Kenny Williams' Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Illinois State Legislative Election 2010 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you consider yourself pro-choice or pro-life? | ||
| Yes | b) Should abortion be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy? | ||
| Yes | c) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| Yes | d) Should abortion be legal when the life of the woman is endangered? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods? | ||
| No | h) Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs? | ||
| a) I believe 100% in a woman's right to choose and control her body. However I think our government can do more to support to a woman so she doesn't feel abortion is her best or only option. | |||
1) State SpendingIndicate what state funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category; you may use a number more than once.2) State TaxesIndicate what state tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category; you may use a number more than once.3) Budget StabilizationIndicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Illinois' budget.
| Greatly Increase | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Greatly Increase | c) Environment | ||
| Greatly Increase | d) Health care | ||
| Greatly Decrease | e) Law enforcement | ||
| Greatly Decrease | f) Transportation and highway infrastructure | ||
| Greatly Increase | g) Welfare | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | d) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | e) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Eliminate | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Yes | a) Tapping into Illinois' "rainy day" fund | ||
| Yes | b) Issuing the early release of certain non-violent offenders | ||
| No | c) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | ||
| No | d) Instituting mandatory furloughs and layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | e) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| No | f) Privatizing certain government services | ||
| g) I think welfare should be reformed to include measures that help individuals and families raise themselves out of poverty. this could be accomplished by adding formal education programs as well as trade school opportunities. since most people that receive welfare live in poor neighborhoods where there are meager resources welfare programs should encourage and train recipients to become entrepreneurs, these programs should also help successful participants to secure funding for those individuals willing to open business in under-served communities. | |||
| c) I do not believe that we need higher corporate taxes, I do think we can close some of the loop holes and remove some deductions in the tax code that allow some business' to go virtually untaxed. I also think it would be prudent to tax only a company's profits and do away with some of the ancillary taxes like head taxes, I would also look at making unemployment taxes an optional employee paid tax for small business'. | |||
| d) furloughs and layoffs for state employees should be a "bitter pill" option reserved only for times in which the state can not meet its payroll. I also believe that legislators should take also take any cut in pay or benefits they require of state employees e) reducing medicaid benefits for our state's poor will only create higher health-care costs in the long run because more people will begin using the emergency room for their regular check-ups. f) I do not believe the government should privatize any of its services. | |||
e) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions to candidates for state government?
| No | a) Do you support eliminating the position of lieutenant governor? | ||
| No | b) Do you support limits on the number of terms for Illinois governors? | ||
| No | c) Do you support limits on the number of terms for Illinois state legislators? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support limits on the number of terms for the four top legislative leadership positions? | ||
| No | 1) Individual | ||
| No | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| Yes | 4) Political Party | ||
| Yes | 5) Legislative Leader | ||
| Yes | f) Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| I believe in publicly funded campaigns with very strict spending limits for all candidates. | |||
| No | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders, such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment? | ||
| Yes | c) Should the possession of small amounts of marijuana be decriminalized? | ||
| No | d) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| No | e) Should a minor who sends sexually-explicit or nude photos by cell phone face criminal charges? | ||
| No | f) Do you support requiring all motorcyclists to wear helmets? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| h) Other or expanded principles | |||
| No | a) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | b) Should video gambling be legal in Illinois? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support increased spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| a) I would have to review specific regulations but for the most part I support some sort of government regulation for most industries. c) As long as a permanent job is attached to the training. d) Especially when the state's unemployment rate is over 7%. e) as long as the incentives lead to permanent jobs. f) I am okay with creating infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation as long as the projects and jobs are distributed fairly and equitably across the state. g) absolutely, foreclosures not only destroy families but entire neighborhoods and communities also. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support national education standards? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support using a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| No | d) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| No | f) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Illinois high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for improvements to Illinois' energy infrastructure? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| I will support any initiative that will effectively educate citizens on the issues the environment. I will sponsor innovative projects that that will are solution based to solve some of these issues. | |||
| No | a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| No | b) Do you support requiring background checks on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support allowing individuals to carry concealed guns? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support requiring a license for gun possession? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support interstate health insurance compacts? | ||
| Yes | d) Should individuals be required to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| No | e) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support legalizing physician-assisted suicide in Illinois? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| h) Other or expanded principles | |||
| Yes | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| Yes | b) Should Illinois allow same-sex couples to form civil unions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support state funding for stem cell research? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for embryonic stem cell research? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support the state's use of affirmative action? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Illinois' anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Illinois' anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| I firmly believe from a spiritual stand point that marriage is between a man and a woman. However, from a legal stand point I think people should be allowed to marry anyone they want, so I support the concept of civil marriage. Everyone should have the legal rights my wife and I take for granted. | |||
| My priorities include (in no specific order): Help for homeowner's in the form of lower property taxes, incentives for 1st time buyers and help for those facing foreclosure. More money for education Entrepreneurial and job programs. I would pay for these by re prioritizing our current spending...in other words, if we can spend $39 billion on capital improvements then we can find $20 billion to help citizens during these very tough economic times. |
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