Do you have an idea where Mark Kirk stands on a woman’s right to choose? Do you know what Tammy Duckworth wants to do with Obamacare? Do you have a clue regarding which judges we should retain and which we should fire?
I noticed that because Trump and Clinton have dominated the news this fall, I knew very little about where Mark Kirk and Tammy Duckworth stand on the issues and nothing at all about which judges to vote for. So I did some research, the results of which follow. Feel free to clip and take with you next Tuesday.
To start off, here’s a little quiz. Which candidate, Mark Kirk or Tammy Duckworth, holds the following policy positions? (Answers at the end of this column)
1. Believes abortion is a woman’s unrestricted right
2. Favors legally requiring the hiring of women and minorities
3. Is comfortable with same sex marriage
4. Opposes the absolute right to gun ownership
5. Favors a pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens
6. Favors making voter registration easier
From On the Issues’ website, which categorizes Kirk as a moderate and Duckworth as a liberal.
Kirk and Duckworth were asked if they favor or oppose the following statements:
Issue 1: Abortion is a woman’s unrestricted right.
Kirk strongly favors
Duckworth strongly favors
Issue 2: Legally require hiring women and minorities.
Kirk favors
Duckworth strongly favors
Issue 3: Comfortable with same-sex marriage.
Kirk strongly favors
Duckworth strongly favors
Issue 4: Keep God in the public sphere
Kirk favors
Duckworth strongly opposes
Issue 5: Extend Obamacare
Kirk opposes
Duckworth strongly favors
Issue 6: Privatize Social Security
Kirk favors
Duckworth strongly opposes
Issue 7: Vouchers for school choice
Kirk favors
Duckworth strongly opposes
Issue 8: Society bears cost of pollution
Kirk strongly opposes
Duckworth is neutral
Issue 9: Stricter punishment reduces crime
Kirk favors
Duckworth is neutral
Issue 10: Absolute right to gun ownership
Kirk opposes
Duckworth strongly opposes
Issue 11: Higher taxes on the wealthy
Kirk strongly opposes
Duckworth strongly favors
Issue 12: Pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens
Kirk favors
Duckworth strongly favors
Issue 13: Support and expand free trade
Kirk favors
Duckworth is neutral
Issue 14: Support American exceptionalism
Kirk strongly favors
Duckworth is neutral
Issue 15: Expand the military
Kirk favors
Duckworth opposes
Issue 16: Make voter registration easier
Kirk strongly favors
Duckworth favors
Issue 17:Avoid foreign entanglements
Kirk opposes
Duckworth strongly favors
Issue 18: Prioritize green energy
Kirk favors
Duckworth favors
Issue 19:Marijuana is a gateway drug
Kirk strongly favors
Duckworth is neutral
Issue 20: Stimulus better than market-led recovery
Kirk opposes
Duckworth favors
Evaluation of judges by the Illinois Bar Association
The vast majority of judges were recommended or rated qualified. Listed below are only the judges who were not recommended or rated unqualified.
Circuit court
First Subcircuit
Rhonda Crawford not recommended
Second Subcircuit
D. Renee Jackson not recommended
Fifth Subcircuit
Daryl J. Jones not qualified
Eleventh Subcircuit Contested Election
Thomas William Flannigan not qualified
Twelfth Subcircuit
Janet Cronin Mahoney not qualified
Thirteenth Subcircuit
Kevin O’Donnel not qualified
Fourteenth Subcircuit
Matthew Link not recommended
I’m considering voting for Mark Kirk, simply because On the Issues categorizes him as a moderate and labels Duckworth as a liberal. Perhaps more important than their stand on the issues is a senator’s willingness to compromise, especially in this present polarized political climate. Kirk has a track record of doing just that.
* Answer to quiz: Both
