2022 General Election Voter Guide

Candidate Q&A

Why are you running?

In my first term, I have served as the people’s lawyer, working deliberately in a bipartisan manner to defend and uphold the law and the rights of every Illinois resident, including the most marginalized citizens.

I have taken on anticipated challenges – working across the aisle with prosecutors and police chiefs across Illinois to prosecute crimes including murders, gun trafficking, organized retail crime, fraud, public corruption, and internet crimes against children. I have protected consumers and held corporate bad actors responsible for deceptive and fraudulent acts that have led to the opioid crisis and burdened students with excessive debt from predatory loans.

I have also tackled unanticipated challenges during a global pandemic and fought to defend lifesaving protections to ensure essential workers were safe on the job. In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, I am fighting to safeguard a women’s right to choose in Illinois. I’m currently in court defending our state’s Reproductive Health Act that continues to uphold abortion rights in our state, and I’ll continue to ensure Illinois remains a haven for women across the country to obtain reproductive health care.

Now more than ever, we need elected leaders who are prepared to fight against extremism that threatens to diminish our rights and attack our Capitol, our law enforcement, and the very foundation of our democracy. I’m ready to take on a second term to serve the people of Illinois and stand up for their rights and our democracy. 

What does this office do well, and what needs fixing?

I believe that the Illinois Attorney General’s office operates quite efficiently. For every dollar of taxpayer money invested in the Attorney General’s Office in fiscal year 2022, we returned $39 to the state. The state has historically underinvested in the Illinois Attorney General’s office, and as a result we have learned to manage resources well and embrace creative measures to make sure we maintain a high level of advocacy for the state and its people.

As the epidemic of prescription drug addiction has grown, I have aggressively targeted companies responsible for the opioid crisis. Through these actions, I have brought nearly $1 billion in resources to our state and worked in a bipartisan manner with state’s attorneys throughout Illinois to distribute these resources to help abate this crisis that has impacted communities in every corner of our state.

I have also protected student borrowers from expensive and unfair student lending practices, targeting deceptive and predatory for-profit schools and student loan servicers, resulting in over $160 million in relief for Illinois borrowers.

I have engaged in strategic hiring of leaders in my office to leverage their experience and relationships with other law enforcement partners, in a bipartisan matter without regard to political party. I hired a former federal prosecutor as my chief of staff and a retired FBI agent as my chief investigator. I also hired a retired, 30-year prosecutor from the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office and 30-year prosecutor from the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office to help lead our criminal division. While we are small in numbers, with less than 60 prosecutors and 25 investigators statewide, we have enhanced our relationship with law enforcement partners in a manner that allows us to broaden our capacity to contribute to public safety.

We have also been able to recruit and retain high-pedigree talent to contribute to our work on matters of civil litigation and investigations. We have identified and recruited superior lawyers from top law firms and not-for-profits who are willing to endure a significant financial sacrifice to serve the public interest. With this experienced talent on board, we have also been able to efficiently train younger lawyers in the office to be effective advocates. Our lawyers are highly regarded in state and federal court as a result.

I have unapologetically advocated for greater investment from the state’s general revenue fund so we can effectively work on behalf of the people. In 2003, when my predecessor began her tenure, roughly 67% of the office’s funding came from the state’s general revenue fund and the office was 33% self-funded. When I began my tenure, it was the inverse. As a result, a National Association of Attorney General survey found that in 2018, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office had the worst retention rate in the country and was understaffed. We have worked hard to reverse that trend with the help of added investment from the Illinois General Assembly.

While we have advocated for increased funding, we will continue to seek out ways to leverage partnerships with other public and private agencies working toward the same public interest goals in a manner that will allow us to work efficiently without sacrificing results.

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

The most pressing issue today for the people of Illinois is preserving our democracy and fighting against misinformation that undermines the rights we have long taken for granted – from the right to vote, the right to choose, and the right to love whomever you choose.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade could have a ripple effect as Republicans seek to capitalize on the decision and undo much of the progress made during the Obama administration. Our democracy is also being threatened by dangerous extremism that led to the Jan. 6 insurrection and continued assault on our democracy by election deniers and other hate groups that seek to divide our nation.

Additionally, we are grappling with a rise in gun violence. I work in a bipartisan manner with prosecutors and police chiefs across Illinois to prosecute crime, including murder, armed robbery, and gun trafficking. To fight the prevalence of gun violence, I also launched Crime Gun Connect, the most extensive statewide gun tracing platform in the country, that will identify gun traffickers who are fueling the epidemic of gun violence and crime in Illinois. I also work in partnership with the U.S. Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Center to conduct trainings to better prevent mass shooting threats in schools, places of worship, and other public places. I also successfully sued to revoke the license of a rogue gun maker that produced cheap guns used by criminals. My office also trains law enforcement partners to enforce red flag laws to temporarily remove firearms from people who are a danger to themselves or others, and we provide comprehensive support to survivors of crime through a trauma-informed, victim-centered approach.

What specific steps would you take to ensure your office is accessible and responsive to your constituents?

We are enhancing our outreach efforts as we grow out of the pandemic in a way that allows us to educate Illinois residents about our services in person and in communities. The pandemic has also allowed us to enhance the way we make ourselves available virtually through trainings and awareness programs. We have increased our ability to respond to those for whom English is a second language.

My office also provides direct help and resources to Illinois residents on a wide array of issues to help them resolve consumer fraud and price gouging complaints, address civil rights complaints and rights for people living with disabilities, and access public records. We also provide important resources to parents, schools, and teachers across the state to protect their children online.