Evanston Roundtable

Questions and Answers

The Evanston Roundtable requested a response by January 23rd, 2026.

Questions are in bold. My responses follow.

Why are you the best candidate to serve in this seat? [Limit: 100 words]

I am not the best candidate to serve in this seat but I am the best candidate in this race on the ballot. The best candidate is somewhere here in the Illinois Ninth (9th), maybe even the person reading this now, someone who thought, “I could do this job better”. Like that person, I saw the opportunity and decided to go for it. Over the next nine weeks or so, I will present a number of novel ideas to the voters of the Illinois Ninth (9th) Congressional District and I hope that many of these ideas will resonate with them.

Congress has played a shrinking role in the operations of the federal government and in exercising the checks and balances between its branches. How would you approach your role as a Representative in this context, and what do you believe Congress should do to exercise its powers and authority under the current administration of President Donald Trump? [Limit: 200 words]

In my reading of the Constitution, Congress is the first among equal branches of government - there is a reason Congress is endowed with Article 1 powers. Unfortunately Congress has abdicated its responsibilities. Congress needs first to ratify a few definitions so that the executive branch cannot say, for instance, an “act of war” is just a “kinetic strike”. The first three definitions Congress can legislate are “war”, “emergency”, and “tariff/tax”. Only Congress is enabled “To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water” (Article 1, Section 8) “All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives” (Article 1, Section 7). Tariffs are a mean to raise revenue. Finally, emergency powers granted to the executive branch do not exist in the Constitution, they have been bestowed on the executive branch through various statutes. Initially, I am fine keeping these laws in place, but would like to determine what exactly is an “emergency” situation to grant these powers to the President.

Federal immigration agents from ICE and CBP continue to carry out a massive operation in Minneapolis after an agent killed Renee Good on Jan. 7, and agency officials have promised to return en masse to Chicagoland this spring as a continuation of Operation Midway Blitz. How would you exercise Congress’ powers of oversight with regards to ICE, CBP and federal facilities? Do you support the continued existence of these agencies, and if so are there changes to their operations, resources or other aspects that you would pursue? [Limit: 200 words]

Clearly we need to make changes to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) especially with regard to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). Several billions of dollars have been apportioned to DHS and ICE - this money needs to be distributed properly. My position is that the federal government has no right to enter states without the express approval of local authorities. In addition, all federal government activities must be executed in consort with those local authorities. I believe that we should disarm ICE officials and the money spent on outfitting these agents with military equipment redirected to local police forces and other support services (e.g. translators, mental health professionals). The tactics used by ICE agents are beyond the pale. The desired outcome of this immigration policy can be met in a humane manner, in a just manner appropriate to the moral compass of the United States. By working in consort with local authorities, this administration can get the same results, help fund communities, and restructure immigration policy in a positive manner.

Implementation of the Israel-Hamas peace agreement reached in October 2025 remains tenuous. What do you believe the outcome of any peace process should be for Israel and Palestine, and what role should the U.S. play in that process? Do you support continuing to provide U.S. funding and weapons to Israel as a military ally? [Limit: 200 words]

It is manifestly clear that the two-state solution is the only path forward. Having exhausted all other options, we must place our efforts into the one remaining viable solution - two states, Israel and Palestine. The United States should lead a coalition (the Board of Peace perhaps?) to support the formation of a Palestinian state. Negotiations around borders and under whose authority I will leave to more experienced people but I will strongly support interim areas under international control until a time the multi-step process is far enough along to be self sustaining. The United States and allies should press all parties to come to the table and stay awhile - to have good, constructive talks and move toward the only workable, enduring option. As for funding, I am fully in favor of continuing to provide weapons to Israel. I am not in favor of purchasing those said weapons. Israel is a strong ally capable of negotiating the prices to acquire military goods from the US. I encourage that they keep doing so because a strong Israeli presence in the region is good for the interests of the US.

The overall cost of living continues to rise for low- and middle-income Americans in housing, utilities, food, and other areas. What policies would you pursue to ease the price pressures on these basic necessities? How should the federal government work to ensure wage growth matches cost of living increases? [Limit: 200 words]

Increase the minimum wage and ensure increases are tied to a Cost of Living Adjustment. Set increases at a federal level or require the states to set.

• Housing: In my neighborhood of Edgewater, a large number of re-zoning bills have passed aimed at creating dense, transit-oriented, and mixed-income housing in the area. We must pursue these YIMBY-ist principles (Yes In My Back Yard) - increase the housing supply to solve housing affordability issues.
• Utilities: The absolute first proposal I created was The Electric Subsidies Legislative Act or TESLA - named to get attention. The demand for energy and particularly electricity is increasing and we have hindered rather than enhanced supply. We need to invest in creating energy, solar, wind, natural gas, nuclear, all of it, we’re going to need it.
• Food: grocery prices in particular are subject to outside forces which need to be addressed. For instance, egg prices are often subject to avian influenza (AI) for which we should develop a vaccine. Chickens catch bird flu; entire flocks are destroyed - healthy and sick birds; egg prices rise due to a supply shortage. Understanding underlying issues is important in order to come up with effective solutions.

The status of renewing enhanced ACA subsidies remains uncertain at the time of this questionnaire’s writing, and millions of Americans still face massive spikes in the prices of health insurance and care. What are your day-one priorities for healthcare funding and policy? What is your longer-term vision for how American healthcare should operate? [Limit: 150 words]

Day one, I would reluctantly vote to reinstate the subsidies. Long term, I would abolish the ACA.

I have tongue-in-cheek proposal called “Medicare Advantage for All” - basically a call for a public option to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In actuality it’s just the first step to making all Americans eligible for Medicare. The first person in the House of Representatives to introduce a bill for national health insurance was in 1970 by Jacob Javits, a Republican; healthcare is not a partisan issue. All political parties have proposed some sort of national health insurance for nearly a century, it’s time to confront the problem head on. Somehow we can, as a nation, manage to come together to say everyone can get basic health coverage at a reasonable cost and the government can intervene as needed.

Funding freezes and cuts have hit numerous local governments, schools and universities, private institutions and other recipients over the past year. How would you exercise oversight and accountability on federal funding allocated to the 9th District? What actions would you take to ensure Congressionally-allocated funds are actually delivered to recipients without interruption? [Limit: 150 words]

Thankfully, even after all the bluster of funding cuts and freezes, most of the money appropriated by Congress has been distributed to the named parties - look at funding for the National Institutes of Health as an example. Again, many members of Congress have abdicated their responsibilities and unconstitutionally allowed the executive branch to deny funding to agencies they have long desired to defund. This cannot happen. “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law” (Article 1, Section 9) The power of the purse belongs to Congress and Congress alone.