Victoria Onorato, Illinois 89th House District 2022 Primary Election Questionnaire

Full Name: Victoria Onorato

What office are you seeking? State representative district 89

What offices, if any, have you previously held? I served the public for 25 years as a police officer. I am now retired.

City: Byron

Occupation Retired police officer

Education: State certified police training, state certified training in domestic violence, state certified training in child abuse and sexual criminal abuse of children, state certified training in domestic terrorism, state certified in community policing and an ABA certified Paralegal.

Campaign Website: www.Patriots4onorato.com

What are the top issues facing your district and what would you like to do to address those issues?

Police - every community has been devastated by the loss of police in their communities as officers are being fired due to “defunding” or they are simply quitting due to the new bill HB3653 which has greatly diminished their ability to due their jobs, leaving citizens vulnerable to victimized by criminals. I will advocate for hiring more police in every community and participate in repealing any laws that keep officers from keeping citizens safe. I will also fight to implement programs to reestablish relationships between police officers and communities. Fear mongering children into believing police officers are bad will be outlawed. It is time to repair what is so badly broken and that is the lines of communication and trust.

Veterans - our military veterans are not getting the proper medical help they need. Many are still homeless or have residences that are inhabitable. Our veterans should be treated with the dignity and respect they deserve for serving our country, and helping them have a better quality of life is one of the most important things Americans can do for them. No soldier should ever feel the answer is suicide and I will advocate for better medical care and funding for housing. As Americans we can create projects that would benefit many veterans, one of them being security for our children’s schools. Many veterans have tried to volunteer their time to guard our schools and keep them safe but have been turned down time and time again. It’s time to start allowing former veterans to protect our families on American soil and I will advocate for a bill to allow this measure to be put in place. Americans need to understand that police and military are our first line of defense. It’s time to embrace them and what they were trained to do. Protect Americans.

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Lost Businesses - helping owners to reestablish their businesses after the years of IL shutdown that cost Americans to loose everything. Communities need help to rebuild what they lost. The state of IL is responsible and a debt free restoration program should be established to rebuild businesses.

School curriculums - parents are devastated throughout Illinois regarding what is being taught to their children without the parents consent. Parents want to be more involved in what schools are teaching their children. Parents also want to be more involved in being on school committees. I will advocate to help parents become more involved in consenting on what subjects are appropriate for their children to be taught.

Farmers - our farmers are loosing their farms at an alarming rate to big corporation after taking a heavy hit from the IL shutdown, forced subsidies and tax increases that have made it impossible for farmers to keep their land, home, live stock and equipment. It is time to reverse the damage our lawmakers have perpetrated on our farmers and bring incentives that will help farmers gain back their farming businesses and relieve the debts incurred on them during IL lockdowns. Land, trailer, equipment and gas tax increases are responsible for destroying generational farms. It is time for lawmakers to rebuild our culture of farming in IL. I will support bills protecting our farmers and it may be time to introduce the concept of Allodial Title deeds for farmers. It is time to build up our farms, not tear them down and diminish them.

If COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths rise again, what mitigations, if any, should the state pursue?

That would be for the medical specialist to decide.

In light of Michael Madigan’s indictment, what steps should the legislature take to address corruption and ethics concerns in the state?

History should never repeat itself. Accountability and transparency are two of the biggest avenues that should be mandatory. To start the process of accountability we the people must demand “Term Limits” on every position that serves the people. No one should ever be in office for decades and conduct business as usual with abuse of their power. So lets start with “Term Limits” for every political and municipal position. 10 years should be the cap on the term limit statute. I am term limiting myself to 10 years because I stand up for what I believe in. This is where I take responsibility as a servant of the people and start term limits for myself.

If there was one bill that you could get through the legislature next year, what would it be?

It would be impossible to just pick one bill.

If there was one recently passed law you could repeal, what would it be?

It would be the bill to “Repeal HB3653″ and restore law and order to police officers.

Do you support term limits? If yes, why and what would they look like? And if no, why not?

Yes I absolutely support “Term Limits”. Accountability and transparency are two of the biggest avenues that should be mandatory. No one should ever be in office for decades and conduct business as usual with abuse of their power. I am term limiting myself to 10 years because I stand up for what I believe in and this is where I take responsibility as a servant of the people and start term limits for myself.

Inflation across the country has greatly impacted the price of gasoline, food and other supplies.

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What should the legislature do to address these issues?

It is time to cut back on spending that takes away from supporting American citizens, their farms and their businesses. America first. America should be self supporting and independent for foreign sources. We have supported ourselves in the past and we need to go back to basics and be self sufficient again. We have our own domestic petroleum sources for gas and there is no need for any American to pay extortion prices to fuel their cars and machines. Where is the accountability for price gouging? No one is addressing this issue but I will.

Taxes are a top concern of Illinois voters. What do you think the underlying issues are and how would you propose addressing them?

Taxes will always be an issue because that is part of our living standards. However, there is a fine line for accountability of reasonable increases and increases that are destroying our way of life. The cost of living is not matched by exorbitant tax increases. A flat tax would be extremely beneficial to helping future generations regain a quality of life and create a sense of normalcy in living standards and I would support recommendations for a flat tax.

What are three things the state legislature could do to promote better fiscal responsibility within state government?

This would be difficult to answer after coming out of a 2 year state shutdown.

How would you propose addressing the problems with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services?

Laws will need to rewritten to address and overhaul DCFS. This is a subject that is very in-depth and the laws for this agency need to be re-written for the benefit of helping families and children. Programs related to this agency will also need to be restructured. The federal funding coming out of our social security benefits also has to be addressed, in addition to the federal funding from our social security that pays for foster care services. Social Security title IV and V, sections D and E need to be discussed in length for revision proposals.

What can be done at a state level to address crime?

Every community needs “More” officers not less. We start with hiring more officers and rebuilding communication and trust in communities and programs that allow children to interact in a good setting with police and fireman again. Fear mongering our children against police officer’s must be outlawed and programs must be implemented to reverse that unnecessary damage done over the last 2 years. Lawmakers will also need to repeal a great deal of bill HB3653 that takes away officers abilities to do their jobs and lock up criminals. Then it will be the job of DA’s and State’s attorneys to do their jobs and prosecute criminals accordingly and re-establish bail procedures. The old saying of “you do the crime, you do the time” has a meaning. If their is no enforcement of jail time for committing a crime then our lawmakers are not addressing the subject at all. The real question Americans are asking is “Why are lawmakers making laws for committing crimes if they are not going to allow criminals to be put in jail?”

Did Joe Biden win the 2020 election?

This is exactly the kind of question that is creating hatred and division amongst Americans. I won’t be part of it.

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

This is exactly the kind of question that is creating hatred and division amongst Americans. I won’t be part of it.

Illinois has seen significant revenue growth from marijuana sales and enhanced gambling. Are there other industries the state should consider to grow revenue?

Creating more industries means creating more reasons to tax citizens. We have more important issues that need to be addressed first.