Congress - 13th District Candidate

Questions & Answers

What is the importance of the US Congress to your constituents in Champaign County?

I believe the issues that are most important to constituents in Champaign County are the same three issues for everyone in the 13th district: The growth of the local economy, access to education, and the fight for universal health coverage and affordable healthcare.

To grow local economies, we need to prioritize an economy that works in every zip code. We must invest in our infrastructure, including our roads and bridges, but also access in high speed internet in rural communities. We need to enforce our antitrust laws again and take into account regional impacts when reviewing mergers. When it comes to trade, each trade deal that the United States enters must create opportunities for small communities across the country, not just large multinational corporations with few commitments to workers and investments here at home. There is no doubt that recent policies and priorities have really damaged communities in central Illinois. We, as a country, need to make sure that if we’re making trade deals with other countries that benefit consumers, we’re also protecting hard-working Americans here at home. Everybody in every zip code needs to be able to earn a living wage, and we need to make sure that everyone gets equal pay for equal work.

We also need access to affordable education, and it’s incredibly important in IL-13, given how many universities and colleges we have here. More than 20,000 people in the District work for these schools. Their success is vital to our economic future. Congress’s role is to make sure that our universities are fully funded and that they can continue to compete among the world’s top schools. We must also ensure that our schools are accessible to Illinois students and that they can graduate without the burden of overwhelming debt. Too many families and young adults are saddled with student loan debt that prevents them from buying a home, starting a family, or investing in their future. If we’re going to be serious about investing in our economy we also need to help out recent graduates who have been forced to take the biggest gamble of their lives, just to get through college.

I believe healthcare is a human right. Having affordable access to health insurance is part of that right. During this campaign I have heard from many residents who have shared that their current health insurance is unaffordable. If the cost of insurance is too high for people to afford it, we cannot ensure that they can get the care they need. It is alarming how many families would be at risk of financial ruin if they had a health emergency, pregnancy, or lost their health insurance. I support opening up Medicare to allow everyone the opportunity to buy in. Creating a system that permits individuals to enter a system that has provided affordable care to individuals for decades is a smart move. I will also fight against any changes to the Medicaid and Medicare programs that diminish the benefits to Americans. And I will work to make sure that these programs are run efficiently without waste, fraud, or abuse.

Why are you qualified to be in the US Congress?

I have a long track record of public service. I have spent my career fighting to protect average Americans from the powerful special interests that attempt to take advantage of them. I have served as an Illinois Assistant Attorney General for the Illinois Attorney General’s office and as a congressional investigator in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate.

I’ll put my experience and skillset up against anyone in this race. Whether it was fighting big banks that were forcing Illinois workers to pay unreasonable fees, stopping a billion dollar scam against American consumers, or forcing FEMA to acknowledge that it had provided Hurricane Katrina survivors with trailers containing toxic levels of formaldehyde, I’ve always been on the side of working families.

Part of the reason I’ve fought so hard to protect the lives and livelihoods of people in middle-America is because I’m one of them. I was born and raised in Centralia. My Dad is a small business owner. My Mom was a teacher in Patoka for over 30 years. My grandfather and grandmother both retired as union members. An academic scholarship allowed me to go to SIUE, and $150,000 in debt allowed me to go to the University of Michigan Law School.

My story isn’t that different from a lot of people in Central and Southern Illinois. I have had to work for everything I have, and it hasn’t always been easy, but I’m proud of my roots, and want a better future for my family and my community. When I talk about the challenges we’re facing, I’m speaking from experience. It’s why I want to fight for an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top. It’s why I’ll fight for universal healthcare coverage, and for young people to get the education or training they need without having to burden themselves with crushing amounts of debt.

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

All the other candidates in this race are talking about what they are going to do. I’m the candidate who is also talking about what I’ve done. I have dedicated my career to fighting on behalf of people—for a fairer economy and a government that works. As an Illinois Assistant AG, a Chief Investigative Counsel in the U.S. Senate, and a Counsel to the U.S. House Oversight Committee, I investigated waste, fraud, and abuse in the government, and took on practices that hurt consumers and small businesses. I forged compromises among legislators, consumer groups, and business interests for laws that protected people. I have drafted legislation and negotiated compromises that turned into law. Examples include laws on data security, payroll cards, and patent trolls in Illinois, and the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act at the national level. I am the only person running in this primary with this legislative experience and background.

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

Our country is having a crisis of conscience. We’re currently engaging in a very public and very contentious debate over what sort of country we want to be. The institutions we’ve relied on, and taken for granted, are under attack. Our President has chosen someone to lead the Department of Education who does not believe in public education. His EPA chairman doesn’t accept the evidence for climate change. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an incredibly important safeguard against the practices that brought about the financial crisis, is now being gutted by the director Trump appointed. His FCC eliminated Net Neutrality. He has perpetuated conspiracy theories by calling his own Department of Justice the “deep state” and engages in a daily erosion of the very concepts of truth and reality.

Put simply, the house is on fire in Washington, and we are in desperate need of firefighters. I’m running because I’ve spent my career putting out these sorts of fires, and I’m ready to do it again. I know how to conduct congressional oversight, and I understand why it’s so incredibly important to the health of our democracy. I’ve fought and won tough battles to protect average citizens from those who seek to take advantage of them. I will take that experience and those skills to Washington to fight for what he hold dear - to keep public resources in the hands of the public by fighting to protect Social Security and Medicare. To preserve and defend our democracy against those who would undermine it for their own gain. My job as an Illinois Assistant Attorney General and as a congressional investigator prepared me for this fight. My career taught me how identify problems, build a record of those problems, find solutions, and turn those solutions into law. I’m ready on day one to do this work.

I know how our government is supposed to work and what productive governing looks like. Our current Congress is dysfunctional, and our current representative has contributed to that dysfunction by refusing to hold town halls, dismissing their concerns, and by silencing them when they challenge him on his record. We have a representative who has lost sight of who he’s supposed to represent. This validates the apathy and cynicism felt by so many in regards to politics. It doesn’t have to be this way, and I’m running for Congress to prove that. Throughout this campaign, I have spent hundreds of hours and traveled thousands of miles to meet with and listen to the people of this district. Their voices matter, and they deserve a representative who understands and takes seriously the responsibility that comes with being a representative of the people. I want the people of this district to know that in me, they’ll have an ally in Washington, one that is ready and willing to fight for them, and one who will work tirelessly to restore their faith in a system that for too long has left too many behind.

Erik Jones has signed the CUI Constituent Communication Pledge

Find out more about the CUI Constituent Communication Pledge: here.