Indicate what federal funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one number per category, you can use a number more than once.

1) Budget Priorities

We should eliminate the cut-rate subsidies provided to corporations for oil drilling, mining, grazing, and timber harvesting on public lands; and we should stop waste, fraud, and abuse in Iraq contracting and other government procurement. In agriculture, we should tighten payment limits for corporate farms.

2) Defense Spending

Our troops have done everything we have asked of them. It is our duty to ensure that our service members and their families have the armored vehicles, protective equipment, pay, and supportive services they need and deserve as they sacrifice for our country. We must do our best to bring them home safely, and stand by those who are injured.

3) Taxes

Indicate what federal tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one number per category, you can use a number more than once.

Family Income Taxes

We need greater tax fairness. America's tax code should draw more from those who are able to pay more and have benefited the most, while asking less from those who are struggling to meet basic needs. I have supported a wide range of tax cuts for families, as well as targeted tax cuts to address special burdens such as the high price of college tuition.

Other Taxes

We should eliminate foreign tax shelters while rewarding corporations that offer good jobs in America. We should eliminate unnecessary tax breaks for oil companies that are breaking every record for corporate profits while consumers suffer at the pumps. On estate taxes, we should increase the exemption for small businesses and family farms that are passed on within the family. We should preserve the gasoline taxes that go to the Highway Trust Fund to rebuild and improve our roads, bridges, and public transportation systems.

Deductions/Credits

I have introduced legislation to provide tax credits to self employed persons and to small businesses that help their employees pay for health insurance. Families also need tax credits to help with college costs and child care expenses.

We need to identify our nation's highest priorities, fund these priorities appropriately, and cut back on programs that are less valuable. Unfortunately, President Bush's excessive tax cuts for wealthy special interests and his mismanagement of the economy have left us with the largest budget deficits in history. That debt burden falls unfairly on our children and grandchildren, and much of the debt is held by China, Japan, and the OPEC nations. Deficit spending is often needed when an economy is struggling, but we need to restore a commitment to fiscal discipline as soon as possible.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding campaign finance and government reform.

Our nation's system for financing political campaigns is fundamentally broken. I have introduced legislation that would allow us to replace the current system with a fair elections program in which viable candidates stop dialing for dollars and volunteer to fund their campaigns using only funds drawn from a federal Fair Elections account. This fund could be financed without costing individual taxpayers a dime and would help to rebuild the broken trust between the American people and their public officials.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding crime.

I support the availability of the death penalty for the most heinous crimes, with procedural safeguards to ensure justice, competent counsel for defendants, and DNA testing to help determine innocence or guilt. Judges and juries should have both the death penalty and life imprisonment without parole as available options as they weigh the appropriate sentence for egregious crimes. We should continue the federal programs that help local authorities put police officers on the street and give them needed crime-fighting tools and training.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding education.

I want to fix the No Child Left Behind law. It helped us focus on accountability, but it has major defects. Education should be about more than teaching to the test. We need to provide schools with the resources to successfully implement real reforms. We need to treat teachers as the professionals they are and invest more in teacher preparation and retention efforts. I am also working to expand funding for math, science, and technology education, and to reduce the cost of college and the high price of textbooks.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding employment.

America's workers are the most talented and dedicated in the world. They work long hours and their contributions to our economy should be fairly compensated. We should make sure global competition is not unfairly tilted against them, and we should seek to close the gap between what average workers and CEOs earn by strengthening workers' rights to bargain collectively. We also should encourage flexible work arrangements that more fully tap into our nation's talent while still supporting a sensible balance between work and family.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding the environment and energy.

We should consider every environmentally sound option to lower gas prices. I support cracking down on crude oil speculators, increasing oil supplies now by releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and fast-tracking domestic production by requiring oil companies to move quickly on land already cleared for drilling. Long-term, we need higher automobile fuel standards and more alternative energy. We can reduce global warming in ways that create new "green" jobs. We need research on safe storage and disposal of nuclear waste before expanding nuclear power. And we need to redouble our efforts to clean and protect Lake Michigan.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding guns.

On (c) and (d), indicate what levels (#1-6) you support for the following categories.

I believe Americans are entitled to own and use guns safely, legally, and responsibly. At the same time, we must address the illegal possession and use of firearms and close loopholes, such as the gun show loophole, that give criminals easy access to guns.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding health.

I have introduced bipartisan legislation backed by business and labor groups to make health insurance more affordable for small businesses and the self-employed by creating purchasing pools with a choice of private health plans, along with tax credits for businesses willing to help pay for coverage. I have worked to increase funding for food safety, medical research, and programs to address the shortage of nurses. I have proposed legislation to give Medicare beneficiaries the choice of enrolling in a Medicare-administered drug plan for which Medicare negotiates with drug companies for lower prices.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding immigration.

We must fix our broken immigration system. I support comprehensive reform that is tough, realistic, and consistent with our moral values. We should strengthen our border security by increasing manpower and technology, punish employers who undercut American workers by hiring undocumented workers, and provide a path to legal status for those who work hard and demonstrate a long-term commitment to be law-abiding citizens. They should be required to pass a background check, pay fines and back taxes, pass a medical exam, learn English, and go to the back of the line behind all applicants already waiting for green cards.

International Aid

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding international aid.

Aid should focus on education and other efforts to help the world's poorest children, addressing AIDS and other health care problems that cross borders, peacekeeping, and efforts to encourage democracy and sustainable development. These efforts are an important way that we promote American values. Where a government is guilty of documented human rights abuses, it is appropriate to consider humanitarian aid that can be provided to the neediest people without providing support to the regime committing the abuses.

International Policy

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding international policy.

I voted against going to war in Iraq. I support legislation that would begin a phased redeployment of our troops in a safe and orderly fashion, leaving a tactical force to protect U.S. assets and personnel, engage in limited missions against al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups, and train Iraqi security forces. Our troops have done everything we have asked of them and I have worked hard to improve the services provided to our veterans when they return home, including a recently enacted program to identify and treat those who have suffered from traumatic brain injury.

Regarding Pakistan, the United States should continue to provide support to fight Al Qaeda and the Taliban along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan. We should continue to support humanitarian and democratic development programs in Pakistan. However, additional assistance should be evaluated based on Pakistan's cooperation in fighting terrorism on its borders, respect for the democratic process, freeing of political prisoners, and respect for the independence of the judiciary.

International Trade

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding international trade.

U.S. involvement in trade agreements should be based on what is best for American workers. Exports are important to the Illinois economy. Our trading partners should be required to meet labor and environmental standards and protect human rights to ensure that their trade is fair. We must enforce our trade laws and assist Americans whose jobs are affected by imports. We should continue to press China to stop manipulating its currency and to provide greater labor rights and political freedoms. With regard to Venezuela, sanctions are an option if Venezuela's leadership is involved in destabilizing activities in the region.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding national security.

(a) I support military commissions in limited circumstances if they comply with the Constitution and our treaty obligations. (b) Wiretapping must be done in a manner that promotes our security while protecting the privacy of Americans under the Constitution. (e) Pre-emptive strikes should be limited to situations where there is an imminent threat and every other option has failed. (f) There are serious flaws in the Real ID law. (g) The National Guard plays an important role in our Armed Forces but frequent mobilizations have made it harder for the Guard to fulfill its domestic responsibilities.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding social issues.

(a)/(b) Decisions about the legal status of marriage are made by the states. While I do not support same-sex marriage, I also do not support a Constitutional amendment either recognizing or prohibiting same-sex marriages as a national standard, and I oppose discrimination based on a person's sexual orientation. (c)/(d) I support federal funding for research on existing stem cell lines and new stem cell lines from embryos that would otherwise be discarded by in vitro fertilization clinics. (e)/(f) While some reform has been necessary, I support reasonable affirmative action programs promoting equal opportunity for qualified minorities and women, without quotas.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding Social Security.

I oppose efforts to privatize Social Security by diverting payroll taxes to individual accounts. I support making more modest changes in the near term to ensure the solvency of the Social Security trust fund for generations to come. In 1983, the Social Security system was about to run out of money and Medicare was projected to be insolvent by 1990. Incremental reforms have extended these programs and we can continue to extend their solvency without imposing extraordinary burdens on seniors who can least afford it.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding welfare and poverty.

I support efforts to expand educational opportunities, to provide work and training programs, and to provide child care and transportation assistance where it is needed to help make the transition from welfare to work. I also support nutrition programs to prevent hunger; programs to provide access to housing for low-income families and seniors, persons with disabilities, and persons with AIDS; and energy assistance for those struggling to pay skyrocketing utility bills.

Families and individuals are increasingly feeling the squeeze as they pay more for energy and other costs. I am working to reduce energy prices and promote jobs that provide energy alternatives; provide greater access to affordable health insurance, starting with small businesses; help families afford college and reduce their textbook costs; and address the abuses by credit card companies that trap too many families in an endless cycle of debt. I am also working to make good on our nation's commitment to our veterans by helping them deal with the health issues they face when they return home.