Chicago Sun-Times

Questions and Answers

The Daily Herald requested a response by January 19th, 2026.

Questions are in bold. My responses follow.

Grocery prices and inflation in general remain worrisomely high for most Americans. Please describe three steps that the U.S. should carry out to improve the economic outlook for Americans, both short-term and long-term.

• One, 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, millions of birds, are destroyed - both 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.

• Two, The number of bills passed by Congress remains historically low. Frankly, the Trump administration has no broadview legislative agenda. Congress, specifically the House of Representatives, should pick up the mantle and set a clear agenda, one that focuses on these kitchen table issues. I agree with both Democratic Candidate Jeff Cohen and former Senator Mitt Romney that we should replace the Child Tax Credit (CTC) as a lump sum year end amount with a monthly payment. Furthermore, I would work to push for some variation of Romney’s Family Security Act, Marco Rubio/Mike Lee sponsored Child Tax Credit, and Josh Hawley’s Parent Tax Credit. On this and other issues, we have competing legislation where there are sticking points on implementation. Let’s identify all those places where there is agreement and pass legislation.

• Third, I hope to prove that I am first and foremost for the American worker, for those currently working, for those retired, and especially for those looking for work & future workers. The current American economy needs foundational changes. It is my belief that, for a free-market, Capitalist economic system to be successful, the government needs to provide two main elements - affordable healthcare and education. To improve the long-term economic outlook, I would focus more spending and legislation on these two issues. Early in my career as a software writer we had a craftsmanship movement, I was one of the earlier signers of the Software Craftsmanship Manifesto. Within the software industry, we saw a developer led initiative to address short-comings in traditional education. In our country today, education is too focused on a small number of jobs, whereas there is insufficient education for a large number of growing industries. Money should be spent to ensure we have well-educated workers for the industries of the immediate present and America’s future.

There have been major concerns in Chicago and surrounding suburbs about how the Trump administration has implemented its Operation Midway Blitz campaign. What is your view of the campaign and its execution, and what legislation would you pursue to get at the concerns you have about the ongoing operation?

Much has happened since you sent this questionnaire with regard to the ICE deployments after the Midway Blitz campaign but my initial thought when I first heard of the death of Silverio Gonzalez has only solidified - most ICE agents need to be disarmed and work in concert with local authorities. I say most because there are some agents who have policing experience and are sufficiently trained, however many clearly have not received sufficient training. Too many agents are using excessive force in their operations and need supervision. I would introduce legislation that would require local authorities to be notified of federal activity in the area and that a plan between local and federal authorities be authorized before any federal agents enter the city, village, township, &c.

As for my broader view of the campaign, I would like to quote Ronald Reagan, “One of the things that has been happening too much is the federal government is interfering where they have not been invited in.” Granted, immigration policy is in the federal domain but the federal government cannot go unimpeded into states and cities and enforce policy without the cooperation of those local jurisdictions.

For the foreseeable future, a long-term foreign policy challenge for the U.S. will be China. What is your assessment of the Trump administration’s policy toward China, particularly with respect to the imposition of tariffs and China’s policy toward Taiwan, and what U.S. policy changes toward China would you advocate?

The current administration’s central foreign policy principle of “peace through strength” originates from the Roman writer Vegetius - si vis pacem, para bellum - if you want peace, prepare for war. Our defence department is woefully unprepared for modern warfare based on the Pentagon’s budget. The military needs to reinvent itself. Too much money is spent on old technologies that are not relevant for conflict currently in many places in the world. Clearly we are prepared to capture a leader of a South American country and many, many other things. Conflict with another member of the United Nations Security Council is another matter entirely. I think we had a long Cold War for a time that hasn’t really appeared to end.

Specifically, I would remove Permanent Normal Trade Relationships (PNTR) with China. China has not been a good actor according to the basic principles of the World Trade Organization (WTO), that of openness and reciprocity. The reason for doing so is to enforce the policy goal of supply chain independence. A next step to support this goal is to alter the United States Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) to add a third column to distinguish between strategic and non-strategic goods. Ultimately, the United States needs to remove the threat of supply chain dependence on a hostile player. Regarding Taiwan there are two major concerns when crafting policy - the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and China’s claim to the island nation.

Coincidentally, a new trade deal was reached between the United States and Taiwan strengthening ties between the two nations specifically with regard to the semiconductor industry. The investment into reshoring America’s semiconductor sector was particularly welcome. My assessment of the Trump administration’s policy toward China is that he has highlighted a tight coupling with a country from which we need to free ourselves. In software, tightly coupled code has multiple entities being highly interdependent. Tightly coupled code creates a fragile, inflexible system difficult to maintain. The United States has started to change this system in order to create a more stable, flexible position from which to work.

There is increasing concern across the country about the erosion of democratic institutions, from the weaponization of the Justice Department for the pursuit of political enemies to mid-census redistricting to skew Congressional seats toward one party’s favor. How concerned are you about these threats, and what do you believe should be done to firewall the country from those threats?

Very concerned. This concern one of the main reasons I decided to run for Congress - the Senate and the House need to flex their Article 1 powers, there is a reason that Congress is listed first before the Presidency in the Constitution.

The number of Department of Justice (DOJ) investigations is more that “deeply concerning”. There is even a candidate in this race charged by the DOJ!?! In the 118th Congress, we had a house Hearing on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. I would like to reconvene that committee in light of recent DOJ charges and investigations. I will work to preserve the rule of law, protect free speech, and prevent the use of federal power for political retribution. Districting as it stands is in need of repair. Currently in the Supreme Court, Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act regarding districting is in question. Partisan mid-census redistricting puts the fairness of elections in question. Faith in our government is eroding. The structure of Congress is functionally broken but thankfully can be fixed.

I have two very popular proposals to fundamentally change the structure of the House and Senate. One proposal is to “end gerrymandering” to which end I would introduce steps for each state to more fairly create their Congressional Districts. Not a one size fits all solution but concrete metrics for each state that have been proven effective; metrics such as increased transparency, correct distortions, adjust the timing of redistricting, give authority to independent, non-biased, non-partisan individuals. The other is to establish term limits for Congress. I hope, with these two changes, to break the hyper-partisanship that has frozen Congress.

One final thing is that I believe we need to alter the pardon power of the President. The United States requires a strong Article 1 entity, one that works for the American people. Another thing that the Trump administration has highlighted is that our constitutional republic relies too much on the integrity of the President. The executive branch has concentrated too much power over my lifetime and is in need of restraint.

Cutbacks in federal funding have been used as a cudgel by the Trump administration against Chicago and Illinois, aggravating the strain on City Hall and Springfield finances. What if anything do you believe Congress could do to address this kind of action from the federal government?

Congress has the power of the purse - see Article 1, Sections 7, 8, & 9. The Trump administration has somehow successfully stopped passed appropriations from going to the named parties. Notably and thankfully, much of the money that has been threatened has ultimately gone to the designated places, e.g. NIH funding. The ultimate problem with these threats and successful cuts is that the United States government is no longer working as a predictible, reliable actor in areas both foreign and domestic.

Simply put, the responsibility of the Executive Branch is to administer and enforce the laws created by the Legislative Branch. The Constitution is very clear on this matter. This cudgel must be removed from the Trump administration. I want to be the Representative in Congress to work for the Constituents of the Illinois Ninth Congressional District not someone who will be invisible in the House of Representatives.

What is the most important issue in your district, and how would you address it legislatively?

As you know, the Illinois Ninth Congressional District is quite diverse - we have many “most” important issues to all our various constituents. One issue that I can focus on is the cost of living. Housing, childcare, healthcare, groceries - all combined are the greatest costs for a family budget. Regarding healthcare, the most important issue in this district might also be the most important issue in the nation. I think that we can all agree that the healthcare marketplace differs from any other market and with the increased consolidation of healthcare companies reducing competition in the market it is necessary for the government to intervene as it already has for Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security. Healthcare in this country is a thorny issue that has not been properly addressed since the New Deal.

I have tongue-in-cheek proposal called “Medicare Advantage for All” which basically is 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. To anyone who says that Medicare for All is not a Republican proposal, I would like to point out that the first person in the House of Representatives to introduce a bill for national health insurance was in 1970 by Jacob Javits, a Republican. 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 (either paid directly or through our taxes) and the government can intervene as needed.

Sum up why you believe you are the better candidate for this office.

I am focused on the March 17th Republican Primary in which I am one of four (4) candidates. I am certain that your readers, after having read what each candidate brings to the table, will see that I am the better candidate in our relatively small field. I have clear, common-sense proposals instead of platitudes.

If I am elected, the Illinois Ninth (9th) Congressional District will have another open election for this seat. I only want the final two years of Donald J. Trump’s presidency. A strong, conservative Illinois Republican voice can and should guide our government into a post-Trump political world. Give me two years.

Finally, I want to invoke William F. Buckley, Jr.’s rule - support the most right, viable candidate. I am that candidate.