must be addressed immediately.

Some of the most critical are the crime and violence crisis, the educational crisis, and the economic crisis.

Economic Crisis: My plan involves opening up entirely new industries and making sure that our district is on the front lines of receiving these new, innovative industries. One such industry is the Industrial Production of Hemp. Hemp is NOT Marijuana. Yet, hemp can be manufactured into over 50,000 products, often of much higher quality (and less expensive) than other products made with other materials. These manufacturing jobs
would be upwards of $60K, $70K, $80K or more. This will catapult our median household income from a paltry $49,210 (2018 American Community Survey via US Census Bureau, https://www.census.gov/mycd/?st=17&cd=02), to a thriving metropolis.

Education Crisis: My plan involves revolutionizing public education with my Educating For Success Bill that will provide individualized education for each child, where each child moves on in each subject as he or she masters the material, ensuring success. It also allows more flexibility, less cost, less stress, and more freedom for the students, teachers, and parents. We all succeed when our children succeed. My plan makes it impossible for children to fall through the cracks, by eliminating the cracks.

Crime and Violence Crisis: My plan includes working with our local, state, and federal agencies to ensure that crime is being properly addressed and cases are being adjudicated. However, I also have a bill, REST (Rehabilitative Earn-out Sentencing Time), to ensure that lower level criminals are rehabilitated before they are eligible for parole, to ensure their success in society when they come back into our community.