Gary Rabine, Illinois Governor 2022 Primary Election Questionnaire

What office are you seeking? Governor

City: Woodstock, Illinois

Occupation: Chairman of the Board, Rabine Group of Companies

Education: High School

Campaign Website: rabineforgovernor.com

What separates you from your opponents?

Illinois needs to be reformed and rebuilt. I am the only candidate in this race who has experience in building and rebuilding entities. I have done so successfully for the last 40 years. The other candidates simply do not have the level of experience or expertise in dealing with the many issues facing this state as I do and therefore I believe I am the best person to lead this state as Governor for the next four years.

Illinois continues to see a parade of elected officials throughout all levels of government face federal indictments. If elected governor, what will you do to bring additional transparency and tougher punishments to politicians who break the public’s trust?

To end the Springfield culture of corruption that Madigan created over decades will require comprehensive reforms. But we must first put a stop to the behavior that made the Madigan criminal enterprise possible.

Madigan built his political operation and stayed in power by amassing an army of loyalists. That loyalty derived from Madigan using his elected office to find individuals jobs as a reward for being on Team Madigan. His minions were loyal to him instead of to the citizens of Illinois they were supposed to be serving. The Indictment also details how Madigan traded legislative favors in exchange for placing his buddies in private sector jobs.

No elected official should be allowed to use their position of public trust to incentivize campaign workers. Supporting a candidate of your choice is rightfully the only reward for political involvement. We need an outright prohibition of elected officials assisting anyone in finding a job. Yes, I mean finally killing off patronage in all its forms. And the penalties for engaging in patronage politics will be criminal and severe.

During his tenure, Madigan also repeatedly had conflicts of interest with legislation in his chamber. He cited his own personal code of ethics in determining whether he should recuse himself from a particular matter and he rarely did. He got away with it because no one knew anything about his interests; financial or otherwise as the Elected Official Statement of Economic Interest disclosed virtually nothing. And the recent reforms don’t go far enough. We need a full and complete Elected Official disclosure statement that goes beyond the first layer of holdings. It will be the responsibility of the Elected Official to fully and accurately disclose all their financial interests. They must also monitor pending legislation for actual or apparent conflicts of interest and recuse themselves when a conflict exists. Failure to disclose or acting on legislation where there is a conflict will be considered felony conduct.

The Indictment also reminds us of the inherent problems in the Legislature/Executive Branch to lobbyist revolving door and the cozy relationships of elected officials. We need a lifetime ban on former members lobbying the chamber from which they came and a five-year prohibition on lobbying the other Chamber or the Executive Branch. Elected officials should also be prohibited from lobbying any other government entities.

Madigan, Blagojevich and many other indicted Illinois politicians have taken millions from donor funded campaign accounts to pay their legal bills. We need to ban this practice.

For decades, Madigan ruled the Democratic Party with an iron-fist. He controlled the money and thereby controlled virtually all the party’s operations; allowing him to enrich himself as well. Elected officials have outsized influence in party matters and it allows for the creation of kingdoms like the one Madigan created. For example, Joe Berrios was Assessor and Cook County Party Chairman while Madigan’s law firm handled real estate tax appeals and Berrios was a lobbyist. It was the perfect storm of corruption. Elected officials from either party should be banned from party positions.

In 2002, Madigan used his clout to get his daughter elected as Illinois Attorney General. She ran on a campaign of stopping public corruption but never once in sixteen years investigated a significant public corruption case in one of the most corrupt states in the country. The conflict in having the daughter of the most powerful politician in the state as a corruption watchdog went from a possibility to a reality. Madigan never had to worry about any problems with the Illinois Attorney General’s Office. No relative of a Member of the General Assembly or someone in the Executive Branch should be eligible to run for Illinois Attorney General or States Attorney.

This is just a start. These proposals will be controversial and met with substantial resistance. Meaningful reform is never easy. But there can be no more tinkering on the margins. We need to power scrub the Madigan criminal enterprise from Springfield.

Do Illinois taxpayers pay too much in income tax?

Yes.

Should the wealthiest Illinois residents pay more or less in taxes. Please explain.

This question is the kind of class warfare question pushed by the Democrats. Every citizen has an obligation to pay their fair share of taxes and we have an obligation to provide for those who are less fortunate. But I do not like the premise that wealthy people are somehow the enemy. Many wealthy people took risks and created the jobs that are the backbone of our economy. Taxes need to fair and low.

Name one example of wasteful government spending that you would seek to eliminate as governor.

We have too many units of local government. They need to be consolidated.

What is your assessment of Illinois’ response to the coronavirus pandemic? Would you have done anything different?

Illinois ranks near the bottom in recovery from the pandemic in the health and well being of our citizens. Governor Pritzker’s dictatorial approach to handling the crisis is a case study in bad leadership and Illinois residents, particularly children, are paying a heavy price.

I would not have unilaterally shut down all businesses. I would not have dictated that kids wear masks at school or mandated the vaccine. That decision should be left to the parents. I would not have wasted the federal money bailing out the state’s finances. And finally, I would have worked much more closely with the elected officials to in formulating and implementing the best strategy to deal with the pandemic

Have you been vaccinated against COVID-19? Which immunization did you receive?

I had COVID. And whether I have had the vaccine is beyond the proper scope of these questions.

That being said. I believe in vaccines having received them my entire life.

What is your position on mask- mandates and vaccination requirements to go certain places in public?

Health choices should be left to the individual. I fought the Biden employer vaccine mandate, winning in the United States Supreme Court. In certain limited circumstances the mask mandate was appropriate, but the level of government overreach in implementing vaccine and mask mandates during COVID was disturbing to me.

What is your position on mask- mandates and vaccination requirements at workplaces?

I fought the Biden vaccine mandate all the way to the United States Supreme Court and won as part of my work with the Job Creators Network This victory affected 80 million workers and saved tens of thousands of jobs. The work vaccine mandate was one of the greatest government overreaches in our history. And again, wearing a mask should properly be up to the individual employer and employee. Not the politicians or government bureaucrats.

What will you do to bring uniformity to the state’s response if and when the pandemic reignites, or a new one emerges?

I will work with the elected officials to get a collective agreement on steps necessary to protect public health. This will provide a uniform response. Governor Pritzker’s unilaterally decision making relating to COVID divided the state and led to an almost complete lack of uniformity throughout the State of Illinois.

Illinois residents are experiencing higher prices in most aspects of life, but especially at the grocery store and the gas station. As governor, what will you do to help?

Much of inflation results from federal monetary policies beyond the control of the Governor. However, the level of taxation, particularly in Cook County needs to be lowered along with property taxes. We need as a state to promote economic growth and make Illinois and attractive place to live and work. We need more taxpayers, no more taxes.

What is your plan to stimulate local businesses on Main Streets throughout the state that were hurt during the pandemic?

Illinois needs to lower the overall tax burden on small businesses and remove the numerous anti-small businesses regulations. The best stimulus for small businesses is to lower the cost of doing business. This formula applied not only during a pandemic recovery, but during normal times as well.

Did Joe Biden win the 2020 election fairly?

Joe Biden is President. Illinois invented and/or perfected voter fraud over the last century. To ignore or suggest that it doesn’t exist is not realistic.

What is your position on the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol? Was it an insurrection?

I am running for Governor of Illinois and I am focused solely on Illinois issues.

Should people convicted of a crime related to their participation in the Jan. 6 riot ever be pardoned?

See previous answer.

Does Illinois have a crime problem?

Yes. Crime is at record levels. And although solving the crime problem is a multi-faceted issue, the Democrats approach of no accountability has turned our state into a shooting gallery. And the Governor’s so called criminal justice reform legislation is nothing more than a woke, far left wish list of soft on crime, anti-police nonsense. We need to start holding criminals accountable; respecting our police and consider that virtually every crime has a victim. The Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx is the worst prosecutor in the country.

Should Illinois reinstate the death penalty in murder cases?

This question is to vague to answer.

Is Illinois’ Firearm Owner Identification law constitutional?

I don’t think its necessary. I will leave it to the lawyers to opine on its constitutionality.

What is your stance on the 2nd Amendment? Should there be stricter gun laws in Illinois?

I am pro 2nd amendment. And no, we already have some of the strictest gun laws in the country.

Are there any aspects of Illinois’ public schools’ curriculum that you think need to be changed? Please explain.

We need to end the liberal indoctrination of our children and involve parents in the curriculum decisions. Under this administration, parents have become bystanders in their children’s educational and health care decision. It’s time to return parenting to the parents.

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services has had a number of issues in recent years including caseworkers missing signs of abuse and the agency’s director being held in contempt of court multiple times. What is wrong with that agency, and what will you do to fix it?

As Governor, I will conduct a top to bottom review of DCFS to fully assess why it is such a disaster. Governor Pritzker has failed miserably in protecting our most vulnerable children.