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Full Name: Joe Sosnowski
What office are you seeking? State Representative, 69th District
What is your political party? Republican
What is your current age? 47
Occupation and Employer: Current State Legislator, Non-Profit Fundraising Consultant
What elected offices, if any, have you previously held? Alderman, City of DeKalb and Rockford
Town where you live: Rockford
Campaign Website: joesosnowski.com
Education: BA - Northern Illinois University, Masters Public Administration - Northern Illinois University
Community Involvement: Member Stateline Community Church, Member emeritas, NIU Alumni Association, Co-Chair of NIU Legislative Caucus
Marital Status/Immediate Family: Married, 3 kids (19, 16, 14)
Why are you running for office? I’m running in order to provide the best representation for my constituents in Springfield. As a citizen legislator, I feel it is important to have experience in both the private sector and the public sector in order to propose policies that will work in the real world. Public service is a great way to give back to the community and try to make it a better place
Will you honor the results of the November election, including the presidential race? Yes. We should also seek to make our elections as well run and safe as possible by having voter ID required to vote (we require ID’s for just about evIt is a very large problem. If we had grown at the same pace as any of our neighboring states over the last 10 years, we would have another million Illinois residents contributing to our economy. We need to focus on reducing property taxes (mentioned above), creating economic opportunities for employees through jobs, and improving our retention rate of graduating seniors who leave our state to go to college at a higher rate than other states experience.e.
How would you assess the SAFE-T Act? Are there any changes/adjustments that you would like to see made? We will have to wait to see the results and the outcomes that are happening, but the bigger problem is that the Governor and the majority party have spend so much time on reducing penalties for those breaking the law while we should be focusing our efforts on such legislation as increasing penalties for repeat criminals.
What programs are you in favor of that could make home-buying more affordable for first-time homebuyers? The state should focus on reducing property taxes or at the very least minimizing increases (especially for seniors). Property taxes in Illinois are the 2nd highest in the nation, and they negatively affect both residents and businesses when choosing a place to live.
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? It is a very large problem. If we had grown at the same pace as any of our neighboring states over the last 10 years, we would have another million Illinois residents contributing to our economy. We need to focus on reducing property taxes (mentioned above), creating economic opportunities for employees through jobs, and improving our rention rate of graduating seniors who leave our state to go to college at a higher rate than other states experience.
Should Illinois impose a state parks fee that is earmarked for maintenance of those facilities? If so, how should it be implemented? No. We should take care of state agencies with current state funds.
With hospitals closing and/or downsizing in northern Illinois, what can be done to ensure rural residents have access to quality health care? We need to work with our hospitals and medical providers and work with them to propose solutions that include such things as more supervised telehealth opportunities in those areas that have need.
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 generally support being tougher on repeat criminals, and we need to look at opportunities to protect victims. As I mentioned with the SAFE-T ACT, there has been too much focus on helping criminals and not focusing on victims and innocent residents. The vast majority of gun violence is committed by those who don’t have a FOID card or a concealed carry license and is committed by those with illegal handguns. We need to focus on illegal gun possession and not those who possess firearms legally in Illinois.
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? I’m not sure on the best agency approach, but one this is for sure; all agencies need to focus on running more like a business and should not be allowed to run up deficits and then try to turn to the state for financial assistance. If agencies are not able to operate within their budgets then they need to look at ways to operate more efficiently.
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? No
Have you ever been convicted of or charged with a crime? No