Secretary of State Candidate

Questions & Answers

What is the importance of the Illinois Secretary of State to your constituents in Champaign County?

Champaign County has a decent Drivers Services facility. However, the county’s college students need help with their basic registrations and documents, as the Drivers Services facility is far from the campus and may not be easy for them to get to. I believe that setting up kiosks on campus, funded by advertising on the kiosks from local businesses in the community, will alleviate this issue. Additionally, Champaign needs a location for truck drivers to complete their basic requirements at. There is no facility for them to go to nearby, yet many areas have facilities very close to each other. I want to take a look at possibly closing some of these facilities and opening needed ones in counties like Champaign County. Finally, I have heard from voters in Champaign that there is much concern over identity theft. I agree with this and am looking at better solutions for the protection of your personal information.

Why are you qualified to be the Illinois Secretary of State?

I have been involved in politics at the local level for nearly twenty years. I have fought against tax increases, spoken at board meetings, and have done a lot of activism for the betterment of my community. I am formerly the Activism Director for the Libertarian Party of Illinois and have received awards for outreach and the prestigious "Activist of the Year" award that is given out every year at our convention. I am a Hanover Township Committeeman, a State Organizing Committee representative for the Libertarian Party of Illinois (representing Dekalb County), the Vice Chair of the Dupage Libertarian Party, on the Convention Committee for our 2019 convention, and have been a member of the Fox Valley Libertarians since 1999. I have an Associate's Degree in Science and a Bachelor's Degree in Management and Leadership, achieving both with Honors, resulting in membership of the Phi Theta Kappa Honors Society. My professional experience is broad, but my main career direction in recent years has been in management and sales. I was also recently elected the Secretary of my local Toastmasters and really enjoy speaking to an audience, which I consider the voters of Illinois.

What is a key policy difference between you and your Opponent?

I feel like I am the only one with fresh solutions on my platform. I am the only one talking about privatizing Drivers Services, removing the front license plate requirement, reducing redundancy with the Secretary of State Police versus the other ten state police Departments, identity theft, better communication between government offices, kiosks at locations like grocery stores and colleges funded by the advertising of local businesses, and seriously addressing the budget of the office, which is the largest of any other government office in Illinois.

Is there anything else you would like to say to an undecided voter in Champaign County?

Our current Secretary of State is the longest serving Secretary State in history and I believe that Illinois needs someone with fresh ideas that haven't been tried before. Although I live up in the Chicagoland area, I have been attending Champaign County events for outreach to the community for years, and believe that I bring a perspective on things that voters in Champaign County will like. I am traveling the entire state listening to the different needs that people across the state may have. I am about community. I am about being relatable. I am about solutions that have you in mind and my only special interest is you. Consider voting for something different on November 6th. Vote for Steve Dutner, Libertarian Candidate for Illinois Secretary of State, on November 6th. Believe in Steve.