This BND Voter Guide covers candidates in statewide races in Illinois election

Welcome to the Belleville News-Democrat’s Voter Guide for the statewide races in the Nov. 8 election in Illinois.

The News-Democrat has contacted the candidates running for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, comptroller, treasurer and secretary of state and asked them to complete a candidate questionnaire.

While this article has information about candidates in statewide races, you can go to this page at bnd.com to get links to read about candidates running for Congress, state legislative, judicial and county positions.

Here are the responses from the statewide candidates who have replied: (The candidates are listed alphabetically.)

Governor

NAME: DARREN BAILEY

Political party: Republican

Age as of Nov. 8, 2022: 56

Campaign website or social media page: https://baileyforillinois.com/

Office seeking: Governor

Are you an incumbent? No

Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought) Yes. Elected state representative 2018 and elected state senator in 2020.

Occupation: Farmer

Education: I am a graduate of North Clay High School and Lake Land College.

Please list highlights of your civic involvement: My wife, Cindy, and I received the Hometown Governor’s Award for a teen center (He-Brews House of Friends) for kids designed to help them make positive life choices, have fun with friends and build skills to be successful.

In addition, I was elected to the state house, and I currently serve as a state senator. Since being an elected official, I have taken a portion of my salary and donated it to various local charities throughout my district.

I am a member of the Louisville Rotary Club and Illinois Independent Business Federation, as well as the Illinois Wheat Association, National and State Corn Growers Association, National and State Soybean Association and the Fellowship of Christian Farmers. I also am a lifetime member of the Farm Bureau and an alumnus of Future Farmers of America.

Who are your top three campaign contributors? My campaign has more than 10,000 unique donors to help me in my grassroots campaign.

Why are you running? I am running to restore our great state. I want to make sure our residents are safe and that they can afford to live.

Our finances are a mess, and confidence in our state leadership is low. The current policies have failed working families in Illinois, and it is time for change. The only solution J.B. Pritzker has is to raise more taxes. Illinois already has some of the highest state and local taxes in the country. There is no appetite in Illinois for more tax increases.

As governor, I will focus on making government work for the people of Illinois. I will work to root out identity fraud within the Illinois Department of Employment Security. I will make sure state agencies are responsive to requests in a timely manner, and my administration will work with the legislative branch to tackle the problems Illinois residents care about. My focus and priority will be serving the people of this great state.

I am also focused on making our communities safe. I will push to repeal the SAFE-T Act. We will repeal the SAFE-T Act; reinstate cash bail everywhere; repeal limits on pre-trial detention for violent criminals; surge police support and work with city leadership to find solutions; prioritize state funds to hire and retain officers; increase sign-on and retention bonuses for police statewide; support police and end anonymous, unsworn complaints against police; and support local ordinances to provide scheduling and mental-health relief to law enforcement, as mentioned by Alderman Napolitano. (Ald. Napolitano ordinance for Chicago).

I have the endorsement of the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police; the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police; Safe Suburbs PAC; the Italian American Police Association of Illinois; and the Illinois Sheriffs’ Association.

What is the top issue in your race, and how would you address it? The issues I hear about on the campaign trail are jobs, the economy, inflation and crime. These issues are in many ways connected. The issue of crime is impacting our economy as businesses are packing up and leaving. McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski just recently called Chicago a “city in crisis” because of crime.

We should listen to what business leaders are telling us because we can’t afford to lose job opportunities to other states.

I plan to make addressing crime one of my top priorities so that we can not only keep the businesses we have but attract new ones. If we grow our economy and create more jobs we can lower the overall tax burden, which in turn will attract more job opportunities. We will create a cycle of success instead of the current cycle of decline in which bad policies lead to more job loss and higher taxes, which in turn perpetuates more job loss and more people leaving our state.

Companies want to invest in Illinois, but they need to know we are serious about creating a better business environment before investing in our state. If we take the right steps toward making our state a more attractive investment for businesses – we can go a long way toward solving the state’s innumerable financial problems.

Why should people vote for you? We know what J.B. Pritzker’s failed policies have done to our state. We know about the 36 veterans who died at LaSalle Veterans’ Home because the governor’s administration failed to protect those individuals from COVID-19. We know about the $2 billion in fraudulent unemployment claims the state paid out because of the governor’s failure to stop the fraud. We know about the horrors happening at DCFS because the governor refuses to fire Marc Smith, the agency director.

We know about the rise in crime because J.B. Pritzker has not only failed to address the problem but has actively put into place policies to make the problem even worse.

J.B. Pritzker has set record spending levels every year he has been in office. What have we gotten for all of this state spending? Are our state parks in better shape than they were? Are our streets safer? Are our roads demonstrably better? Is customer service at our state agencies vastly improved?

By every measure imaginable, J.B. Pritzker is a miserable failure. But what did we expect? Why would a coddled billionaire with no real work history and no previously held political office be anything but an unmitigated disaster?

The legacy of the status quo is debt, high taxes and out of control spending. I am the only candidate in this race who has been willing to talk about the real problems facing our state and to advocate for workable solutions. I will hold failed bureaucrats responsible for their failings. If the people I appoint can’t do the job – I will find someone who can. I will make government work for the people of this great state, and I will demand accountability on how every dollar of taxpayer money is spent.

NAME: J.B. PRITZKER

Political party: Democratic

Age as of Nov. 8, 2022: 57

Campaign website or social media page: www.jbpritzker.com

Office seeking: Governor

Are you an incumbent? Yes

Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought.) Governor of Illinois, 2018; U.S. Congress, 9th District, 1998.

Occupation: Governor

Education: Bachelor of arts, Duke University; juris doctor, Northwestern University.

Please list highlights of your civic involvement: For decades, I’ve fought for the people of Illinois and have taken on big challenges. I came to the governorship as a pro-choice, pro-civil rights advocate for children and families. For more than 25 years, I was a business owner who helped build companies and had more than 10,000 employees, creating jobs and economic opportunity. I led the creation of 1871, a nonprofit business incubator that has helped create more than 14,500 jobs and made Chicago one of the top tech hubs in the world. I led the creation of the Illinois Holocaust Museum that teaches tens of thousands of children each year to fight intolerance bigotry and racism. Finally, I have been a national leader in support of early childhood education and childcare for more than two decades.

Who are your top three campaign contributors? My campaign is self-funded, so voters know their views are always more important than those of corporate or special-interest funders.

Why are you running? I’m running for re-election because we need a government that puts people first and addresses the kitchen-table issues most important to working families. As governor, my No. 1 priority has been putting state government back on the side of working families. Previous administrations left Illinois’ finances in terrible shape, but my administration has turned things around by enacting four balanced budgets, eliminating the bill backlog, earning six-credit upgrades and getting our state back on strong fiscal footing. As a result, we’re providing $1.8 billion in gas, grocery and property tax relief to help families overcome inflation. We’re providing more college scholarships than ever before. I protected a woman’s right to choose, and I raised the minimum wage to a livable wage. And I accomplished all of that while fighting a deadly global pandemic, saving lives and livelihoods. I’m doing my job so working families can do theirs. My opponent, Darren Bailey, is a Trump extremist who would take our state backwards. He opposes abortion and thinks it’s OK to force a 13-year-old rape victim to give birth. He wants to eliminate the state minimum wage. He even wants to throw Chicagoans out of the state. I’m proud of the progress we’ve made, and I’m ready to get even more big things done for the people of Illinois.

What is the top issue in your race, and how would you address it? Without fiscal responsibility, nearly nothing else can be achieved. Five years ago, our state budget was held hostage by the former governor, and Illinoisans suffered massive disruption and devastation that we’ve spent nearly four years trying to reverse. Our state’s unpaid bill backlog piled up to nearly $17 billion, and we suffered eight credit downgrades, with our universities experiencing five of their own credit downgrades. Balancing the state budget, eliminating the bill backlog, restoring faith and trust in our financial condition, eliminating waste and putting our state on a sustained trajectory of fiscal responsibility — that’s what I’ve worked tirelessly to achieve over the past four years. And we’ve made enormous strides putting our state on firmer fiscal footing. Doing so has meant that as COVID brought rising crime across the nation, here in Illinois we have been able to reverse the Republican defunding of violence-interruption programs, invest in new state-of-the-art crime labs, add hundreds of state police to our ranks and fund witness-protection programs to solve crimes faster. Being fiscally responsible has allowed us to provide more students with more scholarships than ever before, and we’ve substantially expanded mental-health and substance-abuse treatment. Our balanced budgets and budget surpluses have allowed us to provide $1.8 billion in gas, grocery and property tax relief for Illinois families suffering from global inflation. I have always believed state government ought to be primarily dedicated to lifting up the working families of Illinois and those who have too often been left out and left behind. If reelected, my highest priorities will be continued fiscal stability — and fighting to make Illinois the best state in which to live, work and raise a family.

Why should people vote for you? I have provided strong leadership through tough times, and I have focused on putting state government back on the side of working families and those who have been left out and left behind. Throughout the pandemic and some of our state’s darkest hours, I have endeavored to lead with determination and compassion, saving lives and livelihoods. I brought Republicans and Democrats together to achieve bipartisan victories on lowering taxes on 90% of Illinois families and 400,000 small businesses, modernizing our infrastructure, reducing the cost of pensions and fighting climate change. These are all big strides forward for Illinois that previous administrations were unable to achieve. I’ve delivered on campaign promises, from raising the minimum wage to providing record amounts of college scholarships to creating more new small businesses than ever before. I’ve advanced equal pay for women, protected women’s reproductive rights while Republicans are trying to take them away, and led the fight against climate change with the most comprehensive clean energy law in the Midwest. Illinois has become stronger and more resilient over the last four years, and I remain committed to tackling the challenges that remain. If reelected, I’m determined to deliver even more historic progress for families all across Illinois.

NAME: SCOTT MITCHELL SCHLUTER

Political party: Libertarian

Age as of Nov. 8, 2022: 35

Campaign website or social media page: www.scottschluter.com

Office seeking: Governor

Are you an incumbent? No

Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought.) State representative

Occupation: Diesel technician

Education: Associate of applied science in diesel technology, medium/heavy duty truck; associate of applied science in diesel technology, heavy equipment.

Please list highlights of your civic involvement: U.S. Air Force veteran who served in Iraq; lifetime Veterans of Foreign Wars member and officer; chair, Southern Illinois Libertarian Party.

Who are your top three campaign contributors? Myself, Danny Bedwell and Jasen Howard

Why are you running? Illinoisans have been fighting an uphill battle against bad policy for decades. We are overtaxed, overregulated and underrepresented. Our elected officials have forgotten who they work for and what their job is. Their duty is to preserve our individual liberties and to only legislate with that goal in mind. I want to: Lower taxes. Reduce spending. Deregulate the economy. Reform occupational licensing. Repeal firearms identification cards and guarantee constitutional carry. End the drug war. Reform criminal justice. Fix our pension system. These things are the only way to save our state from falling into financial collapse and our citizens from tyranny.

What is the top issue in your race, and how would you address it?

One of the rallying cries of the Revolutionary War was “no taxation without representation.” Think about the morality of our debt situation in those terms.

The government is putting our children into debt. The youths of today will have to pay for things that they had absolutely no say in. If this is not taxation without representation, I don’t know what it is.

We have a moral responsibility and a parental responsibility to get a grasp on this debt. The best way to reduce deficits and begin fixing our budget mess is to eliminate state agencies and sell the buildings.

That’s right. Shut down whole state departments. Local governments and private businesses can pick up whatever slack is needed. It won’t be easy, it won’t be fun, and it won’t be popular, but it is necessary. This will put us on the track to fiscal responsibility. We have a moral responsibility to our children, to not vote them into debt. If this means we must eliminate large portions of our government, so be it.

I am prepared to take the steps necessary to accomplish this.

Why should people vote for you? I’m not wealthy. I’m not connected. I’m not running for personal benefit. You should vote for me because I, like you, am just a hard-working American doing everything I can to fix the country and state that I love. That is what drove me to join the military. It’s what drove me to get involved in politics. It’s what drives me now to fight against the entrenched oligarchy that has systematically stripped you of your individual liberties and financial independence.

Lieutenant governor

NAME: JOHN PHILLIPS (Schluter’s running mate)

Political party: Libertarian

Age as of Nov. 8, 2022: 51

Campaign website or social media page: www.scottschluter.com

Office seeking: Lieutenant governor

Are you an incumbent? No

Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought.) City Council.

Occupation: Shop owner; mechanic.

Education: College.

Please list highlights of your civic involvement: Years of coaching youth sports; helping with cannabis and hemp legalization drives; and volunteering at warming shelters for the homeless.

Who are your top three campaign contributors? Myself and Scott Schluter.

Why are you running? Our state government sticks its fingers in too many things, and this interference crushes the common person while claiming to help them.

What is the top issue in your race, and how would you address it? In Illinois? It has to be the budget and taxation. Address it by reducing the units of government, reducing government in areas that don’t really serve the people (despite claims otherwise), reducing overly burdensome regulations that destroy small businesses and benefit large corporations, reducing regulations that hamper entrepreneurship and business and cut revenues. Governments do not revitalize economies, people do.

Why should people vote for you? They should vote for me because I know and understand how all these government actions affect them, not pretending like the millionaires and billionaires who are good at selling feel-good lies.

NAME: JULIANA STRATTON (Pritzker’s running mate)

Political party: Democratic

Age as of Nov. 8, 2022: 57

Campaign website or social media page: www.jbpritzker.com

Office seeking: Lieutenant governor

Are you an incumbent? Yes

Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought.) Lieutenant governor, 2018; state representative, 5th District of Illinois, 2016.

Occupation: Lieutenant governor

Education: Bachelor of arts, University of Illinois; juris doctor, DePaul University.

Please list highlights of your civic involvement: As the first Black woman to ever serve as Illinois lieutenant governor, my portfolio includes leading the Justice, Equity and Opportunity Initiative and chairing the Illinois Council on Women and Girls, the Governor’s Rural Affairs Council, the Military Economic Development Council and the Illinois River Coordinating Council. I am also the first Black woman to serve as chair of the National Lieutenant Governors Association. Previously, I represented the 5th District in the Illinois House of Representatives, and my first elected office was serving as chair of the Kenwood Academy Local School Council. My entire career has focused on bringing people together, building consensus and solving problems. I’ve served as a mediator, arbitrator and administrative law judge for several government agencies, as well as director of the Center for Public Safety and Justice at the University of Illinois Chicago. I also served as executive director of the Cook County Justice Advisory Council and as a deputy hearing commissioner for the City of Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, all with a focus on improving public safety and building stronger communities.

Who are your top three campaign contributors? The governor’s campaign is self-funded.

Why are you running? We have made great strides putting state government back on the side of working families –– but there’s still more work to do to safeguard and further our progress. As extreme Republicans like Darren Bailey and Stephanie Trussell wage a war on women and families, Gov. Pritzker and I will continue to fight for access to good jobs, livable wages, affordable health care and women’s reproductive rights. From balancing our budgets to delivering much-needed tax relief, there is so much on the line, and we are eager to continue working on behalf of Illinoisans everywhere to ensure working families can recover from the pandemic fully and thrive.

What is the top issue in your race, and how would you address it? Many Illinoisans are struggling with the impacts of inflation and the realities of economic insecurity. That’s why I’m proud to be Gov. Pritzker’s partner in governance, focused on growing the economy and expanding opportunities for Illinoisans in every corner of the state. We’ve balanced four budgets, raised the minimum wage statewide to $15 an hour, giving 1.4 million people a raise; and delivered $1.8 billion in tax relief on gas, groceries and more. There’s more work to do, but the actions we’ve taken have improved the lives of working families. I’ve worked to create economic opportunities for all Illinoisans, especially women and girls across the state. In my role as chair of the Illinois Council on Women and Girls, I’ve fought for increased protections to ensure equal pay for equal work. I’m also proud of Gov. Pritzker’s actions to address the racial wealth gap through creating a new community development loan program, prohibiting lenders from charging more than 36% annually on consumer loans, protecting individuals from housing discrimination on the basis of a criminal record and creating state standards around examining low- and moderate-income lending. If re-elected, we will keep working to improve our economy and lift up Illinoisans of all backgrounds. Our track record of enacting balanced budgets, paying down our debts and investing in key priorities will serve as a road map for continuing to improve the economy, and as long as we’re in office, we’ll continue to make Springfield work for working families.

Why should people vote for you? Since day one, Gov. Pritzker and I have been committed to working for working families. Fiscal responsibility and bold leadership have led to monumental victories for Illinoisans in every corner of the state, victories that we achieved amidst the biggest global health crisis in a century. Thanks to our leadership, people are witnessing the improvements to our state: We’re upgrading roads and bridges, ensuring that communities that are often left out and left behind finally have a champion in Springfield, and putting more money back into folks’ pockets. We have a proven record of helping people in every community, and this election is simply too important to sit out. Darren Bailey has no plans and would take our state back to the days of dysfunction. We cannot let him into the governor’s office.

Did not respond

Stephanie Trussell, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, did not respond to the Belleville News-Democrat questionnaire.

Attorney general

NAME: KWAME RAOUL

Political party: Democrat

Age as of Nov. 8, 2022: 58

Campaign website or social media page: www.kwameraoul.com

Office seeking: Illinois Attorney General

Are you an incumbent? Yes

Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought) Illinois Senate

Occupation: Illinois Attorney General

Education: Chicago-Kent College of Law, DePaul University

Please list highlights of your civic involvement: 100 Black Men of America and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity

Who are your top three campaign contributors? JB for Governor, Democratic Party of Illinois, Laborers

Why are you running? In my first term, I have served as the people’s lawyer, working deliberately in a bipartisan manner to defend and uphold the law and the rights of every Illinois resident, including the most marginalized citizens.

I have worked across the aisle with prosecutors and police chiefs across Illinois to prosecute crimes including murders, illegal gun trafficking, organized retail crime, fraud, public corruption and internet crimes against children. I have protected women’s rights and held corporate bad actors responsible for deceptive and fraudulent acts that have led to the opioid crisis and burdened students with excessive debt from predatory loans.

Now more than ever, we need elected leaders who are prepared to protect our rights and not diminish them. I’m ready to take on a second term to serve the people of Illinois and stand up for their rights and our democracy.

What is the top issue in your race, and how would you address it? One of the most pressing issues today for the people of Illinois is the rise in violence. I have worked collaboratively in a bipartisan manner with prosecutors and police chiefs across Illinois to prosecute violent crimes and gun traffickers. I also work in partnership with the U.S. Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Center to conduct trainings to better prevent mass shooting threats in schools, places of worship and other public places. My office also trains law enforcement partners to enforce red flag laws to temporarily remove firearms from people who are a danger to themselves or others. As a former prosecutor in juvenile court, I learned that untreated trauma begets further violence, so as Attorney General, I have enhanced our ability to get resources to survivors of violence to help prevent survivors from evolving into perpetrators. In partnership with the Illinois State Police, I also asked the General Assembly for more jurisdiction to prosecute crimes on Illinois roadways.

Why should people vote for you? Serving as Attorney General and chief legal officer of the state gives one a great deal of responsibility and power, which in the wrong hands can be abused. My opponent has demonstrated time and again that he is overly litigious, and he will use the court’s resources on frivolous lawsuits. He’s also never prosecuted a criminal case in his entire career. My approach has been to work collaboratively and in a bipartisan manner with state’s attorneys of both parties to tackle the opioid crisis, prosecute organized retail crimes, child predators and other criminal matters. I have a history of serving as a prosecutor and responsibly managing the Attorney General’s office through challenging times, including a pandemic and cyber-attack. I also bring a lifetime of legal experience and public service to my work having started my career as a prosecutor working in both trial and appellate courts and having served as senior attorney for the state’s largest community college district. I have also worked at two national law firms practicing in the areas of employment, labor and health law, and I spent 14 years in the Illinois State Senate serving as the chair of the Pension and Investment Committee as well as the Judiciary Committee.

NAME: DANIEL ROBIN

Political party: Libertarian

Age as of Nov. 8, 2022: 72

Campaign website or social media page: www.DanRobin4AG.org

Office seeking: Attorney general

Are you an incumbent? No

Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought.) No

Occupation: Attorney

Education: Juris doctor

Please list highlights of your civic involvement: Many roles within the Northwest Suburban Bar Association (NWSBA).

Who are your top three campaign contributors? With no contributor over $25, the question is irrelevant.

Why are you running? Because I believe that freedom and liberty are the greatest tools in the war on poverty.

What is the top issue in your race, and how would you address it?

The right to earn an honest living.

Five years ago, the prior attorney general filed a lawsuit against the Chicago Police Department to protect the people’s right to be free from the unconstitutional violation of their Fourth Amendment privacy rights.

Kudos to the attorney general. We should all be free from unlawful search and seizure.

But what I like more is the right of every individual to earn an honest living. Municipalities and counties across the country violate your rights to start an honest business.

The Institute for Justice (IJ) studied 20 cities and found that none made it simple, clear or easy to get a business started. IJ made suggestions to improve the fundamental right to the pursuit of happiness.

My book, “Libertarian War on Poverty,” points out that the No. 1 aspiration of poor people is to start their own business. As your attorney general, I will motivate cities and counties to end poverty by streamlining their procedures and fostering a business-friendly environment.

Every city and town should be a refuge of liberty.

Why should people vote for you?

Elections are, in part, about choices. I offer a clear choice. Libertarians are the party of principle. There should, in all public policies, be a presumption that freedom and liberty work. The feeling is much like the presumption of innocence. The burden must be on the state to prove that its laws are based upon real, known facts. Executive orders must be based upon actual authority of the legislature. The purpose of government is to protect the rights of the people. It should not interfere with those rights unless such regulation is based upon imminent harm, not the imagined fears of the legislature.

Criminal or civil sanctions of jail or fines should only apply to matters involving an immediate victim. A simple example might help. The legal drinking age is 21 years old. This law is a blatant failure. Ask any 19-year-old adult if he has ever had an alcoholic beverage. Why bother asking a rhetorical question? Everyone knows the answer. This is a victimless crime. An 18-year-old adult consuming alcohol does not violate anyone else’s rights. But in the eye of the government, he is committing a crime.

My opponent was intimately involved in the design and passage of the SAFE-T Act. I applaud his concern for people who are in jail only because they could not afford to post bonds. But he and the legislature got it very wrong. Many of the crimes for which there will soon be (almost) no bond involved very real victims. I believe in judicial discretion. Crimes involving immediately known victims should require bonds at the sole discretion of judges. The SAFE-T Act painted with too broad of a brush.

Our laws and enforcement should be based upon the presumption of liberty.

Did not respond

Thomas DeVore, the Republican candidate for attorney general, did not respond to the Belleville News-Democrat questionnaire.

Secretary of state

NAME: DAN BRADY

Political party: Republican

Age as of Nov. 8, 2022: 61

Campaign website or social media page: www.votedanbrady.com

Office seeking: Secretary of state

Are you an incumbent? No

Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought) McLean County coroner, state representative.

Occupation: Funeral director

Education: Associate’s degree from Southern Illinois University; bachelor’s from St. Ambrose University.

Please list highlights of your civic involvement: I have been a member of a variety of fraternal and civic boards and commissions.

Who are your top three campaign contributors? Individuals, PACs and businesses.

Why are you running? I am running to make the secretary of state’s office more customer-friendly to allow people to have a more pleasant experience. The office touches the lives of more Illinois residents than any other executive branch office. My campaign platform outlines my ideas for improvements in the office, as well as cutting through the red tape of government to reduce wait times and improve services.

What is the top issue in your race, and how would you address it? My main priority will be reducing wait times and providing better online resources to streamline services to the people of Illinois. Providing online options will require fewer visitors and will, in turn, decrease wait times in these facilities. I will also ensure that employees are cross-trained to be better equipped to handle any situation that a constituent may have.

Why should people vote for you? I have firsthand experience with operations of the secretary of state’s office and a background of unique knowledge that will help me be an agent for change. I am qualified because of my experience working with the office on a number of fronts. As former McLean County coroner, I worked with organ-and-tissue donation agencies, and as state representative, I have worked on legislation for organ-and-tissue donation, distracted driving, senior-citizen issues and the voting and election process, just to name a few! I will be a secretary of state who possesses the leadership, energy and concern for the citizens of Illinois that this state needs.

NAME: ALEXI GIANNOULIAS

Political party: Democratic

Age as of Nov. 8, 2022: 46

Campaign website or social media page: www.AlexiForUs.com

Office seeking: Secretary of state

Are you an incumbent? No

Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought.) Illinois State Treasurer (2006); U.S. Senate (2010).

Occupation: Founder of Annoula Ventures

Education: Bachelor of science, Boston University; juris doctor, Tulane University.

Please list highlights of your civic involvement: In 2011, I was appointed to a four-year term as chairman of the Illinois Community College Board and served on the Chicago Public Library Board of Directors from 2018 to 2022. In addition, I have worked to make an impact by serving organizations, including One Million Degrees, CARA, Feed Chicago and the Children’s Advocacy Center. I also have taught as an adjunct professor at Northwestern University.

Who are your top three campaign contributors? Service Employees International Union’s Illinois Council, JB for Governor and Laborers’ International Union of North America.

Why are you running? Public confidence and trust in our public institutions, government and elected officials is at an all-time low. By modernizing the secretary of state’s office to increase access to services, improving road safety, protecting voter rights, increasing opportunities to register to vote, enhancing our public libraries to increase equity and strengthening state ethics laws to curb corruption – we can help restore that faith and confidence.

What is the top issue in your race, and how would you address it? The secretary of state’s office acts as a retail operation, and improving the customer experience and providing more services remotely so people can avoid in-person trips to facilities is my top priority.

As secretary of state, I will implement my “Skip the Line program,” which will allow Illinoisans to move to the front of lines when visiting facilities by making appointments online or over the phone. This will reduce wait times significantly and eliminate the “time tax” (the amount of time people spend waiting in lines or on the phone for government services).

In addition, I plan to provide the option of obtaining services digitally through an app and allowing customers to upload documents ahead of their appointments. This will reduce the

need to make in-person visits to obtain services and decrease customers’ time at facilities during those visits. The app will also notify drivers about license renewals, vehicle-registration updates and appointments to avoid fees and get questions answered quickly.

I also plan to push for legislation allowing for a digital driver’s license/ID program so Illinoisans can carry identifications on their phones, which will make it easier for them to update information without making a special trip to facilities.

Why should people vote for you? In addition to modernizing the secretary of state’s office, I’m the only candidate in the race with comprehensive policy proposals to reform how government works, which include:

– Ethics reform. Given the controversies and scandals in Illinois, we need to strengthen our ethics laws to curb corruption. The secretary of state is the keeper of lobbyist registrations and financial-disclosure statements that public officials file with the state. My ethics plan requires more disclosure of these documents, tougher restrictions that prohibit elected officials from serving as lobbyists and more authority by the inspector general to investigate wrongdoing.

– Voter registration. With secretaries of state implementing new voting-suppression laws throughout the country aimed at disenfranchising voters, we need to protect those rights and expand opportunities to register to vote here in Illinois. As a custodian of the state’s Automatic Voter Registration (AVR) system, I will increase registration rates, ensuring that registering to vote at a facility is as quick and effortless as possible. I will also advocate for a pre-registration program for 16- and 17-year-olds so young people are automatically be registered to vote as soon as they turn 18.

– Library services. As the state’s librarian, I will implement a universal License to Read program to improve access to libraries, add educational programs, provide more digital services online and find new ways to bring more people together, especially in communities that need those services most. Unfortunately, the pandemic revealed stark differences in the digital divide that must be narrowed to improve access throughout the state. Our program would also encourage more sharing of resources and materials between libraries and expand after-school activities for students who need additional help with their homework or tutoring.

Did not respond

Jon Stewart, the Libertarian candidate for secretary of state, did not respond to the Belleville News-Democrat questionnaire.

NAME: SUSANA A. MENDOZA

Political party: Democratic

Age as of Nov. 8, 2022: 50

Campaign website or social media page: www.susanamendoza.com

Office seeking: Comptroller

Are you an incumbent? Yes

Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought.) Successful: Illinois comptroller, 2016-present; Chicago city clerk, 2011-2016; state representative, District 1, 2001-2011. Unsuccessful: Chicago mayoral candidate, 2019; state representative, District 1, 1998.

Occupation: Comptroller

Education: Truman State University

Please list highlights of your civic involvement:

I ran for comptroller in 2016 because Illinois was going through the worst fiscal crisis in our state’s history, and I knew that if elected, I could make a major positive impact. Specifically, the failed governorship of Bruce Rauner led to a 736-day budget impasse that decimated the social safety net, put countless businesses out of business and earned the state eight consecutive credit-rating downgrades during the best economic bull market of our lifetimes. Operating without a budget for 736 days led to an unpaid bill backlog of almost $17 billion. The late-payment interest penalties totaled more than $1 billion.

I fought every day against the Rauner administration after I was sworn in, shining a light on his financial mismanagement and the toll it took on Illinois taxpayers and the state’s finances. I inherited a disaster, took charge and as a lead architect of Illinois’ financial turnaround, I am so proud of the tremendous progress our state has made under my leadership as comptroller. As Illinois’ chief fiscal and accountability officer, I’ve passed the largest financial transparency reforms in the state’s history.

I inherited the worst fiscal crisis in our state’s history with a 210-day delay in paying vendors, eight consecutive credit-rating downgrades and a $16.7 billion backlog of unpaid bills. I’ve led our state to six credit-rating upgrades in less than a year — the first upgrades in more than 20 years. I delivered the fastest vendor-payment cycle in decades (down from 210 business days to 14 days today) and completely eliminated our bill backlog, without using federal stimulus funds, and in the middle of a global pandemic.

I have always sought out offices throughout my public life where I knew I could make a difference in people’s lives. It’s why I ran for comptroller in 2016 and 2018, and I am proud to do so again in 2022.

Who are your top three campaign contributors? Laborers’ International Union of North America, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.

Why are you running? Illinois needs a comptroller focused on best utilizing every dollar in state revenue that comes in to pay bills, and one who maximizes the use of the federal match — an extra 50 cents on the dollar for every Medicaid bill I pay, for example. Previous administrations left money on the table. These strategies helped me bring down the bill backlog. They’re tools I continuously employ.

What is the top issue in your race, and how would you address it?

As comptroller, my top three issues are:

1. Continuing to improve Illinois’ economic standing through additional credit-rating upgrades. I paid down the Illinois bill backlog, which led Illinois to its first credit-rating increase in more than 20 years. I followed the first one up with another five, for a total of six credit-rating upgrades in less than a year. Ratings analysts cited the improvement of the state’s bill backlog as key to the upgrades. This remarkable accomplishment was achieved without using federal stimulus funds and in the middle of a global pandemic.

2. Passing legislation to mandate automatic deposits into the state’s Rainy Day Fund and Pension Stabilization Fund to help Illinois be better prepared to weather any economic downturn and also address the state’s unfunded pension liabilities.

3. Modernize our State Accounting Management System (SAMS) to make the Illinois comptroller’s office the most trusted source of government financial data in the country. We are currently in the process of building out this major tech implementation and look forward to fully executing it by the end of 2022 or early 2023.

Why should people vote for you? The policies I have championed since I took office in 2016 have completely revolutionized the comptroller’s office for the better — we now boast a more transparent, more efficient office than this state has ever seen. The Debt Transparency Act was the most significant reform bill in the history of the comptroller’s office in Illinois, as it required state agencies to report monthly instead of yearly to our office so we know exactly which bills need to be paid and when. In the height of the pandemic, the online COVID-19 spending portal that my office created received national recognition as the gold standard for COVID-19 spending transparency. Our office also reduced vendor-payment cycles from an average of 210 business days to our oldest bill being less than 14 days old today. My work has helped lead our state to six credit upgrades — the first upgrades in more than 20 years.

NAME: SHANNON L. TERESI

Political party: Republican

Age as of Nov. 8, 2022: 38

Campaign website or social media page: www.shannonteresi.com and Shannon Teresi for Comptroller on Facebook.

Office seeking: Comptroller

Are you an incumbent? No

Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought) McHenry County auditor, 2018 to present.

Occupation: Elected McHenry County auditor

Education: Bachelor’s degree in accounting, Northern Illinois University; master’s in accounting, Northern Illinois University; certified public accountant (CPA), certified fraud examiner (CFE), certified internal auditor (CIA), certification risk management assurance.

Please list highlights of your civic involvement: Elected McHenry County auditor; president of Illinois Association of County Auditors; board member of Illinois Association of County Officials; Parent Teacher Association treasurer at Glacier Ridge Elementary School.

Who are your top three campaign contributors? The information is reported and available on the state board of elections website at www.elections.il.gov.

Why are you running? I am running for comptroller of Illinois because Illinois is the most corrupt, fiscally mismanaged, highest taxing state in the country, and we need to change that.

As a mom of two boys, and a lifelong Illinoisan, I am heartbroken to see the trajectory on which this state is going. Behind closed doors, Mendoza and Pritzker are gambling with your tax dollars to achieve their political wish list. This gross negligence will have a direct impact on all of our families for generations to come.

Pritzker and Mendoza have hidden the reality of our state’s finances when the truth is that we have taken on even more debt. The cost of corruption has skyrocketed in Illinois, and they have further jeopardized the future for our children.

As a CPA, certified fraud examiner and certified internal auditor, I have extensive experience in both the public and private sector. Whether it is auditing and accounting for Fortune 500 companies, governments or nonprofits, I have extensive background and knowledge helping all industries address waste, fraud and abuse. As the elected McHenry County auditor, I have led audits that have resulted in the removal of elected officials for noncompliance, criminal investigations and employee terminations. I am not afraid to stand for what is right, and to find resolve. My financial leadership and oversight has saved my county millions of dollars, and I look forward to doing the same for the rest of Illinois.

With proper financial management, Illinois can be the envy of every state in the nation. I will be the people’s accountant!

What is the top issue in your race, and how would you address it? Our state has been put into jeopardy by financial mismanagement at the state level. Illinois is currently the most taxed state overall, has the highest number of foreclosures and ranks last out of all 50 states on our bond rating. Damage is being done to our state finances by the hour. Since Mendoza has taken office, the state’s net position (net worth) has worsened by $50 billion and now is negative $199 billion. This massive debt addition is putting our future generations at risk. A staggering $430 million was given out in fraudulent claims, instead of going to unemployed Illinoisans who are hurting. This isn’t acceptable for our tax returns, local governments or publicly traded companies, and it definitely isn’t acceptable for the state of Illinois.

The comptroller’s office sees the most financial transactions and issues/risks than any other office in the state. As the chief accountant for the state and a certified fraud examiner, I will directly work with the inspector general’s office and Illinois General Assembly to ensure there is a state initiative addressing corruption, fraud, waste and abuse. This will save taxpayer money.

On day one, I will undertake a detailed audit of all state spending, tax policy and fee structures to determine their efficacy and target waste, fraud and abuse. The comptroller should be the microphone for fiscal accountability because that person is the chief elected leader to create financial change on the state level.

Why should people vote for you? As a CPA, Certified Fraud Examiner and Certified Internal Auditor, I will be the most qualified comptroller in Illinois history for the chief accountant role of the state. I’ve worked with Fortune 500 corporations, governments and nonprofits on their financial reporting, making sure their figures are accurate and reliable.

The current comptroller is just highlighting one fund out of 100, by playing a shell game with your money. It is like paying off one credit card, but opening 10 more. Overall, the state has more debt and liabilities and the state’s financial position has worsened. The comptroller’s office should be the largest microphone for turning around the state.

McHenry County has achieved and maintained AAA credit rating thanks to our stewardship of its finances. With proper financial leadership, we have achieved no debt, rebated money back to the taxpayer and have kept our levy flat for many years. We need to start being honest about our credit rating and finances in Illinois. We are still the worst state in the nation. This can change with qualified leadership.

The office is completely underperforming in all aspects due to unqualified leadership. Mendoza, serving as the “chief accountant” of the state, just misplaced $1.6 billion of your tax dollars because of her lack of financial experience. This error in accounting is unacceptable and further puts the future generation at risk because of increasing debt that will burden them. The current way business is conducted in the comptroller’s office is outdated. I implemented an automated electronic process of approving or rejecting bills in minutes vs. paying bills in months/years in a manual process on the state level. In the comptroller’s office, it is crucial to maintain accurate accountability of data, so we need to modernize the way our state office conducts business. I am simply running because our future is on the line in November and we as Illinoisans cannot stand for inexperience in the comptroller’s office.

Did not respond

Deirdre McCloskey, the Libertarian candidate for comptroller, did not respond to the Belleville News-Democrat questionnaire.

Treasurer

NAME: MICHAEL W. FRERICHS

Political party: Democratic

Age as of Nov. 8, 2022: 49

Campaign website or social media page: www.MikeForIllinois.com, www.facebook.com/MikdForIllinois

Office seeking: Treasurer

Are you an incumbent? Yes

Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought.) State senator, Champaign County auditor, Champaign County Board.

Occupation: Treasurer

Education: Rantoul High School, 1991; bachelor of arts, Yale University, 1995.

Please list highlights of your civic involvement: I am currently a member of the Ceres Investor Network Board of Directors and an active member of the Council of Institutional Investors (CII) and the National Institute of Public Finance. I am president of the National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers (NASACT) and secretary treasurer of the National Association of State Treasurers (NAST).

I previously served as a volunteer firefighter in Gifford, a member of Rotary International and a board member for a local nonprofit nursing home in Gifford.

Who are your top three campaign contributors? Laborers’ union locals, regionals and international pipe trades’ union (UA); and locals, regionals and international teachers’ unions (Illinois Federation of Teachers and Illinois Education Association).

Why are you running? I was born and raised in the small, downstate farming community of Gifford, in east-central Illinois (population 911). My father was a union truck driver, and my mother worked as a secretary at the University of Illinois.

I was first elected Illinois state treasurer in 2014, and I brought the small-town values of Gifford with me. Under my tenure, the Illinois treasurer’s office has earned more than $1 billion for taxpayers and been consistently awarded the top AAA rating for the Illinois Funds investment pool.

But I do more than make wise investments and protect taxpayer dollars. My office provides tools to help people invest in themselves.

During my tenure, I have returned more than $1.5 billion to Illinoisans through the state’s unclaimed property program – that’s more than any other treasurer in history (BND coverage).

I took on life-insurance companies that did not pay benefits even when they knew, or should have known, that their customers had passed away. The opposition was fierce, especially from big life-insurance corporations. Eventually, with the help of partners such as the VFW, the Catholic Conference of Illinois, AARP and the NAACP, we prevailed. We overcame the special interests and their lobbyists. Auditors for the treasurer’s office have found more $800 million owed to Illinois families (BND coverage).

I reformed Illinois’ college-savings program. We changed providers, slashed fees and provided more investment options to families. Not only have families saved more than $100 million in fees, but independent analyst Morningstar improved their rating from among the worst to literally tied for first in the nation for five consecutive years.

Our Secure Choice program is helping more than 100,000 workers save their own money to retire with dignity (BND coverage), and the ABLE program is helping thousands of families plan for loved ones with disabilities.

What is the top issue in your race, and how would you address it? My opponent, Rep. Tom Demmer, and I have very different visions and philosophies. I brought my small-town values to the job of state treasurer. Demmer has repeatedly put partisan politics first.

I pushed for bipartisan legislation to invest in the state’s unpaid receivables. Then-Rep. David Harris, a Republican, called our legislation “one of the most creative and innovative programs to save money that has ever come before the (Illinois House of Representatives).” Over two years, we invested $2.1 billion under this program and netted taxpayers approximately $100 million. This innovative program alone paid for the operations of the state treasurer’s office for those two years.

In contrast, Demmer served as one of former Gov. Rauner’s floor leaders and supported the anti-labor, extremist policies that led to a record budget impasse and multiple credit downgrades for the state.

When I was fighting to ensure that life-insurance companies paid the benefits they promised, Demmer not only voted against our bipartisan legislation, but he also spoke in opposition. He has taken tens of thousands of dollars from insurance-company lobbyists and PACs. He argued that it would be a “burden” for them to search their records and pay beneficiaries like they promised.

During this campaign, Demmer has tried to conflate the College Illinois! prepaid tuition plan with Bright Start. He implied my office should have scared families when the stock market fell in the first half of 2022 – seemingly to indicate that they should pull out their investments. Had families taken his advice, they would have locked in their losses.

Demmer has opposed other bipartisan reforms related to the state treasurer’s office, such as the Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act and the creation of Secure Choice retirement.

Why should people vote for you? I was born and raised in the small farming community of Gifford, Illinois. My father was a truck driver and my mother worked as a secretary. When I came home from college, I served as a volunteer firefighter and helped found a technology business.

When I was elected state treasurer, I brought my small-town values with me.

The treasurer manages approximately $50 billion. Under my leadership, the office earned more than $1 billion for taxpayers and has consistently been awarded the top AAA rating for the Illinois Funds investment pool.

I have returned more than $1.5 billion to Illinoisans through the state’s unclaimed property program and paid over one million claims – more than any other treasurer in history (BND coverage).

Illinois’ college savings program had among the lowest ratings in the nation. We changed providers, slashed fees and provided more investment options to families. Not only have families saved over $100 million in fees, but independent analyst Morningstar improved their rating from among the worst to literally tied for first in the nation for five consecutive years. We even changed state law to allow “college” savings accounts to be used for trade school and apprenticeship expenses.

I launched the Secure Choice program, an innovative program for private-sector workers who do not have access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan. Workers save their own money and their IRAs travel with them from job-to-job. Today, more than 100,000 Illinois workers have saved more than $85 million for their retirements.

And we launched Illinois ABLE, a program that allows people with disabilities and their families to save without risking federal benefits.

Earlier this year, my Republican and Democratic peers from across the country unanimously elected me president of the National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers.

Did not respond

Tom Demmer, the Republican candidate for treasurer, and Preston Nelson, the Libertarian candidate for treasurer, did not respond to the Belleville News-Democrat questionnaire.

This story was originally published September 30, 2022 at 5:30 AM.