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Full Name: Jennifer Bruzan Taylor
What office are you seeking? Illinois House of Representatives, 41st District
What offices, if any, have you previously held? Naperville City Councilwoman
City: Naperville
Occupation: Attorney and Naperville City Councilwoman
Education: I graduated magna cum laude from Vanderbilt University, with Bachelor of Arts degrees in History and Women’s Studies and a minor in Psychology. I subsequently received my Juris Doctorate degree from Boston College Law School.
Campaign Website: www.taylorforillinois.com
What are the top issues facing your district and what would you like to do to address those issues?
Like many Illinoisans, residents of my district are facing an increase in crime as well as an increase in cost of living as both taxes and costs of everyday goods continue to rise. No matter how hard they work, they feel that they are falling further and further behind.
Another issue with a meaningful impact on my district is the struggle families with disabled children have in identifying services. Many families choose to live in our community because the local school districts do a phenomenal job of educating our special needs community. The service levels, however, significantly drop once those children turn age 22 due to inadequate state support. Currently, Illinois ranks 47th in the nation in funding community-based services for those with disabilities. Many families are advised to take ridiculous measures, such as divorce, in order to secure adequate resources. When special needs children become adults, there is a dearth of available housing. This includes not only monetary funding, but also stopping the continual increase of exclusionary diagnoses when determining service eligibility. Parents and our disabled community should not need to jump through so many hoops to get the help they need so that they can lead productive lives.
If COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths rise again, what mitigations, if any, should the state pursue?
Specific mitigations should be determined in partnership with health experts if a new surge of COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths occur. In the future with any public health crisis, the co-equal executive and legislative branches of government should cooperate and respect each other’s unique roles. In addition, local county and municipal governments should have a strong voice in implementing mitigations. This increased cooperation would go a long way to developing community and individual buy in and trust.
In light of Michael Madigan’s indictment, what steps should the legislature take to address corruption and ethics concerns in the state?
Unfortunately, Illinois is stigmatized around the country for its long-standing history of corruption in state government. The first step in regaining public trust is to empower our Legislative Inspector General’s office in order to root out corruption and encourage transparency. Our Legislative Inspector General needs independent subpoena power to be effective in investigating wrongdoing, and any final reports provided to the Legislative Ethics Commission should be readily available to the public and journalists. Without this transparency, there is no trust. In addition, lawmakers accused of corruption, sexual harassment, discrimination, or any other criminal matter, should not be allowed to rely upon campaign funds to pay for their legal defense. Moreover, lawmakers and their family members must be prohibited from becoming lobbyists for at least two years after they leave office to ensure legislators are serving residents’ interests, not self-interest. Finally, there should be internal term limits for legislators in top leader and committee posts to safeguard against one person holding too much power over the legislative process.
If there was one bill that you could get through the legislature next year, what would it be?
### Protecting our most vulnerable children is the key issue inspiring me to run for state representative. To that end, I would push through a bill overhauling the Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS). Too often in Springfield, politicians ignore the needs of those who cannot speak for themselves, and that is wrong. To restore trust and inject integrity into the system protecting children, lawmakers must enact systematic changes to DCFS, provide better legislative oversight, and protect workers from dangerous situations.
If there was one recently passed law you could repeal, what would it be?
The SAFE-T Act was clearly written and quickly passed without adequate input from all those involved in the criminal justice system. As it currently stands, it fails to adequately protect victims and leads to rushed investigations, which inserts weakness in our system. Although there are some portions of this law worth exploring, the best course is to repeal the SAFE-T Act and take the time to work with all stakeholders – police, prosecutor, victim rights, justice reform advocates, and defense attorney groups – to create a law that better balances the needs of all involved.
Do you support term limits? If yes, why and what would they look like? And if no, why not?
Former Speaker Mike Madigan’s fifty years in power and subsequent indictment is a case study on how politicians working for their self-interest instead of residents’ interests can lead to corruption and self- dealing. I support better accountability for lawmakers through meaningful ethics reform and for ensuring our political system stays accessible to voters. I support term limits on legislative leaders and committee chairmen.
Inflation across the country has greatly impacted the price of gasoline, food and other supplies. What should the legislature do to address these issues?
Unfortunately, since the Federal Reserve controls the money supply and Congress controls funding, only the Federal government can directly counteract inflation. In my opinion, it is obvious that the unprecedented spending at the federal level has greatly contributed to the inflation problem we are currently facing. Here in Illinois, although state government may not be able to solve inflation on its own, legislators and the Governor can reduce the cost of living for Illinoisans. Illinois needs to actively work to permanently reduce taxes, such as property, food, and gas taxes. Illinois also needs to seriously address our pension issues because of the immense pressures it places on our state budget. None of our long-term economic issues will be solved nor goals realized until our unfunded pension liabilities are addressed.
Taxes are a top concern of Illinois voters. What do you think the underlying issues are and how would you propose addressing them?
Illinois’ pension obligations are the largest line item in the State budget and without serious reform, we are going to continue to have budget issues and ever-increasing taxes. The Illinois economy needs to grow, become more business friendly, and create more jobs, which is difficult without serious pension reform. Legislators need to be open to exploring every reasonable pension reform idea because preserving the current pension system fails everyone involved – taxpayers and those paying into the current pension system.
##### Moreover, it is the government’s job to support, not hinder, economic development. To boost the economy and grow jobs, we need to retain and attract new companies. With Illinois ranking among the highest taxed states in the nation, raising a family or operating a business within the state is becoming unaffordable. We need to stop passing laws that scare away employers, especially our small businesses, which are the cornerstone of our economy. What may seem like a slight increase in taxes to a politician impacts everyday people. The mindset in Springfield must change from how much to tax its citizens to operating an efficient, effective government that lives within its means without chasing taxpayers away to neighboring states.
What are three things the state legislature could do to promote better fiscal responsibility within state government?
The State needs to live within its means, like the majority of Illinois families, by creating and sticking to a balanced budget. At the beginning of the state budget process, the legislature needs to set and adhere to a revenue estimate. This forecasting is imperative because before funds can be allocated, it must be known how much is available to spend. Not only is this a standard practice in the private sector, but it also is currently required by law. Unfortunately, this law has been ignored and the practice fallen to the wayside for years. Moreover, the legislature needs more transparency in the budgeting process. Thoroughly vetting all spending bills in both chambers with a reasonable mandatory time for public comment will encourage accountability. This public accountability will incentivize lawmakers to be more cautious how they prioritize spending.
How would you propose addressing the problems with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services?
This issue is dear to my heart and I have a unique perspective based on the years I spent as a Cook County prosecutor assigned to the Child Protection Division. While working in that division I actively worked alongside DCFS and Guardian ad litems in order to protect abused and neglected children. I learned during those years that although increased funding will help, that alone will not solve DCFS’ problems. Systematic changes must take place throughout the whole system, including the court system, and starting with a change in the application of the legal standards. The legal standard is correctly “what is the best interest of the child,” however, the application of this standard is inconsistent. Here are additional changes I would work toward:
- Make it easier to report abuse/neglect through public education and improving the DCFS hotline - If reunification is successful, extend the provided services and caseworker follow up time post- reunification - Shorten the time children linger in the system before becoming adoption-eligible
- Increased training not just for DCFS workers but all involved in the court system - Mental health support services for caseworkers who often deal with horrible situations - Increase the pay for caseworkers to attract and keep top talent - Protect caseworkers by partnering them with specially trained plain clothed police officers when visiting volatile homes, violent neighborhoods, or removing children from a home - Actively attract good foster parents by changing certain standards & enact a new marketing campaign - Expand the Safe Haven laws
What can be done at a state level to address crime?
Naperville and Warrenville have historically been safe communities, but many in our community now feel unsafe. We’ve seen an uptick of criminals coming from Chicago to our community and committing violent crimes such as carjackings and shootings. To stop this rise in crime, we need to first stop emboldening our criminals by standing with, instead of against, our police. We do this by repealing the current SAFE-T Act and replace it with a law that appropriately balances both the rights of the accused and the rights of victims.
In addition, we need to provide the resources and personnel for the police to appropriately do their jobs. This includes funding to increase the hiring and training of both police officers and police department social workers. These police department social workers can conduct the follow up for mental health and other non-violent calls so that sworn police can focus on violent crime.
Moreover, the legislature needs to actively address the rise in gun related crimes by increasing the felony classification and the sentencing range for illegal gun possession. As it stands right now, a first-time offender found in possession of a stolen motor vehicle (possession not the actual theft) is guilty of a Class 2 felony, but being in illegal possession of a loaded handgun for the first time is a Class 4 felony with a sentence of only 1-3 years. There is no equity in that discrepancy.
##### Finally, a public education campaign is necessary to teach and empower individuals to prevent themselves from becoming a target. Most crimes are crimes of opportunity and better education may lead to better outcomes.
Did Joe Biden win the 2020 election?
Yes.
What is your position on the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol?
The United States is the longest lasting modern democracy because our people respect our Constitution and laws. Election results may make individuals unhappy, but that does not give them the right to use violence to attempt to overturn those results. Those who participated in the insurrection on January 6, 2021 should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law in order to protect our Constitution and our country.
Illinois has seen significant revenue growth from marijuana sales and enhanced gambling. Are there other industries the state should consider to grow revenue?
Instead of looking for a miracle item to tax, the State needs to focus on getting our fiscal house in order to be more business and tax friendly for all industries to grow and create more jobs. With its current budget issues and high taxes, Illinois has difficulty competing for new business against better run states. If we get our fiscal house in order, opportunity and jobs will follow.
Illinois also has a “brain drain” problem. Our best and brightest leave to other states for college and other opportunities and many never return. This has a devastating impact on our economy. These talented people start businesses, invent products, and create new wealth. How do we fix that “brain drain” issue? Well, Illinois has the second highest in-state tuition among the Big 10 schools. We can lower tuition a number of ways, including making universities less administrative heavy, reforming procurement policies, and freezing tuition. Moreover, to encourage the growth of our trades, we need to provide scholarships for and expand apprenticeship education programs as an alternative to traditional college. These changes are necessary to make Illinois a place that workers not only flock to, but also retains and rewards workers.