Candidate Q&A
Why are you running?
I was raised in a family where you didn’t wait for someone else to fix things you stepped in and helped. Whether it was working on the farm, helping neighbors, volunteering in our community, or getting involved locally, I was taught that responsibility starts close to home. My father used to tell me, “You may not be able to change the world, but you can change your portion of it.” That mindset shaped who I am. I also believe something deeply: you can complain about what’s broken, or you can roll up your sleeves and do something about it. For too long, Washington has been full of politicians who talk, point fingers, and chase attention while everyday families are left paying the price.
I didn’t get into this race for a title or headlines. I got in because I care about real solutions not more problems. I got in because I kept hearing the same frustrations from farmers, workers, small business owners, and families who feel ignored by their own representative. Illinois families are overtaxed, energy bills keep climbing, and rural communities are being left behind. Instead of fighting for development, jobs, and funding that actually help our towns grow, our current representative is focused on media attention and political theater. This district deserves better. We deserve leadership that listens. Leadership that shows up. Leadership that fights for good paying jobs, lower energy costs, strong infrastructure, and real investment in our communities. I’m running to bring common sense back to Congress. To work across differences when it helps our people. To This is a required question focus on results instead of rhetoric. And to make sure the voices of this district are finally heard again.
What do you think is the most pressing issue facing your constituents and how do you plan on addressing it?
The biggest challenge facing our district is the lack of real, sustained community investment. When families struggle to find good paying jobs, when our roads, bridges, and water systems are falling apart, and when young people are forced to leave because it’s too expensive to build a future here, that’s a clear sign leadership has not been fighting for this district.
Public service should be about putting people first, not political games. We need to be smarter and more responsible with taxpayer dollars by cutting waste, demanding transparency, and directing funding back into projects that strengthen our towns, support farmers and small businesses, and create long term economic growth. That means investing in infrastructure, expanding high speed internet in rural areas, and attracting job creating industries that allow families to stay and thrive here at home. If elected, I will work to bring resources back to the district instead of watching them disappear into Washington bureaucracy. I will hold government accountable, expose corruption and misuse of funds, and work across the aisle when it helps our communities get real results.
I also believe in a proactive government that shows up instead of guessing what people need. My office will send staff into communities across the district to meet with local leaders, business owners, educators, farmers, and nonprofits to identify real issues and develop real solutions. When we invest in our communities, we invest in people. That’s how we rebuild opportunity, grow our local economy, keep families here, and ensure the next generation has a strong future in the towns they call home.
What is one unique challenge your district faces and how do you plan to address it?
The biggest challenge facing our district is the lack of real, sustained community investment. When families struggle to find good paying jobs, when our roads, bridges, and water systems are falling apart, and when young people are forced to leave because it’s too expensive to build a future here, that’s a clear sign leadership has not been fighting for this district.
Public service should be about putting people first, not political games. We need to be smarter and more responsible with taxpayer dollars by cutting waste, demanding transparency, and directing funding back into projects that strengthen our towns, support farmers and small businesses, and create long term economic growth. That means investing in infrastructure, expanding high speed internet in rural areas, and attracting job creating industries that allow families to stay and thrive here at home. If elected, I will work to bring resources back to the district instead of watching them disappear into Washington bureaucracy. I will hold government accountable, expose corruption and misuse of funds, and work across the aisle when it helps our communities get real results.
I also believe in a proactive government that shows up instead of guessing what people need. My office will send staff into communities across the district to meet with local leaders, business owners, educators, farmers, and nonprofits to identify real issues and develop real solutions. When we invest in our communities, we invest in people. That’s how we rebuild opportunity, grow our local economy, keep families here, and ensure the next generation has a strong future in the towns they call home.
Mary is the only member of congress in Illinois that did not request community project funds.
What do you think federal immigration reform should look like?
We can fix our immigration system, but it requires enforcement and reform at the same time not just political talking points.
- First, we must secure the border with modern technology, more agents, and faster removal of violent criminals and repeat offenders so families in our district feel safe and law enforcement can do their jobs effectively.
- Second, we need to fix the legal immigration system so it actually functions. Right now, employers across our district, especially small businesses, farms, food processors, and rural hospitals, are struggling to find workers. People who want to come legally are stuck waiting for years while our local economy suffers. Congress should speed up processing, expand legal work visas in industries with real labor shortages like healthcare, agriculture, and construction, and improve vetting so everyone entering the country is known and documented.
- Third, we should keep talented foreign students who graduate from American universities in critical fields such as medicine, engineering, and technology by allowing them to work legally here instead of forcing them to leave. That talent could help staff hospitals, grow local businesses, and drive innovation right here in our communities.
- Fourth, we must crack down on employers who knowingly exploit illegal labor while making it easier to hire workers legally. This protects wages for workers in our district and ensures businesses can grow the right way.
- Finally, we should modernize asylum laws so real refugees are protected quickly while fraudulent claims are stopped, restoring fairness and trust in the system.
This approach restores law and order, strengthens our local economy, supports farmers and healthcare providers, and brings stability back to our communities. It is about real enforcement and real reform that works for our district.
How should Congress address the rising costs of health care?
Government should step in when the market fails and focus on people and real solutions. Preventive care is far cheaper and more effective than catastrophic care, yet our system rewards treating illness instead of keeping people healthy. We should put patients first by moving toward transparent healthcare pricing with a fixed cost plus a reasonable capped profit margin so hospitals can operate sustainably without price gouging.
Most people do not realize that many hospitals are nonprofit yet too often their finances are anything but transparent. Patients deserve to know what care actually costs and where their money is going. Another major issue is executive pay. While nurses technicians and support staff are stretched thin or laid off hospital presidents and CEOs are taking home millions in compensation and bonuses.
For example Memorial Health in Springfield Illinois a nonprofit hospital system laid off about 300 employees in 2023 including eliminating roughly 20 percent of leadership positions as part of cost cutting and restructuring efforts to save money and preserve core services for the community. At the same time the president and CEO of Memorial Health received over two million dollars in total compensation according to the most recent nonprofit tax filings. That disconnect between layoffs at the staff level and multi-million dollar executive compensation underscores why we need greater transparency accountability and alignment between patient care and leadership priorities.
We also have to look upstream at what is making people sick in the first place. Our food system is loaded with chemicals and additives that are banned in many other countries but still allowed here by the FDA. When we allow lower standards in our food we pay for it later in hospitals through higher insurance costs and chronic disease. Cleaning up our food supply is preventive care too because fewer harmful chemicals means healthier kids lower healthcare spending and stronger communities.
This is not about more bureaucracy. It is about smarter standards transparency and putting public health ahead of corporate shortcuts.
What approach would you take on tax policy and what is your top priority?
As a government employee, I see waste on a regular basis, and it’s frustrating because this is taxpayer money that hardworking families earn and trust us to spend wisely. We need stronger oversight and real transparency so people can clearly see where their dollars are going and what results we are getting in return. Government should be held to the same standards of accountability as any business or household. One of the biggest problems is the “use it or lose it” budgeting mentality, where agencies rush to spend money at the end of the year just to protect next year’s budget. That encourages waste instead of efficiency. We should reward agencies that save money, innovate, and deliver quality services for less, not punish them for being responsible.
We also need to focus on cutting costs without cutting essential services. That starts with consolidating agencies and departments where missions overlap and eliminating unnecessary layers of bureaucracy. Too often we have multiple commissions, boards, and offices doing similar work, which drives up administrative costs without improving outcomes. For example, at the state level I’ve seen perfectly usable computers destroyed even though many were practically new. Instead of being donated to schools, libraries, or county offices that could have put them to good use, they were thrown away. That’s not efficiency, that’s waste and it shows how broken our system of incentives has become.
Finally, our priorities should be clear: invest in job creation, support small businesses, protect essential services, and aggressively root out waste and abuse. Every dollar saved is a dollar that can be put back into the economy, used to lower taxes, or reinvested in the needs of our communities. Government should work for the people, not grow for its own sake. That means watching every penny, demanding results, and making smart, efficient use of the resources we are entrusted with.
Is the House currently using its oversight powers in the way it should be? What areas of government need more or less oversight?
I don’t believe the House is consistently using its oversight powers the way it should. Oversight shouldn’t be about political theater, it should be about protecting taxpayers and making sure government actually works for the people. Too often, hearings are used for headlines instead of fixing broken systems, while real waste, inefficiency, and duplication quietly continue year after year.
We need much stronger oversight over federal and state agencies’ spending, especially where budgets keep growing but results don’t improve. That includes procurement, technology purchases, grant programs, and the endless layers of commissions and overlapping agencies that drive up costs without adding value. As a government employee, I’ve seen firsthand how the lack of accountability leads to waste, like destroying usable equipment instead of repurposing it, simply because of bad rules and bad incentives.
At the same time, oversight should support smart investment, not slow everything down with bureaucracy. Programs that are creating jobs, supporting small businesses, improving infrastructure, and strengthening our workforce should be reviewed for effectiveness, then expanded when they’re working. Waste should be cut aggressively, but success should be rewarded. Most importantly, people deserve real transparency. Taxpayers should be able to clearly see where their money is going, what it’s accomplishing, and who is responsible for the results. Every penny should be tracked, measured, and justified. That’s how you rebuild trust in government.
Oversight done right is about accountability with integrity not partisan attacks. It’s about making government leaner, smarter, and focused on results: cutting waste, creating jobs, and respecting the hard earned money of the people we serve.
We should also be looking ways to save our children and future.
What is the most pressing foreign policy issue facing the country and what role should the House play in dealing with it?
The biggest foreign policy challenge we’re facing right now is standing up to countries like China and dealing with instability around the world that directly affects us here at home. When supply chains break down, energy prices spike, or conflicts drag on with no clear plan, American families end up paying the price. The House has a responsibility to make sure our foreign policy is strong but also smart. That starts with real oversight of where our money is going. Just like with domestic spending, every dollar sent overseas should have a clear purpose, clear results, and real accountability. Taxpayers deserve to know what their money is being spent on and why.
We should be investing in our national security in ways that also create jobs here at home. That means rebuilding American manufacturing, securing our supply chains, and producing critical materials in the United States instead of relying on hostile nations. A strong economy is a strong defense. And when we support allies or get involved overseas, it needs to be done with clear goals, timelines, and transparency, not blank checks and endless spending. Strong leadership is about protecting our country, respecting taxpayer dollars, and acting with integrity. Oversight, accountability, and smart investments should guide every foreign policy decision, just like they should guide everything the government does.
How do you view AI and the role the government should play in its regulation?
As a supporter of AI, I believe we must pair innovation with responsibility. We need strong education so people understand how to use it, real control over our personal data, and clear rules for what companies can and cannot do. There is no doubt AI is a game changer. I have used it throughout my campaign to build contact lists, research issues, and make messaging more direct and effective. It is an incredible research tool when used the right way.
But we cannot allow AI to control us or make us so dependent that we lose critical thinking skills or basic problem solving. Technology should assist people, not replace human judgment. We also have to be honest that AI will replace some jobs while creating new ones, which means we must invest in retraining, workforce development, and education so working families are not left behind.
Oversight matters. Americans deserve transparency about what AI knows, how their data is collected, how it is used, and who profits from it. We should protect privacy the same way we protect property rights. Your personal information should not be sold, exploited, or used to manipulate people without consent. This is where I differ from Mary Miller. She either ignores emerging technology or treats it like a political talking point. I believe in facing reality and leading responsibly. While she offers fear, denial, and no real plan, I am focused on practical solutions that protect people while allowing innovation to grow.
This is also about fairness. Small businesses, farmers, and rural communities should have access to AI tools to compete, not just massive tech corporations. With the right policies, AI can strengthen agriculture, improve healthcare access, boost manufacturing, and help entrepreneurs succeed right here in our district. The right approach is to embrace AI’s potential while staying aware of its abilities and its limits. We should lead with common sense regulation, strong education, and worker protections. Innovation should serve the people, strengthen our economy, and protect our freedoms, not the other way around.
How would you describe the current state of your party and what changes or new approaches would you like to see your party adopt?
We are spending too much time fighting each other instead of fighting for the people we represent. A house divided falls upon itself, and I see that happening in real time. While families in our district worry about groceries, health care, and keeping their farms and small businesses alive, Republicans are arguing over labels and loyalty tests.
I want more young people stepping up, not walking away. I want a party that focuses on our district, our neighbors, and real solutions not endless internal battles driven by social media.
I also believe we should stop demonizing people we might be able to bring over. I’ve talked with voters who don’t agree with me on everything but are open to common sense solutions. When we attack instead of listen, we lose them. When we have civil conversations and look for common ground, we grow stronger.
Calling each other names doesn’t win elections. Unity, respect, and results do. Our party’s future isn’t about who shouts the loudest. It’s about who shows up, listens, and delivers for the people.