Candidate Q&A
Why are you running?
Because I am a father to small children (7 and 5) and I am scared for their futures.
What do you think is the most pressing issue facing your constituents and how do you plan on addressing it?
Affording basic necessities. There are short-term and long-term fixes. Short-term: We need immediate relief and I propose allowing households making under $200K to pay for basic necessities (mortgage/rent, child care, groceries, student loans, etc.) on a pre-tax basis, which will put more money in people’s pockets immediately. Long-term: We need to adjust our economy back to prioritizing everyday people, instead of the top 1%, by ending trickle down economics and reinvigorating antitrust and anti-monopoly enforcement.
What do you think federal immigration reform should look like?
It must be comprehensive to fix a broken and non-functional immigration system, such as the packages that were blocked by Republicans in 2005, 2013, and 2024. It should include a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, increased funding for immigrant and asylum processing so that our immigration system can function and get through the backlog, a strong border with border patrol staying at the border, and an organized deportation process for immigrants who commit violent crimes. Separately, we also need to abolish ICE; if another unstable president can get into office and ramp ICE into an unaccountable federal police force, then the agency is broken and needs to be abolished.
How should the Senate address the rising costs of health care?
The health care industry is experiencing what economists call market failure. Every other wealthy country has experienced this with private health insurance as well, because private health insurance incentivizes denying care and raising premiums, so that companies can continue to make more more money, and disincentivizes delivering good care efficiently. So health care prices are rising because a private health insurance industry is not effective at delivering low cost care. So, like every other developed country, we need to push for a public health insurance system along the lines of Medicare for All. Other solutions that would provide temporary relief would include a public health insurance option on the exchanges, training more doctors, and capping the price of prescription drugs.
What approach would you take on tax policy?
End the fantasy of trickle down economics. Trickle down economics has been policy now for 45 years on the theory that if we redistribute more money to rich people and large corporations, then it will magically come trickling back down to the rest of us. But I have not met anyone who has received wealth “trickled down” from wealthy people or corporations. We know trickle down economics does not work for everyday people because we are seeing economic growth skyrocket, but wages remaining stagnant. We need to raise taxes on the top 1% and corporations so they can pay an economically optimal amount, as right now many are paying nothing. And we need to lower taxes on everyone else.
Should any changes be made to the size of the Supreme Court or the confirmation process?
Yes, we should pass reforms to de-politicize the Supreme Court including: 12-year term limits, staggered appointments every two years so each president appoints 2 justices, and add 4 justices to reduce the effect that any single president (who could be elected twice) can have on the court.
Do you believe the structure of the Senate leads to legislative gridlock? What would you change?
Yes, I would vote to eliminate the filibuster.
What is the most pressing foreign policy issue facing the country and what role should the Senate play in dealing with it?
How will America become involved in world affairs? We need a foreign policy that protects US national security without getting taxpayer money entangled in entrenched foreign conflicts. That involves defending the world order against attack, i.e. in Ukraine, but being smart about it by seizing $300B of frozen Russian assets in Brussels to pay for Ukraine’s defense. That also involves not meddling in other country’s affairs (i.e., Venezuela and Iran) unless US national security is threatened. And it involves not mindlessly funding the suffering of others, as our taxpayer dollars did and led to a Genocide in Gaza, which is a moral outrage.
How do you view AI and the role the government should play in its regulation?
AI is advancing so rapidly and it set to change the economy so quickly that the government is falling behind in adapting our country to this change. That needs to change quickly. I propose a small administrative agency staffed with experts to liaise with the AI industry and Congress, that is empowered to make rules to govern the development of AI, and to inform Congress as to what changes will need to be made for the benefit of workers (i.e., basic monthly income, job retraining programs, etc.) as AI starts taking more jobs.
How will your approach differ from or mirror that of U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin?
I would take a lot more aggressive approach pushing progressive policy priorities for working class and everyday people. Our economy is designed to prioritize the wealthy and we are constantly told that doing otherwise crash the economy, but we all know that is an untrue because economic inequality is continuing to skyrocket, the middle class is shrinking, and everyone is having a hard time affording life in America. We need a senator who will change the economic structure of this country to prioritize workers and every people.
How would you describe the current state of your party and what changes or new approaches would you like to see your party adopt?
The state of the Democratic Party is old and passive, and I think it should be young and aggressive. Establishment Democrats have not kept up with the changing media landscape to connect with voters and aggressively challenge misinformation. My campaign is doing both those things (check is out on social media at: Dean4IL). The Democratic Party needs to organize around new approaches to social media and outreach to broadcast a message that is one of hope and reform for working people and young people.
Ultimately, the only way the Democratic Party wins is by engaging young people, and my campaign is the only campaign in this race that is doing that.