Joe's Priorities
Encourage Strong Unions
Strengthen the Middle Class
Strengthen the Middle Class
Develop more strong Union/Union Worker Relationships and Ensure all Unions are Working Effectively for Their Members.
Strengthen the Middle Class
Strengthen the Middle Class
Strengthen the Middle Class
Develop more Equitable Benefits for lower and middle class Workers - which in turn will put more money in your pockets.
Communicate & Collaborate
Strengthen the Middle Class
Communicate & Collaborate
Working Together, and with Proper Communication, Our District will Achieve Better Representation with Better Results.
Support Family Farms
Care for Vets & Elderly
Communicate & Collaborate
Begin as soon as possible to implement policies that Save and Strengthen our Family Farms
Care for Vets & Elderly
Care for Vets & Elderly
Care for Vets & Elderly
Find and Implement the Best Ways to Care for our Vets, our Disabled, and our Elderly; Especially by making sure we have Enough Nursing Homes
Protect Social Services
Care for Vets & Elderly
Care for Vets & Elderly
Preserve our Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid
Advocate for Everyone
Advocate for Everyone
Advocate for Everyone
Advocate for the needs for everyone in the District, Regardless of Party Affiliation.
In Regard to Term Limits
I have long been a proponent of term limits, and in getting the grossly negligent amount of campaign spending under control. As I add this information to this website, there are state and federal representatives who have been allowed to retain their seats in office for far too many years.
The single biggest reason for this problem is the un-checked amounts of money that is given to these long-term politicians from special interest individuals and groups. Far too many of today's political offices are being bought and paid for, from one election cycle to the next, by "big media" advertising and other influences.
Sadly, this results in poor representation of all the people in a given district, as those politicians become "beholding" to those "deep-pocket" donors. When it is known ahead of time that the incumbent can only serve for a set term, there is obviously no incentive for those large special interest donors to cycle more money into that incumbent's campaign fund at the end of that term.
I have said that I will set the good example of setting term limits, by living out that example myself, with this Illinois State Senate Office that I am seeking.
When elected this November 3rd, 2026, the Illinois Senate cycle is such that my first term will only be two years. I would then seek re-election for the next term, which is four years. At the end of these two terms, I will have served a total of six years. While I do not believe that in most cases, six years is long enough to serve (assuming the representation of and for the people is going well), I will have also attained the age of seventy-five.
It is further my belief that term limits need to 'tie together' with both number of years in office and the age of the representative. This is where the numbers become rather subjective, and therefore are worthy of discussion and litigation (in Springfield).
In my personal situation, I believe that at the age of seventy-five I would like to "pass the baton" to a younger candidate with new ideas, and most likely, more energy. To close, I sincerely believe that when our state and federal governments adopt term limits (and campaign funding limits), America will become a much better place to live. It is, in fact, what our forefathers wanted for all of us.
More Details on Joe's Priorities
- By implementing a fair and progressive tax plan, Illinois would be better positioned to invest more in schools, fire departments, hospitals, and other essential community services. As additional revenue becomes available, the reliance on property taxes could be reduced, easing the burden on homeowners.
Excerpts from a LWV Candidate Forum
Vote 411 Q & A
What role, if any, should the state play in addressing rising healthcare costs and ensuring access to care for residents?
Illinois needs to play a substantial role in addressing healthcare costs and ensuring to care for all residents, especially now that the federal government has done cutbacks in this area.
Just recently, Governor Pritzker approved and is now implementing the dispersal of more than 1.5 billion for medical debt forgiveness. There is also the ongoing need to enforce and expand on House Bill 1697, which in basic terms, makes it much harder for pharmacy benefit managers to take large amounts of money out of the prescription drug system.
I support a health care system which provides ‘Medicare for All’ … a fair plan for everyone from top government officials to the poorest of immigrants who are going through the legalization process.
What are your budget priorities for Illinois?
For more than 6 months I have been talking about two of my major priorities for Illinois, and especially District 45:
1) I recognized that everything from housing, to fuel (energy costs in general), to groceries, automobiles, etc… has become much less affordable in this past year. We have to find a way to bring more jobs back to Illinois — to somehow reverse a big part of what has happened in the years since NAFTA. A big part of the solution to getting more money to programs that can alleviate high costs, and to promote industry/job growth is going to have to be more taxes, with strict oversight on how those dollars are used.
2) Our lower to middle class cannot afford more taxes… Fair and Progressive Taxes is the best option.
How should Illinois ensure all students have access to quality public education?
As I said in my response to the Illinois Education Association just a few weeks ago, Illinois must continue to work at improving quality curriculums and the hiring of quality teachers. An important part of obtaining quality teachers is to always offer fair pay with good benefits. Currently, our teacher’s pensions are still grossly underfunded, which again, leads to decisions on the best methods to bring more money into that part of the budget. (Fair and Progressive Taxes would be a great place to start.)
Also, we have to stop thinking that “specialized scholarships” are going to do anything to help with public education, –quite frankly, it would be a hindrance, especially if it leads to private vouchers.
It should not be on the ballot!
How should Illinois balance energy reliability, cost, and environmental considerations when addressing evolving energy needs?
A timely question, as I just finished a three part interview process with the Sierra Club — an organization that cares very deeply about this subject and how the decisions ultimately affect our ‘Mother Earth’. From my studies thus far, I can say there are Illinois legislators looking closely at which sources of energy produce the least amount of carbon footprint, with affordable sustainability. I am very much in favor of solar energy, with wind, then modernized nuclear energy sources currently being my 2nd and 3rd favorites. I also learned that L.P. and Natural Gas sources are not as sustainable as we once thought they were.
Everyone needs to do a better job of Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.
