Josh Evans' Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Key
Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
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Josh Evans has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2014 Political Courage Test.
Illinois State Legislative Election 2014 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| b) Should abortions be illegal after the first trimester of pregnancy? | |||
| c) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | |||
| 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? | |||
| g) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for abortion procedures? | |||
| h) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | |||
| I consider myself a Pro-Life candidate who believe in the exception for rape, incest, or to protect the life of the mother. | |||
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.
| Slightly Increase | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Health care | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Welfare | ||
| a) Alcohol taxes | |||
| b) Cigarette taxes | |||
| c) Corporate taxes | |||
| d) Gas/Oil taxes | |||
| e) Property taxes | |||
| f) Sales taxes | |||
| g) Income taxes (low-income families) | |||
| h) Income taxes (mid-income families) | |||
| 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 | ||
| d) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions | |||
| e) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees | |||
| Yes | f) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| With Illinois' fiscal climate, we will have to make tough choices in funding. I believe we must properly fund K-12 education. My top priority is funding K-12 education. | |||
| I believe in closing Corporate Tax loopholes and passing on that revenue to middle class families. This builds our economy from the middle out. | |||
| All these measures have to be on the table, but I will not accept eliminating public employees collective bargaining rights. I plan to work with public employees to find a balance that will benefit their members and Illinois. | |||
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 | ||
| 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? | ||
| Question 4(b) appears ambiguous in its wording. | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| c) Do you support legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana? | |||
| No | d) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| 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? | |||
| Question c) is a policy issue which must be discussed. I believe Illinois is taking an appropriate course by legalizing cannabis use for medical purposes. The answer to Question e) would depend on the circumstances. The answer to Question f) would depend on the specific law. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | 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? | |||
| No | d) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| e) Do you support government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | |||
| Yes | f) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| g) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage? | |||
| I believe we should maintain current unemployment benefits per Question (c). For Question (e), it depends on what the money is being spend on. Question (g): I believe minimum wage should be tied to inflation using a consumer price index. This precludes future fights over minimum wage increases. | |||
| No | a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | ||
| No | b) Do you support a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| Yes | c) Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers? | ||
| d) Should parents be allowed to use vouchers to send their children to any school? | |||
| No | e) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| Yes | g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Illinois high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Question d): I am open to the idea, but my focus is on improving public education in Illinois. Question e): I don't believe diverting money from public education for charter schools makes sense. | |||
| 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)? | |||
| c) Do you support state funding for improvements to Illinois's energy infrastructure? | |||
| d) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | |||
| e) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | |||
| I support state funding going towards research and development in all these areas. However, I do not believe state funds should go to a particular business through tax incentives. | |||
| a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | |||
| b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | |||
| c) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns? | |||
| d) Should a license be required for gun possession? | |||
| I support enforcing gun laws we currently have and not creating new laws. I would like to make Illinois' Conceal and Carry law more explicit in what it does or doesn't cover. | |||
| 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) Do you support Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act? | ||
| e) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | |||
| No | f) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| Question e): I don't support forcing people to buy anything, but I do support creating an incentive for people to buy health insurance. | |||
| a) Do you support same-sex marriage? | |||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Illinois's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Illinois's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| I don't believe it is the proper role of government to regulate marriage-gay or straight. | |||
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