The green industry is ready to explode in the U.S. and I envision Illinois becoming the green capital of the United States. I will encourage Illinois to be at the forefront, helping green manufacturing "set up shop" throughout the state through tax breaks and incentives that will encourage companies to invest and build in Illinois. This policy has the potential to create more than 100,000 “green-collar” jobs and billions in new revenue for our state over the next decade.

“Green-collar” jobs are “well-paid, career track jobs that contribute directly to preserving or enhancing environmental quality.”¹ Their creation doesn’t have to be limited to the manufacturing sector. Increased consumer demand for energy efficiency in new and existing buildings could create thousands of green-collar opportunities for construction engineers, machinery operators, energy auditors, technicians trained to integrate efficiency improvements within existing building systems, and workers trained to install green materials (e.g. for HVAC, windows, and roofing). ²

As Lt. Governor, I would encourage city councils and county boards throughout Illinois to adopt green building ordinances requiring both private and commercial developments and renovations to meet certain energy efficiency standards. The more energy efficient the developments are, the more money consumers will have to spend or invest.³

I propose charging a 10-cent fee for each transaction executed on the Chicago Stock Exchange, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, and the Chicago Board of Options Exchange, as well as the computerized trading platform systems of those Exchanges. Assuming transaction volume remains at its current level, the tax would bring in nearly $1 billion per year in tax revenue from around the U.S. and the world, which Illinois can use to improve its schools, fix its roads, and fund state pensions.

We cannot continue to tax our way out of trouble on the backs of the middle class, especially when big investment firms reap billions of dollars in profit while the rest of the American economy struggles. Big investment firms would no doubt be affected by the proposed tax, but small and medium-sized investors would not. That’s because only the big firms can afford to engage in “high-frequency trading”—using supercomputers to conduct trades in microseconds⁴, delivering high profits at low risk.

This kind of trading has caused transactions on Chicago’s Exchanges, as well as on Wall Street, to soar in recent years. But it has not expanded Illinois’ productive base and therefore has little, if any, economic value for anyone in Illinois outside the big investment firms.⁵ Since high-frequency trading is of great value only to such firms, a 10-cent tax on all transactions at Chicago’s Exchanges is a small price to pay for large investment firms’ recent historic profits.

Illinois has long been the central hub of the United States. By becoming a state with one of the lowest business taxes in the nation, businesses will be encouraged to relocate to Illinois, thus creating more jobs for Illinois citizens and greater revenue for state and local government.

As Illinois gets back to work, fewer state funds will be committed to unemployment benefits. The increase in jobs brought by new businesses in Illinois will increase the number of workers paying into the state revenue pool. This proverbial “one-two punch” will increase the income and stability of both Illinois workers and Illinois government. Consumer confidence will undoubtedly lead to an increase in sales and revenue produced from the sales tax. By increasing the revenue generated from multiple funds, we can update our aging infrastructure, creating even more jobs, help support even more working families in Illinois.

To accomplish these goals, Illinois needs to restructure the rules and regulations governing Illinois business. Capping business taxes and minimizing the economic hurdles small, midsize, and startup business owners face will encourage the growth of a larger, stronger economy in Illinois. A stronger economy will help lower both the unemployment rate and the crime rate while raising the standard of living in Illinois.

We must expedite the completion of contractual projects to fix and replace our state's aging infrastructure of bridges, roads, and sewer systems. This would conserve precious public funds at a time when Illinois is running an $11.5 billion budget deficit while its expenses are increasing and its revenues are decreasing. It would also create new Illinois jobs.

One way of expediting the completion of contractual work is allowing state agencies to solicit “design-build” contracts in addition to traditional “construction-management” contracts.⁶ Unlike construction-management contracts, design-build contracts with the state would allow general contractors to both design and construct new developments and improvements for the state, saving Illinois time and money by eliminating the construction-management step of contracting with an independent designer before soliciting bids from general contractors.

Let’s cut wasteful spending and run government efficiently. When we, as individuals, make $700 a week, we spend accordingly. If our income suddenly jumps to $2000 a week, some of us start making foolish purchases and buy things we really don't need, even though they may sound good at the time. I learned about this the hard way when I started my career after college. I think the way our state spends our tax dollars is no different.

Our state government needs to tighten its belt and curb these nasty habits. We are getting ourselves into so much debt that our families will be paying it off for generations to come. We must stop borrowing against the future of our children and the society we will pass on to them.

Though overhauling the Illinois budget will be hard work, it will also be good work. Simple, commonsense solutions—such as making sure highway construction projects are worked on continually from beginning to end—can be combined with initiatives such as implementing an automated voter registration system ⁷ to save us millions of dollars per year.

The federal government considers any unemployment benefits over $2,400 for individuals and $4,800 for married couples to be directly taxable income.⁸ Though Illinois does not directly tax unemployment benefits, it does use individuals’ and couples’ federal adjusted gross income when determining how much they owe the state.⁹ This establishes an indirect tax on unemployment benefits in Illinois, and it must stop. It is simply wrong to tax someone who was laid off and can’t find work because the economy is bad.

As of May 2009, Illinoisans were receiving, on average, just over $350 per week in unemployment benefits (and a maximum of $385 per week). ¹⁰ At that rate, most Illinoisans’ non-taxable benefits run out in just 6 weeks (or after their benefits total about $2,100). Assuming they receive the maximum amount of benefits (generally, about $8,400 or 6-months worth), about $6,300 (or 18 weeks) of their benefits are taxable. In effect, this is a tax on staying afloat in bad economic times: As of February 2009, it takes on average 19 weeks for unemployed Americans to find work comparable to the job they previously held—more than two months longer than they enjoy non-taxable benefits.

Our youth need to understand how special Americans’ civil liberties are and how quickly, in the absence of an informed and vigilant citizenry, the government could take them away in the name of national security. A civic education increases the likelihood that an individual will register to vote and participate fully in our democracy. Additionally, students who study civics are more likely to volunteer in their communities and to help develop ethical solutions to community issues. ¹¹

Civics lessons help citizens make informed choices as consumers,¹² but all students need to be taught consumer, macroeconomics, and microeconomics as well. For example, rather than learning the hard way, students should learn in school that being able to afford the “minimum payment” does not mean you can afford the item you’re paying for. The minimum payment should only be made in times of distress. Furthermore, students should be taught how their decisions as individual consumers affect the American economy as a whole. One of the major causes of our country’s current economic recession was the enormous rise in Americans’ mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures in 2007 and 2008. It’s true that banks are to blame for this situation, having issued adjustable-rate mortgages to far too many at-risk sub-prime borrowers. But those borrowers are also to blame, in that they accepted the mortgages in many cases without really understanding the risks involved in doing so. Had they been taught in school about the danger of adjustable-rate mortgages not only to themselves, but also the American economy as a whole, they might have pursued home ownership with far more caution, and the current economic crisis might not have been as bad as it is. In this sense, teaching economics is a way of teaching civics: It’s a way of making young people more responsible consumers and better citizens.

We need to change the way public education is funded in Illinois. Currently, education funding relies heavily on local property taxes, creating an unlevel playing field for Illinois students. Simply put, a student who grows up in a poor neighborhood is much more likely to have a subpar education than a student who grows up in an area with high property values.

To equalize the quality of public education for all Illinois public school children, I consider every alternative, other than raising taxes, to be on the table. I encourage you to contribute your ideas to my campaign as to how we can accomplish this goal.

We need never forget that it is human nature to take "just a little bit more". We need term limits on all public offices. People in these positions are getting more powerful than our Forefathers intended their office to be. It makes it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to compete against said individuals for office.
I understand that some politicians are “for the People” and most set out with these intentions, but no one can deny that most are corrupted by the system and get sucked into a web of lies and power struggles. If one is really "for the People" he or she will be able to move to other offices in Government, after term limits have expired, so that they may continue to serve the People.
This step alone will strike a devastating blow to corruption. I will not be able to do this on my own, as who in government will put a limit on the power they can achieve? This must be demanded by the People of the State of Illinois.

We are only borrowing against our children’s future with these types of transactions. If we cannot afford to sustain ourselves with these revenue streams, how will future generations of Illinoisans be able to manage without them?

We need campaign contribution limits across the board, including those made by political parties and funds controlled by the leaders of the Illinois House and Senate, to limit special interests’ influence in Illinois elections, thus moving the balance of political power back to the people.

I would like to move Illinois towards publicly funded elections with all contributions limited to $2,500 in the Primary & General elections. I am a strong believer that we need to get special interest money out of our election process if we want to begin to clean up the culture of corruption and unethical behavior in Illinois. I admit this will be very difficult if U.S. Supreme Court rules in its recent case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission that corporations and labor unions have the same right as individuals to contribute money and spend on behalf of candidates for public office. If this happens, I pledge to use the Office of Lt. Governor to keep the pressure on other Illinois elected officials to find novel, alternative ways to limit the influence of special interests on Illinois politics. But I’ll need your help to do so! Let’s hold Springfield’s feet to the fire together!

The longer politicians stay in office, the less in touch they are with the realities of private citizens and how they live their lives. If an elected official is really "for the People," then after a set period of time, he or she can continue to serve the People in another public office or as a private citizen. Term limits (16-20 years) encourage diverse ideas and original solutions while maintaining a level of experience in state government necessary to mentor newly elected officials, making it easier for political outsiders to participate in government, and reducing the influence of special interests. ¹⁶

We need to implement term limits on public offices throughout Illinois. This step alone will strike a devastating blow to corruption while ensuring the interests of the people are better served. But I will not be able to do this on my own. The People of the State of Illinois must demand term limits and punish elected officials at the ballot box if they don’t deliver them.

Leasing public assets, such as the City of Chicago parking meters, is merely a short-term solution to budget shortfalls that limits our long-term economic growth and stability. Chicago’s inspector general has determined that the city lost out on nearly $1 billion in revenue by leasing rather than retaining control of its parking meters. ¹⁷

Illinois cannot afford to be so shortsighted. We need to make considered, public decisions about how to manage our finances before increasing the burden on our taxpayers and our state. By banning the leasing of public assets and encouraging transparency, Illinois will foster a more stable, robust economic future for generations to come.

The citizens of Illinois must be able to trust the individuals they elect to public office. By drafting and passing legislation that mandates the prosecution and sentencing of criminal politicians, we will send the message that Illinois is ready to shed the stigma our elected officials have created over many years.

Such legislation is more than a moral necessity. The Illinois economy suffers every time we spend public resources prosecuting corrupt politicians. Specific repercussions will help deter future public officials from breaking our trust while streamlining the process of prosecuting those who do.