Thomas Boken, Jr.'s Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Thomas Boken, Jr. has demonstrated Political Courage by telling citizens where he stands on the issues he may face if elected.
Illinois State Legislative Election 2012 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| No | b) Should abortions be illegal after 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? | ||
| e) Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor? | |||
| f) Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor? | |||
| No | g) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for abortion procedures? | ||
| No | h) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| i) Other or expanded principles: | |||
1) State Spending:Using the key, indicate 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 Taxes:Using the key,indicate 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 Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Illinois's budget.4) Public Pensions:To mitigate Illinois's public pension shortfall, do you support:
| Slightly Increase | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Environment | ||
| Greatly Increase | d) Health care | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Greatly Increase | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Welfare | ||
| h) Other or expanded categories: | |||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Income taxes (mid-income families) | ||
| Greatly Increase | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| a) Establishing a "rainy day" fund | |||
| b) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | |||
| No | c) Reducing or eliminating public worker collective bargaining | ||
| No | d) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | e) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) Raising the retirement age for current and future employees? | ||
| No | b) Increasing employee contributions by current and future employees? | ||
| No | c) Reducing cost-of-living adjustments for current and future employees? | ||
| I support a graduated state income tax. | |||
| The question should ask separate questions for current employees and future employees. I will not support legislation that calls for reducing benefits promised to current employees. Any legislation seeking to make changes should be only for future employees. Promises made to current employees should not be broken by politicians in Springfield. If changes are to be made, they should only effect future employees who may base their decisions to accept employment based on the benefits they will receive. | |||
a) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions for state candidates?
| Yes | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| Yes | 4) Political Party | ||
| Yes | 5) Legislative Leader | ||
| Yes | b) Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| No | f) Do you support term limits for state legislators? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| 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) Do you support decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana? | ||
| 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? | ||
| f) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | |||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| a) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | |||
| b) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | |||
| c) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | |||
| d) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | |||
| e) Do you support increased spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | |||
| f) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | |||
| Yes | g) Should video gambling be legal in Illinois? | ||
| G) I prefer the expansion of brick and mortar casinos in the state rather than video gambling, as I believe more casinos would create jobs and bring in more entertainment and tourism dollars that we currently lose to out-of-state casinos. I would support this expansion as long as the free market supports it. | |||
| a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | |||
| b) Do you support a merit pay system for teachers? | |||
| c) Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers? | |||
| No | d) Should parents be allowed to use vouchers to send their children to any school? | ||
| e) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | |||
| f) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | |||
| g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Illinois high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | |||
| h) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy? | ||
| 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 state funding for improvements to Illinois's energy infrastructure? | ||
| d) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | |||
| Yes | e) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| Yes | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| No | c) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option? | ||
| b) Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform? | |||
| c) Do you support interstate health insurance compacts? | |||
| Yes | d) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| e) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | |||
| Yes | f) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| Yes | b) Should same-sex couples be allowed to form civil unions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Illinois's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Illinois's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
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