Working hard shouldn’t mean hardly eating, and the GOP has been targeting food stamps for decades. In recent years, they’ve been successful at cutting billions from the program, despite many workers needing this program to feed their families. They’re at it again, planning to cut another 25%.

The program pays for itself; for every dollar spent, SNAP generates roughly $1.75 in economic activity. Therefore, cutting these benefits makes no sense, and, these Americans deserve to put food on the table.

A relevant question to ask is why do hard working Americans need SNAP benefits to feed their families? Wage stagnation.

Since the massive failure of Reaganomics, wage stagnation has harmed not only working families but local economies for decades. It is about time we put an end to the continuing damage from this failed economic model. 

• GOP-focused tax cuts are too often pocketed by the wealthiest. Tax cuts for the wealthiest and big businesses also have not produced sustained wage growth for workers. This has been the GOP failed strategy for decades. It’s a losing agenda for hardworking Americans.

We can do something about the wage stagnation problem now

while mitigating any short term risks for small businesses. 

• Larger businesses should lose their massive tax cuts, and we need to eliminate loopholes. Then, these businesses can earn credits and breaks when the wage disparity within the company decreases. This means when the difference between the lowest and the highest income earners’ wages decreases significantly, the business receives a tax break.

This is what the tax code was designed to do in the first place . . . to incentivize good behavior that benefits American families and the economy. Wage growth benefits the economy. Wage stagnation benefits only the executive and administrative classes.

• Everyone deserves a raise in a company when the company is doing well, not just those at the top. Currently, many large companies eliminate benefits, eliminate jobs, ship jobs overseas, and cut corners, all of which allows for annual raises and big bonuses at the top. Meanwhile, the workers get left behind.

This has to change.

I’ll stand with hard working Americans every day. They deserve more for their hard work. The more they take home, the more they spend where they live. Workers are the lifeblood of local economies.

• Right now, we need an all-in strategy for American workers. Many are paying too much out-of-pocket for their healthcare, their utilities, and their expenses are too high. All of this occurs while their wages haven’t budged in years.

Let’s do something different for a change.

I’ll fight for innovative strategies.

Policies that directly impact the bottomline of households and small businesses. 

We can do better by demanding better.

I continue to see so much animosity and outrage pouring out on social media and in public regarding the President. This is not all that helpful in the upcoming midterm elections. The Democratic Party becoming the anti-Trump party is not a good political move, nor is it a good move for the People. It doesn’t win elections and it’s not polling well either.

The vast majority of registered voters don’t believe Democrats support anything. That’s a huge red flag for me. If you recall in the Clinton era, Republicans ran aggressively against Bill Clinton in ’96, both in Congress and in political speech/ads. How did that turnout for them? The same can be said in ’04 with George W Bush.

Anti-the-other-candidate campaigns most often fail. The latest campaign that ran on that message was the Hillary campaign. She had great policies that would have made a difference, but how many voters actually connected with those policies? That campaign simply ran against Trump and thought that was good enough to win the election. It was ultimately a losing message in downstate Illinois, throughout much of the Midwest, and rural America.

I want to caution anyone that goes full tilt in anger-outrage mode against President Trump. It might make some feel better and that you’re in solidarity with one another, but it’s not going to change these House district races. We have to set out a real vision for the People and the country.

I’m dedicated to making policies that will make a difference to the People of the 15th District and throughout downstate Illinois, both in the short term and the long term. The People here haven’t had a real advocate or a fighter on their side in the House for far too long.

Most of the people I talk to on the campaign trail don’t care about the Russian investigation. Of course, those of us that have been linked into politics and history are deeply concerned about every detail, but it doesn’t mean anything to the daily lives of regular folks throughout the district.

That’s why I’m focusing on what will make a difference in the lives of real people in my campaign. I’ve never been one to be against someone but to be for others instead, regardless of their beliefs, their gender, their religion, their background, or anything else about them.

Everyone deserves a shot at the American Dream. They deserve better representation than they’ve received in decades.

Let’s change that together!

RoadSnacks just made a study that declared the 10 Most Conservative Cities in Illinois. This can be of great concern to those living in or around any of these cities.

I have a different take.

Most of this, in my experience, is due to Democrats not playing hard or at all in these areas for decades. Vacating has led to dominance, intimidation, and more by the GOP. 

I’m not dissuaded by those factors at all. I’m a natural fighter, though.

A cool head, applying respect (something the other side doesn’t do), and listening to voter concerns are the first steps. After I listen, I apply what I’ve learned and connect it directly to my message and vision for the 15th district. 

Believe it or not, all of us have the same basic concerns for our families and communities. We want better economies, higher wages, more jobs, more affordable healthcare, cheaper prescription drugs, safer communities, and better schools for our children. 

Most people haven’t heard from a state rep or state senate candidate in years. Rarely are these races challenged in the general election, either. They’ve never heard from a congressional candidate directly. 

If you come with all the answers, it’s often a lost cause. Each of these Americans deserves to be heard. And, they haven’t been heard in far too long.

They’ve not had someone fighting for their families and their communities in a long time. The Democratic Party is the party of the People. We must be their voice, on city councils, county boards, in Springfield, and in Washington.

We can do this!

The damage of the vacuum of the last few decades takes time to heal, and we all have a vital role to play in rebuilding the trust with working families and the most vulnerable.

I’ve never been more hopeful. Let’s get to work!