GOP candidate for State Representative against 12-year incumbent Jack Franks has released the questionnaire he filled out for WLS-Radio and Fox-TV.  It follows:

Contact Details
Contact’s Email: mchenry20@gmail.com
Contact’s Name: John O’Neill

Biographical Info
Occupation: Sales Training Consultant
Age: 43
Marital Status: Married to Barbara
Family: Six wonderful children
Education/Degrees:
Experience:

• McHenry School District #15 Board of Education 2007 – present and
• McHenry Library District Board of Trustees 2009 – present

Religion: Roman Catholic
website: http://www.ElectJohnONeill.com
Email: ElectJohnONeill@gmail.com

Campaign Questions

Q:  Do you support Obama’s health care reform?
A:  Oppose

Q:  Do you support the war in Afghanistan?

A:  Support

Q:  Do you support marriage rights for same-sex couples?

A:  Oppose

Q:  Do you support Arizona’s immigration law?

A:  Support

Q:  Do you support offshore drilling?

A:  Support

Q:  Do you believe the wealthy are paying their fair share of taxes?

A:  Support

Q:  How would you change Springfield?

A:  Get rid of the Chicago Political Machine which has been running Springfield for most of my lifetime and elect candidates which reflect the True Conservative Values shared by the good people of Illinois.

Q:  How do we balance the state’s budget?

A:  By performing a line-by-line audit of the entire state budget, we should find enough money which is otherwise subject to waste, fraud, and abuse to balance the budget and pay the past-due bills to education and Medicare..

Q: Where do you stand on increasing taxes vs. cutting spending?

A:  Cut wasteful government spending then there will be no need to for a tax hike.

Q:  In light of the Supreme Court’s ruling on Chicago’s gun ban, what is your position on gun ownership?

A:  Forty-eight states allow concealed-carry and one (Wisconsin) permits open-carry. I will proudly sponsor a bill recognizing the right of the people of Illinois to carry a loaded weapon for self-defense. The criminals already carry loaded weapons for their own purposes; it is time to” level the playing field. “

Q:  Should we reduce reliance on property taxes as a form of school funding?

A:  We should reduce reliance of property taxes to fund public education; however the state budget must take priority at this point.

Q:  What is your position on pension reform for public employees?

A:  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.

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.

Q:  What is your plan to improve education in Illinois?

A:  End the practice of tenure and establish performance based standards for all Illinois teachers, tying their continued employment to their productivity in effectively teaching our children. Base individual teacher pay-raises to their effectiveness.

Q:  What one thing should the state do to create jobs?

A:  Immediately cut taxes. President Reagan showed us in the 1980s that when taxes are lowered more people are employed and when more people are employed there are more available funds to the government in the form of payroll taxes.

Q:  What else should we be doing to protect Illinois from terror threats?

A:  Eliminate “Sanctuary Cities,” the practice by which cities will not arrest illegal immigrants and turn them over to federal authorities.

Q:  Do you favor any additional limits on abortion?

A:  I am fully Pro-Life and hope that abortion or the desire for abortion can be eliminated.

Q:  Which specific programs should be cut from the state budget?

A:  I will hold off on answering this question until we have completed a forensic audit of the state budget, however I understand that the Illinois Department of Human Services is subject to an incredible amount of waste, fraud, abuse, and duplication of services.

Q:  Do you support expansion of casino gambling in Illinois?

A:  I believe we have too many gambling casinos in our state.

Q:  Does video gambling help or hurt Illinois, and how?

A:  Have you ever seen a child playing their home videogame system? Many times they would play for hours on end without stop if left unattended. Video gambling is correctly nicknamed the “crack-cocaine of the gambling industry.” Video gambling brings a perfect storm of a highly addictive form of entertainment mixed with the excitement of a potential, although nearly non-existent, chance to win money.

Q:  Would you support lifting the moratorium on the death penalty?

A:  I will support carefully lifting the moratorium on the death penalty.

Q:  Who are your largest donors and how much did they contribute?

A:  Looking at our campaign’s most recent financial report, far-and-away most of our donors are families contributing $50 or less. We received two contributions from one Political Action Committee, the Pro-Life Victory PAC totaling $750.