Pretend You're a Legisltive Candidate - Part 2

The Chicago Sun-Times also asks legislative candidates to fill out a questionnaire each election. It’s usually more fun than the Chicago Tribune’s, especially in its biography. See especially questions 6 and 7.

Here are the Sun-Times questions. If you feel so inclined, share your answers in the comment section.

1. Longer-term, should Illinois change the taxation formula for funding schools? How?

2. Should the state provide more funding for the CTA, Meta, Pace and other public transit systems? Explain your answer.

3. What should be done to reduce the influence of politics in state hiring and contracts?

4. Should Illinois change its lobbyist disclosure laws? How?

5. Have you held elective or appointive political office or have you been employed by any branch of government?

6. Please list jobs or contracts you, members of your immediate family or business partners have had with government.

7. Name your biggest campaign contributors and the amount they contributed.

8. Which plan for fixing Illinois school funding do you prefer? Do you favor Gov. Blagojevich’s plan to sell or lease the Illinois Lottry or state Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka’s proposal for a Chicago casino and more gambling slots at existing casinos? Explain your answer.

9. Should the state raise the minimum way as Gov. Blagojevich has suggested? Explain.

10. Should the state provide more funding for embryonic stem cell research? Explain.

11. South Dakota passed a law to make abortion illegal. Should Illinois do the same? Explain.

While the Chicago Tribune does not have a question on abortion, the Sun-Times writes about the South Dakota bill that is being tested in a referendum this year. Here is the goal of the bill’s sponsor, which Penny Pullen and I heard when we visited him for two hours earlier this month.

Here's where you can read my 2002 responses to the Sun-Times gubernatorial questionnaire.

More at McHenry County Blog.