Rachel Ventura's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Office:
- State Senate (IL) - District 43, Democratic
On The Ballot: Running, Democratic for State Senate (IL) - District 43
Key
Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
Inferred Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, but Vote Smart inferred this issue based on the candidate's public record, including statements, voting record, and special interest group endorsements.
Unknown Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, or we could not infer an answer for this candidate despite exhaustive research of their public record.
Additional Information: Click on this icon to reveal more information about this candidate's position, from their answers or Vote Smart's research.
Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.
Rachel Ventura is currently being tested through the 2024 Political Courage Test.
This candidate has responded to a Political Courage Test in a previous election. As a continued effort to provide the American public with factual information on candidates running for public office, these archived responses are made available here.
Illinois Congressional Election 2020 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| I believe that a woman should have the right to control her own body and decide if and when to have a baby. I believe women should have equal access to health care. Lastly, I believe pro-choice goes much further than health care choices and embodies the respect women have lacked in this country since its founding. Changing the perception that women deserve equal rights is fundamental, especially to protecting choice. I continue to advocate for actual "Pro-life" reform like free education, affordable housing, Medicare for All, $15 minimum wage, etc as opposed to the "pro-birth" agenda of the right. | |||
| Yes | In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| Yes | Do you support expanding federal funding to support entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare? | ||
| I support introducing a wealth tax to ensure that the uber wealthy pay their fair share in taxes. Closing tax loopholes for the wealthy and asking them to pay their share in taxes is a necessary step in closing the wealth gap. I am backing Rep. Jayapal?s Medicare for All bill (HR1384). 44,000 Americans die every year because they cannot afford the medical help they need. Health care is a human right and we must ensure that every American has the ability to seek medical attention. I also support expanding and increasing funding for Social Security, and scrapping the cap. | |||
| Yes | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| I support the Move to Amend movement that would introduce a 28th amendment to reverse the disastrous Citizens United decision. I also support a publicly funded campaign financing system that gives candidates an equal amount of money to spend on an election, and bans outside money. In my race for Will County Board, District 9, I ran on a ?no strings attached? platform, pledging not to take special interest money. In my race for U.S. Congress, I am pledging to not take corporate or super PAC money. My voice and votes belong to the people of the 11th Congressional District. | |||
| No | Do you support increasing defense spending? | ||
| The National Defense Authorization Act, passed in December 2019, added $22 billion to the defense budget for this year. If we want the United States to remain competitive and a global leader, then we must invest in our future generations instead of funding endless war. As a military spouse I saw firsthand how military increases always went to contractors and weapon manufacturers instead of the service members, while military cuts were always applied to service members first. | |||
| Yes | Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | Do you support lowering corporate taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| I support Medicare for All and the Green New Deal. These two pieces of legislation require increased federal spending, but will also invest back in the people of our country, generating economic development in our communities. In 2018, Amazon paid zero dollars in federal income tax. When working Americans pay more in taxes than Fortune 500 companies, there is a problem. It is time for large corporations to pay their fair share in taxes. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring states to adopt federal education standards? | ||
| If we want the United States to remain competitive and a world leader, then we must invest in our future generations, particularly in their education. Since enacting Common Core, our PISA scores have dropped. The education system in the United States consistently ranks lower than many countries throughout the world. Instead of measuring success solely on standardized test scores, we must look at the whole child, including their strengths, weaknesses, and interests. I am supporting free public education from preschool through college and student loan forgiveness because every American should have access to a good education. | |||
| Yes | Do you support government funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Greenhouse gas emissions are rising rapidly. Transitioning to green energy is going to require a robust investment from the federal government. Federal resources should be directed towards homeowners and business owners who want to make their homes and businesses more energy efficient, buy an electric vehicle or fleet of vehicles, and make decisions to reduce their carbon footprints. These are the concepts outlined in the Green New Deal, which is why I support it. The Green New Deal is a $16 trillion jobs package that includes resources to retrain workers who are currently employed in the fossil fuel industry. | |||
| Yes | Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| My position on gun violence is more expansive than background checks and an assault weapons ban. The House has been good on these issues. However, growing levels of gun violence and hate crimes will not be solved with one or two pieces of legislation.We need to address mental health and depression. I am supporting a single-payer, Medicare for All system that adequately provides mental healthcare for all Americans. Finally, we need to provide adequate wrap-around services for at risk kids that need social-emotional support so school social workers can provide adequate intervention. | |||
| No | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| We must replace overpriced private health insurance with an improved and expanded Medicare for All system. Even after the Affordable Care Act passed, 29 million Americans are uninsured and millions more are under-insured. Those who have access can hardly call it affordable. Patients would still have unlimited options when choosing primary care physicians, dentists, eye doctors, or specialty care providers. All medically necessary procedures would be covered, including emergency room visits. I had a similar system as a military spouse. Military families are eligible for TRICARE, a similar system to Medicare. We must adopt a single-payer system for all Americans. | |||
| No | Do you support the construction of a wall along the Mexican border? | ||
| No | Do you support requiring immigrants who are unlawfully present to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
| The United States must adopt a more reasonable and attainable path towards citizenship for all undocumented immigrants who want to pursue a permanent life here. I support upholding and expanding the DACA program because people who came to the United States as a minor should feel welcome in this country. The only people who benefit from undocumented members of our communities living in the shadows are unscrupulous employers, often temp agencies, who seek to exploit those workers for low wages. Offering them a reasonable pathway towards citizenship makes it more difficult for employers to prey on these individuals. | |||
| No | Should the United States use military force to prevent governments hostile to the U.S. from possessing a weapon of mass destruction (for example: nuclear, biological, chemical)? | ||
| Yes | Do you support reducing military intervention in Middle East conflicts? | ||
| The only predictable outcome of upgrading our nuclear arsenal is an arms race with Russia or China, which would be expensive and dangerous. Instead of relying on military force to accomplish strong arms control agreements, the United States should diplomatically work alongside foreign governments to make nuclear disarmament a central focus of national security policy. American intervention in the Middle East is often a result of our country?s reliance on fossil fuels. When the US moves toward a greener economy, it will no longer commit itself to wars over fossil fuels that have devastated an entire region | |||
| No | Do you generally support removing barriers to international trade (for example: tariffs, quotas, etc.)? | ||
| I think there is a place for tariffs to force other countries to the negotiating table. If we use tariffs as a tool to level the playing field between countries that don?t support workers? rights, then revenues from those tariffs should be used to re-educate displaced workers who might have lost their jobs because of a resulting trade war. Ideally, our trade policy needs to focus on bringing jobs back to the US and reducing our carbon footprint. Shipping and making goods in China, India, or Mexico uses more carbon than manufacturing those goods in the United States. | |||
| My top priorities will be implementing Medicare for All, passing the Green New Deal, and closing the wealth gap. I support a progressive tax policy that taxes the ultra wealthy at a higher rate. As recently as the 1970s, the top tax bracket was 70% of a person's income. It is time for wealthy individuals and large corporations to pay their fair share in taxes. A combination of a wealth tax, wage increases, closing corporate tax loopholes, and cuts to defense spending, could be used to fund these initiatives and reduce our multi-trillion national debt. |
Vote Smart does not permit the use of its name or programs in any campaign activity, including advertising, debates, and speeches.