About the Candidate
Name: Phillip Owen Wood
DOB:
Occupation: Pastor, Mental Health Worker
Political Experience:
Website: www.philwoodforcongress.com/
Candidate Statement
Hi, my name is Phil Wood and I'm running for the Republican nomination for the 8th Congressional District in the great state of Illinois.
I'm a pro-life conservative, which means I care deeply about the first and second amendment rights and stopping the attack on the values that have made America so great.
For the past 35 years, I have been a pastor of a local church, a mental health counselor with the county health department. I have been a director of organizations that work with the homeless and at-risk youth, and I've spent a lot of nights on the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, listening to the hurts and cries of the people. There's a lot of anxiety about the future. And I'm wondering what happened. You know, when I grew up in the sixties and seventies, we saw our parents struggle, but we all knew that we were gonna stand on their shoulders and things were going to get better. Now we have a generation that's been told the sky's falling, and there's a pandemic that will never be eradicated. I'm here to help a generation understand that there's hope and that we need to embrace and get back to those values that have made America so great. I want them to know that the answer is not government getting bigger, but actually shrinking and getting out of their way and taxes shrinking and the mandate stopping and, realizing that the job of teaching values is for the home and not for government. And, that the best thing we can do is let people do what they do best.
You know, America's a melting pot of some of the finest people in the world. We have a heritage and we've tried to correct the mistakes of those things we've done that have kept people down. If given the honor by the voters in the 8th District of the great state of Illinois to serve in the House of Representatives, I will do my very best, everything in my power to protect and restore the cherished values of faith, family, and freedom.
Please vote Phil Wood for Congress on June 28th.
Candidate Q&A
Why are you running?
I am running out of concern for my community and the future of our great nation. I am a conservative Republican who cares about the sanctity of life and saddened to see cherished family values attacked. As a local church pastor, crisis counselor working with the county health department and other not-for-profit community organizations, and in private practice, I interact with a wide range of congregants and clients. People are hurting, particularly the generation of young people coming up. There is much apprehension about the future.
What on earth happened? When I was a kid growing up in Cook County, we all had hope. While we loved our parents and the sacrifices they made for us, it was a given that we would stand on their shoulders and do better. The future was nothing but bright. Now, politicians are brokering in fearmongering, creating hysteria about things we cannot control in the environment, around the world, or in the future.
It is like the public schools who want to make the focus on teaching a kindergartener about gender identity yet graduating seniors in high school who cannot read. Schools need to get back to teaching the three R’s and get off their soapboxes. We want more STEM and less moral browbeating. I am not looking for the school to teach my children, or in my case my grandchildren, their values. Please leave that to the home and family to decide.
And politicians are not weathermen. Al Gore, the prophet of global doom, has already been proven wrong. He famously predicted widespread climate crises that was supposed to be occurring by now and the polar ice caps and glaciers were supposed to have already melted away. He was wrong but successful in hyping the green movement from which he and others have greatly profited. Meanwhile, elitist climate change proponents continue to live lavish lifestyles buying ocean front properties which would presumably be under water soon according to their exaggerated predictions.
The government’s response to COVID-19, especially in Illinois, is another example of capitalizing on promoting fear. With all the mandates in places like Illinois and California, did we fare any better than Florida or Texas, which did not operate with such a heavy hand? Just look at the collateral damage to our economy and the continued exodus out of Illinois.
The reason I am running is to help restore hope to the younger generation. We have a great country with a great heritage. Many of the components are in place for people of all backgrounds to succeed. We have a bright future, if we don’t undermine it by focusing on things we cannot or should not change and ignoring what must change. We need to get back to the values of faith, family, and freedom. That is what made America great, and we can do it again!
What does this office do well, and what needs fixing?
The House of Representatives was designed to reflect the will of the people. Right now, however, it is in a long jam. Congress and the current administration are not willing to reach across the aisle to accomplish the hard work of cutting wasteful spending, getting Americans back to work, and protecting the American people and interests.
The incumbent, in particular, has a long record of accomplishing little of substance. He votes exclusively along party lines, which reflect little effort at cooperation or responding to the requests of his constituents. His approach to politics has not helped the larger situation or addressed the local concerns.
What is the most pressing issue facing your constituents and how do you plan on addressing it?
The temptation is to give the answer that all the news outlets contend people of Illinois care about most, namely, the three C’s: Cost of living, Crime, and Corruption. While issues like the economy and safety are on people’s minds and intertwined with the core issues, as a pastor and professional mental health counselor, what I hear from people sitting at 3 a.m. in the emergency room at the hospital with their 12-year-old daughter who just attempted suicide or from the medical or legal professional sitting in the therapist’s office when the doors are closed, is that they are concerned about the state of their family or losing their children to the insanity of this world.
Americans just want to work hard at meaningful jobs, go home, and enjoy their family, and live in a world where they can love and be loved. What that means for the people of the 8th are decent jobs so that parents do not need to work multiple positions to make ends meet. When they are gone so much, the kids go unparented. It means affordable housing, where inflation is not putting the price of houses and rent out of reach of the working family, and it means the public schools and government supporting their family values, not undermining or usurping them.
I believe what people in the US care about in 2022 is the same as it was in 1776 when they declared independence and committed their lives and fortunes for the pursuit of Life, Liberty, and Happiness.
If given the honor by the voters in the 8th District to act as a servant to our county in the House of Representatives, I will do everything in my power to protect the cherished values of faith, family, and freedom.
What specific steps would you take to ensure your office is accessible and responsive to your constituents?
My whole adult life has been given over to communication, both interpersonal and mass. I love connecting with people. In addition to being accessible with offices and regular townhall meetings in the community, the constituents will get regular communication digitally, via USPS, and through the press outlets. I will sincerely listen to the voters and respond with transparency.
