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About the Candidate

Name: Jeanne Ives
DOB: Oct. 4, 1964
Occupation: Candidate for Congress (IL-06)
Political Experience: State Representative (2012-2018); Wheaton City Council (2011-2012), Republican Precinct Committeewoman (2004-Present)
Website: JeanneForCongress.com
Twitter: @JeanneIves

Candidate Statement

The 2020 election will decide the direction of our nation for decades to come. The choice is simple: do you want more freedom in your life or more government? Do you want leaders who represent you or leaders who rule over you?

I am Jeanne Ives. I stand on the side of more freedom. And I have a long track-record as a state legislator of standing up for my constituents. Whether the issue was taxes, unnecessary regulations, government transparency, or corruption, I stood with my district - even when it meant standing alone.

That’s because when I look at the issues facing our nation, I know YOU are the solution. The people of the Sixth District are among the most enterprising people in the world: natural problem-solvers with an incredibly generous spirit.

My Democrat opponent stands on the side of more government. When he looks at the challenges our nation faces, like the high cost of healthcare, he believes more government control and higher taxes will solve the problem. He wants the government to make choices for you, instead of you making choices for your family.

I know that with talented individuals, successful businesses, great schools and innovative social service providers in our district, we could be a national policy leader.

However, having what works reflected in our laws only comes with leadership that is willing to look past labels to work with those who share our interests.

In state government, I worked with Democrats on issues like health care access and opposed both parties when they passed unbalanced budgets and tax hikes.

I stand on my reform record of breaking up scams being run on taxpayers and holding government accountable, like my College of DuPage reform bills that passed with Democrat and Republican support.

I never wavered from standing up to the special interests and the big government politicians in both parties. I will do the same when elected to Congress.

I am Jeanne Ives and I am asking for your vote.

Candidate Q&A

Why are you running?

I am running because government - at all levels - is too big, too expensive, and too intrusive in people’s lives. The 2020 election will decide the direction of our nation for decades to come. The choice is simple: do you want more freedom in your life or more government? Do you want leaders who represent you or leaders who rule over you?

Knowing just how much power elected officials have - especially after six years in Springfield, seeing the enormous influence special interests, lobbyists, party leaders, and single issue advocacy groups have, I understand the importance of having someone who is truly an advocate for the common man and woman in office.

I want my children and their generations to know the blessings of liberty and have the opportunities my generation had. Those opportunities come from preserving our free enterprise system and our constitutional rights, not from and ever-increasing government - and certainly not from the extreme ideas that are now being pushed through Congress by members like Sean Casten.

Casten is part of a radical new caucus that thinks they are better suited to make decisions concerning your life than you are. And they want to increase the reach of government to provide them the power to make those decisions for you. I have seen what happens when big government politicians get elected and put in imprudent policies - you get states like Illinois, the worst run state in the nation.

I have always stood on the side of more freedom. And I have a long track-record as a state legislator of standing up for my constituents. Whether the issue was taxes, unnecessary regulations, government transparency, or corruption, I stood with my district - even when it meant standing alone.

In one election, we can change the direction of the nation, and restore balance to government and return power to individuals.

What is your vision for this office?

My vision for this office is to bring the 6th District’s voice to Washington, unlike my Democrat opponent who has spent his tenure in Congress pushing his own agenda on the people he is supposed to represent.

That is the fundamental difference between us. When I look at the issues facing our nation, I see the people in the Sixth District as the solution to those problems. They are among the most enterprising people in the world: natural problem-solvers, with an incredibly generous spirit. I know it is their values, their independence and entrepreneurship, and their willingness to work hard to build a good life for your family that will be key to unraveling some of the most difficult economic and social issues that we are facing.

As a State Rep I stood up for my constituents on taxes, municipal regulations, health insurance reform, government transparency, education reform and labor reform - even when it meant standing alone.

My opponent on the other hand looks at the problems we have and believes that the cause of them is YOU, it is the people in our district. That’s why he believes government should control every aspect of your life.

He even sat in a hearing on Flu Vaccine Science & Innovation and suggested that homeopathic medicines - which would include Hyland’s Honey and Zarabees cough syrups - should be banned, that stores should not be allowed to carry them.  He suggested that because he believes the people cannot be trusted to make their own decisions for their own families, and government intervention is necessary to prevent them from buying the wrong cough syrup.

I have lived in the Sixth District for 27 years. I know the people in this area. They are perfectly capable of making their own decisions - from the best school for their children to which cough syrup work best for them.

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

The most pressing issue facing my constituents today is a government that is increasingly ineffective at delivering core services accelerating its intrusion into their lives -  through more regulations, mandatates, programs that fail repeatedly to invigorate our free market system while they incentivize Crony Socialism worldwide - such as EX-IM Bank reauthorization, which sent US taxpayer dollars to subsidize foreign state-owned companies.

We need to restore a balance between the interests of those funding government with those who are served by government. Right now, there is no balance and we are not serving either group effectively.