John O’Neill Releases Daily Herald Questionnaire

John O'Neill

It’s always refreshing when candidates are willing to share their answers to candidate questionnaires.

Here’s Jack Franks’ opponent John O’Neill’s for the Daily Herald:

63rd District Representative
Party:
Republican
Incumbent: No
Occupation:Business Trainer
Address: 3608 W. Clover Av.
McHenry, Illinois 60050

CANDIDATE INFORMATION

Age:43

Date of Birth: 01/10/1967

Birthplace: Melrose Park, IL

Family:Married, six children

Religion: Roman Catholic

Education/Degrees:

Civic Involvement:

  • Boy Scouts #131
  • Knights of Columbus #1288
  • McHenry Baseball Association
  • Sunday School Teacher @ The Church of Holy Apostles

Endorsements:

  • Congressman Don Manzullo
  • Illinois Federation for Right to Life PAC
  • Pro-Life Victory PAC

Offices Held:

  • McHenry School District #15 Board of Education, 2007 – Present
  • McHenry Public Library District Board of Trustees, 2009 – Present

Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain.Never

KEY ISSUES

Key Issue 1:Jobs: How to make the state more attractive to employers in order to bring jobs back and get the people of McHenry County working again.

Key Issue 2:Audit the State Budget: $52 Billion budget with a $13 Billion deficit, we need to dig through the budget line-by-line in order to eliminate wasteful government spending.

Key Issue 3:Unfunded Pension Liabilities: Depending on the source, we are on the hook for somewhere between $70 Billion and $200 Billion in unfunded pension liabilities.

Q & A

What should be done to solve the state’s budget crisis? What specific measures should be cut for how much in savings? Would you support or oppose an income tax increase or a state sales tax increase? Lay out a specific plan of what needs to be done.

What should be done to solve the state’s budget crisis? Before we start taxing the people during the worst recession since the great depression, when we are devastated with 10% unemployment, property values are plummeting and communities are already facing increasing sales tax hikes and property tax hikes, we need to look at the state’s budget. Only through a line-by-line audit of every department and agency will we find the wasteful government spending and ghost-payrollers. What should be done to solve the state’s budget crisis? Before we start taxing the people during the worst recession since the great depression, when we are devastated with 10% unemployment, property values are plummeting and communities are already facing increasing sales tax hikes and property tax hikes, we need to look at the state’s budget. Only through a line-by-line audit of every department and agency will we find the wasteful government spending and ghost-payrollers.

What specific measures should be cut for how much in savings? Until we complete a line-by-line audit of the budget, it will be difficult to know where we even stand and the magnitude of waste, fraud, and corruption which exists in the budget.

Would you support or oppose an income tax increase or a state sales tax increase? Oppose.

Lay out a specific plan of what needs to be done. Start with a line-by-line audit of the budget.

What is your view on the pension legislation passed last year? Do you support or oppose lower benefits and higher employee contributions for current state workers? Specifically, how should state officials resolve underfunding problems?

What is your view on the pension legislation passed last year? For the past 10-12 years the Chicago Political Machine which runs Springfield, and which my opponent has consistently supported, has dropped the ball on the budget. This so-called “Pension Reform” simply kicks the can down the road for the next General Assembly to deal with; however, I believe that we will fix it in the next General Assembly.

Do you support or oppose lower benefits and higher employee contributions for current state workers? Let’s face it, if we do nothing and the state goes broke, nobody will receive any benefits. Something has got to be done. I don’t begrudge the workers, teachers, firefighters and police officers their benefits, however the union bosses who have played the game of pitting one municipality or school district against another, threatening strikes if they don’t get their way has got to come to an end.

Specifically, how should state officials resolve underfunding problems?
In an era where the taxpayers are seeing loss of jobs, pay-cuts, loss of benefits, and cuts or even loss of their retirement benefits, it is time for those who receive state pensions to face the reality the rest of us are already facing. I support a 401(k)-type retirement program for state pension recipients; credit them for their years worked and establish an account for them where they contribute to their retirement account and their employer, the state or municipal department, agency, or district will make a match, much the same way the taxpayers who fund state pensions contribute to their own retirement accounts.

Do you oppose or support civil unions? Gay marriage? What abortion restrictions do you support? What about parental notification? Late-term abortion? Should there be controls on gun ownership? If so, what would you support?

Do you oppose or support civil unions? Oppose, state Supreme Courts have already declared civil unions inadequate and an example of the “separate but equal” philosophy.

(Do you oppose or support) Gay marriage? Oppose, the simple truth is marriage by definition is a religious institution between one man and one woman and has remained so for several thousand years of human history. Those who wish to redefine it as anything else trample on the First Amendment’s Free Exercise of Religion. Those who wish to have their relationship officially recognized by the state have many avenues by which to do so; a contractual arrangement, business, and power of attorney to name but a few.

What abortion restrictions do you support? I am Pro-Life.

What about parental notification? The law should have been enacted 15 years ago when it became law yet it’s been held up in the courts for all this time. A 12 year-old girl cannot receive an aspirin from school without documentation yet that same 12 year-old girl can have a life-altering procedure performed upon her which will kill her baby and may injure, sterilize, or kill her and her parents do not have the right to know? This is outrageous.

Should there be controls on gun ownership? Minimal licensing makes sense for gun ownership, however 49 states currently recognize the right of a licensed gun owner to carry their loaded gun for self-defense. 48 recognize “concealed-carry,” Wisconsin recognizes “Open-Carry.” Illinois is the only state in the nation which requires licensed, law-abiding citizens to transport their guns unloaded, under lock-and-key. I fully support the 2nd Amendment’s Right to Bear Arms and will go so far as to sponsor a bill to recognize the right of the people to carry their loaded guns for self-defense. Many criminals already carry loaded guns, I simply wish to level the “playing field.”

Where do you stand on campaign finance caps for legislative leaders and parties? Will you vote for your current caucus leader? Do you support an amendment for a different political map system? Why or why not?

Where do you stand on campaign finance caps for legislative leaders and parties? It’s astonishing that legislative leaders, political parties, and unions are given free rein to hand money over to candidates, yet taxpayers are limited in what they can contribute to the candidate of their choice. Personally, I see the issue as a Free Speech issue; if a taxpayer is limited in the amount of money he or she can contribute to a candidate, state or federal, that taxpayer’s freedom is being curtailed.

Will you vote for your current caucus leader? I would prefer to vote for a conservative caucus leader.

Do you support an amendment for a different political map system? Why or why not? I don’t know if a remedy as extreme as an amendment is necessary, however I believe that a bi-partisan commission should have the final say in reapportionment rather than simply the party in control. We’ve seen, even in McHenry County, what happens when the Chicago Political Machine gerrymanders political districts in order to favor a particular candidate or incumbent.

Legislation recently passed that exempts the evaluations of all public workers from FOIA. Do you support such an exemption? For a certain class of public employees (e.g. police officers, road workers etc.)? Explain.

If the taxpayer is paying their salary, public workers’ evaluations should be permissible under FOIA guidelines. I find myself in the uncomfortable position of agreeing with Gov. Quinn’s Amendatory Veto and his recommendations to permit all but Police evaluations to be permissible under FOIA. Even a broken clock is accurate twice a day.


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