Attorney General Candidate

Questions & Answers

What is the importance of the Illinois Attorney General to your constituents in Champaign County?

The Attorney General is the lawyer for the people of Illinois. Individuals and small businesses often do not have the resources to challenge powerful interests. But the Attorney General has the resources to dispute excessive rate increases by utility companies, to sue polluters, to prosecute businesses that engage in fraudulent conduct or that violate the rights of their employees, and to ensure that government agencies release public information. The Attorney General also has the legal tools to challenge the Trump Administration when it violates the laws. It is therefore essential that Illinois elects an Attorney General who has the knowledge, experience and independence to zealously pursue the public interest.

Why are you qualified to be Illinois Attorney General?

I have litigated public interest law cases before the Circuit Court, Appellate Court and Illinois Supreme Court; evaluated thousands of pieces of legislation; practiced before administrative bodies including the ICC; won reforms in election law cases; taught tax law at Chicago-Kent College of Law for 24 years; represented hundreds of homeowners and businesses in property tax matters; judged thousands of property tax appeals; and analyzed thousands of clemency petitions. I always have displayed independence, often taking controversial positions that were the right thing to do, such as leading the statewide petition drive that ended the practice allowing legislators to receive their entire salary on their first day in office. I also have a long record of seeking to raise ethical standards of government officials.

What is a key policy difference between you and your Primary Opponent[s]?

One key difference is that I will not accept campaign contributions from industries that the Attorney General must oversee. It is very troubling is that some of my opponents have accepted contributions from the tobacco, gaming and utility industries. It is important that the Attorney General not be beholden to private interests.

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

I have pursued the public interest throughout my career. Here are some of the accomplishments I am particularly proud about:

• Advocating for and signing the legislation to bring the benefits of the Affordable Care Act to Illinois, which has expanded health care coverage to thousands of Illinois residents


• Leading the effort to enact a $31 billion capital bill to jump start the Illinois economy following the Great Recession, which enabled the state to rebuild and restore Lincoln Hall at the University of Illinois, construct both the state-of-the-art Computer & Electrical Engineering Building and the facility that houses the Blue Waters supercomputer at the University, and to fund major construction projects at community colleges across the state including at Parkland College in Champaign


• Advocating for and signing legislation to achieve marriage equality


• Funding the Monetary Award Program (MAP) which provided college scholarships to 150,000 students, more than half of whom were the first in their family to attend college and more than half were people of color.


• Signing the DREAM Act; signing legislation to allow undocumented immigrants to obtain drivers licenses; and being the first Governor in America to return the Secure Communities program back to the federal government, which would have used Illinois law enforcement to act as federal immigration officer


• Signing the bill that abolished the death penalty in Illinois, a penalty that was imposed repeatedly on innocent persons and inordinately on people of color


• Advocating for and signing amendments strengthening the Equal Pay Act


• Receiving both the Outstanding Advocate Award from the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities and the President's Award from the Arc of Illinois (which represents 200,000 people with disabilities and their families) for my work enabling people with disabilities to move out of institutions and into community-based care


• Spearheading the creation of the Citizens Utility Board which has saved ratepayers hundreds of millions of dollars


• Revitalizing the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and reopening seven shuttered state parks.

Northside Democracy For America, a group from Chicago, hosted an Illinois Attorney General Forum

Watch the full video: here.