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Full Name:
Liz Bishop
What office are you seeking?
State Representative
What is your political party?
Republican
What is your current age?
64
Occupation and Employer:
Volunteer (various arts organizations & events, miscellaneous as needed)
What offices, if any, have you previously held?
Precinct Committeeman (2020-)
Deputy State Central Committeeman (2021-2022)
City:
La Salle
Campaign Website:
Education:
B.A. English literature, Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota
Community Involvement:
President, board of trustees, Oakwood Cemetery
Various arts organizations and events as needed
Marital Status/Immediate Family:
I have an adult son
Why are you running for office?
I am running because I believe the residents of this district deserve honest, effective, common-sense representation in Springfield. We deserve a representative who understands the composition of the district, its needs, and its possibilities.
We need to make Illinois an affordable place for everyone, especially families and seniors. We need to improve educational outcomes for our students. We need to create opportunities that will encourage our children and grandchildren to make Illinois their home. We need to attract and retain qualified teachers, as well as first responders who will help keep our communities safe. We need to create a business-friendly environment so there are good jobs available.
And all of this is doable if we send the right people to Springfield.
Will you honor the results of the November election, including the presidential race?
Yes.
How would you assess the SAFE-T Act? Are there any changes/adjustments that you would like to see made?
The SAFE-T Act, despite its many trailer bills and band-aid fixes, is still bad policy for Illinois. Law enforcement officials, including police, lawyers, and judges, must be meaningfully engaged to provide real solutions to our crime problems. Additional needed fixes for the SAFE-T Act include adjustments to pre-trial release, such as allowing the revocation of pre-trial release when defendants commit additional crimes or otherwise violate the terms of their release, and strict and swift action when a defendant violates a no-contact order. Keeping communities and victims safe should be our priority. To help strengthen communities, legislators must prioritize education in all areas of the state and create opportunities for jobs and meaningful work. When opportunity flourishes because of better economic conditions, families can keep more of their hard-earned money, public officials serve the public and not themselves, crime diminishes, and people find hope.
What policies would you support to ease the burden on Illinois taxpayers? Please be specific
Lowering property taxes is the best way to keep families together in our state. To gain affordability, we must address the root causes for these increases. Allowing more flexibility for local government bodies regarding setting their levies, decreasing unfunded mandates on both local government and schools, limiting bureaucracy, eliminating duplicate layers of government, and inserting taxpayer voices into the process will help lower costs and keep seniors in their homes. Controlling the cost of property taxes will take creativity and a willingness to work together, and I’m ready to start working to solve this crisis on day one.
The Chicago area has been a destination for migrants, often with no housing options when they get here. What would you do in Springfield to help migrants when they appear, and to help local communities prepare when groups show up unannounced?
The migrant crisis and the promises Illinois politicians have made to fund and welcome anyone here is placing a significant burden on Illinois families. I know and appreciate that Illinois families are hospitable people, but we must take care of our own citizens first, then prioritize those who enter the country through the legal process. It is time to recognize Illinois is one of the most expensive states in which to live, and we must prioritize addressing the affordability and cost of living struggles that so many hardworking families are facing. Let’s focus on real solutions that provide relief and support for the people of Illinois, not divert resources away from them.
It is my understanding that cities and towns throughout the 76th District have plans in place in the event of any groups arriving unannounced.
What programs are you in favor of that could make home-buying more affordable for first-time homebuyers?
Illinois has some of the highest property taxes in the nation, making home ownership unattainable for many hardworking families. The key to making home-buying more accessible is to lower property taxes so that long-term ownership becomes affordable.
The last census showed that Illinois is losing population, and that rural areas are were hit harder than urban areas. Is that a cause for concern and, if so, what can you do from Springfield to ensure rural communities don’t disappear?
I would support tax relief on all levels. Residents keeping more of their hard-earned money would promote growth and encourage citizens to stay in Illinois. When residents have more money in their pockets, they can start businesses, make larger purchases, and save for their dreams and their future. By lowering the overall tax burden, we can attract new job creators, expand the tax base, and collect more taxes from a larger group of taxpayers. With Illinois’ bountiful resources and trained workforce, our state should be a magnet for growth. Instead, our high cost of living and reputation for corruption keeps families away. By lowering the overall tax burden, we can attract new job creators, expand the tax base, and collect more taxes from a larger group of taxpayers. Most importantly, this would create more opportunities for our children once they enter the workforce, instead of driving them away to other states with more to offer. I support property tax reform, lessening bureaucracy and costs for job creators, and professional licensing reform to get skilled labor into our job market faster.
Should Illinois impose a state parks fee that is earmarked for maintenance of those facilities? If so, how should it be implemented?
I generally don’t favor implementation of fees. State parks are one of Illinois’ primary resources and, as such, maintenance of them should receive priority in the state budget. In the 76th, Starved Rock State Park attracts over two million visitors annually, more than any state park in Illinois. These visitors boost the local economy with their purchases and overnight stays, and additional expense for entering the park would be unnecessarily prohibitive.
With hospitals closing and/or downsizing in northern Illinois, what can be done to ensure rural residents have access to quality health care?
Access to healthcare has been limited with two hospital closings in Peru and Spring Valley a year-and-a-half ago. Both hospitals had served their communities for over 100 years each, and no one could ever have imagined we would lose one of them, much less both, and in such a short span of time. Although the Peru hospital has since re-opened, it made me hyperaware of how quickly rural healthcare can disappear and motivated me to run for State Representative to do all I can to prevent healthcare deserts in this district and throughout the state. This life-and-death issue demands a relentless approach to advocate for affordable, accessible healthcare throughout the region. Efforts in this regard need to be coordinated with local junior colleges and universities to help recruit and train healthcare workers. I would support legislation to address the issues with healthcare disparities in Illinois, and I would fight to ensure each family can rely on nearby quality care for emergency services, routine care, and everything in between.
Do you support Karina’s Bill, which aims to strengthen enforcement of the removal of firearms from those with orders of protection against them? More broadly, are Illinois laws too strict – or not strict enough – when it comes to gun rights and gun control and what changes would you advocate for?
I support the general concept of Karina’s Bill to remove rearms from the possession of anyone having an order of protection against them, as well as from anyone who has had a FOID card revoked for any other reason. It is my understanding that in Cook County alone 36,000 individuals have had their FOID cards revoked but there aren’t adequate resources for law enforcement to follow through and enforce the revocations. Unlike my opponent who has stated she would like to defund the police so “we can police ourselves” and “remove” sheriff’s offices, I favor promoting increased recruitment, training, and retention of qualified law enforcement officers to help make communities safe for all of us. I would advocate for enforcing the laws Illinois already has in place.
Should Metra, Pace and the CTA be combined into one agency? What should be done to address the fiscal cliff facing the public transit agencies?
Chicago’s transit system is of vital importance and immediate reforms are needed to make it financially viable and to improve and update it to ensure passenger accessibility and safety. The State cannot afford a bailout, and aggressive efforts must be made to reduce costs by consolidating the mass transit boards while improving services and encouraging additional commuter usage. Unfortunately, HB 1356 (Ugaste), which would have consolidated the transit boards under the RTA, was not released from the House Rules Committee and did not receive a hearing. In addition, no Republicans are included in the Speaker’s committee which is studying this issue.
In your capacity as a private citizen, have you or any business entity in which you have a ownership stake received a federal PPP loan? If so, what was the amount and is it repaid, forgiven or still outstanding?
Not to my knowledge.
Have you ever been convicted of or charged with a crime?
No.