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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='text-align:left'><b><span style='font-size:22.0pt'>Who is Stefanie Smith – candidate for U.S. Congress Illinois 13<sup>th</sup> District<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>ABOUT<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Why should voters nominate you and not your opponents?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>I am fighting for the Green New Deal so that we have a planet that working people can live on, not just billionaires. I am fighting to close the concentration camps and broaden our paths toward citizenship to eliminate the need for DACA. I am fighting for single payer healthcare, because otherwise working class and disabled people will continue to suffer and die unnecessarily. We will not be able to survive when medical debt collectors call in their due. I am fighting for reproductive rights and comprehensive sex education, not tacitly, not politely, but fiercely. That is not an issue to compromise on, as reproductive control perpetuates violence against women and other vulnerable people.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>I am fighting for LGBTQ equality, including legislated worker protections which would not shift with a change in the executive branch. I am fighting for a living wage, as the National Low Income Housing Coalition points out, $15/hr is not enough in 45 out of 50 states; we need minimum wages with cost of living adjustments so that working people are not held perpetually hostage due to inflation. I am also fighting to end the practice of substandard wages for restaurant workers, incarcerated workers & migrant workers; we deserve a living wage just like everybody else. I am fighting for tuition-free public universities and eliminating student debt. I am fighting for a Homes Guarantee and endorse the Public Housing Green New Deal introduced by AOC and Sanders.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>I will fight against war, and I will fight to end the Authorization of Military Force. I am against a surveillance state, and would repeal the Patriot Act. I am for decriminalizing sex work and ending the online censorship bill FOSTA that has decreased our ability to combat sex trafficking as well as made sex work even more dangerous. I am fighting to end gun violence, and will do so by bridging the gap between the social safety net standards of the US as compared to the rest of the developed world. I am fighting for paid domestic violence leave so that survivors can find safety and without losing their job. I am fighting to repeal the Taft-Hartley Act so that workers and unions are not fighting with their hands behind their back. I am fighting for card check, so that unionizing is not limited to only those workers who receive the support to pay for protracted legal battles.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>What are your highest priorities for Illinois and the nation?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>My highest priorities are the Green New Deal, Single Payer Healthcare, and a Homes Guarantee.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='text-align:left'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-chicago-shootings-violence-20160826-story.html#nt=interstitial-auto">[Most read] Aug. 27, 2016: Dwyane Wade’s cousin shot dead while pushing her baby in stroller on South Side »</a></span></b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Part of the Green New Deal and Homes Guarantee also means undoing environmental racism and economic racism to the extent possible; that means removing lead-lined pipes, that means more funding for community-led environmental cleanups, and that means the beginning of reparations.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>IMMIGRATION<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>If you could fix longstanding problems with this country’s immigration system, what would you do?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>First, we need to end concentration camps. We need a path towards citizenship for folks who come to America for safety. Undocumented labor is exploited. Their wages are stolen, and because of their criminalized status they cannot seek recourse. Facilities in which there have been workers organizing or where a legal suit against the employer has been won have subsequently been raided. The corporations benefit the most from our current immigration system. Undocumented labor deserves labor and immigration protections as it is not only humane but it also protects our labor force as well. Vulnerable populations with less worker protections have been used for over 100 years in America to break unions. We must acknowledge the history and act accordingly.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>ENTITLEMENT PROGRAMS<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Are you prepared to take up real reform to Social Security and Medicare to ensure their future solvency? What specific reforms and cuts to entitlements would you be willing to support?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>I will cut corporate tax breaks, oil subsidies, and defense spending to increase the solvency of Social Security, Medicare, and subsequently single payer healthcare.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>HEALTH CARE<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>What is the government’s obligation, if any, to help American workers secure health insurance? Do you support the creation or continuation of a program, such as Medicare for All or Obamacare? Do you have a different idea? If you support a government-related insurance plan, how would you pay for it?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>I support single payer healthcare. In 2019, alone, 2 different unions had their health insurance taken away during their strike. Those unions were the United Auto Workers and the Decatur Federation of Teaching Assistants.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>I would pay for single payer healthcare the same way we have historically paid for warfare. Only this time when we appropriate the funds, we will make cuts to corporate welfare, and agitate for cuts to our defense spending.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>FOREIGN POLICY<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>What security role should the U.S. play in world affairs?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>We should follow international law and submit ourselves to the International Criminal Court. We should stop funding terrorist organizations for proxy warfare. We should stop selling weapons to human rights abusers. We should re-establish missile treaties to de-escalate tensions. And we should be a leader in helping countries deal with the impacts of climate change.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>ECONOMY<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Unemployment is at a 50-year low and economic growth is steady. Assess the state of the economy and tell us how you would improve economic prospects for Americans.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>These are blunt measures that do not tell the full story. When many of us need multiple jobs to get by, unemployment numbers will drop, but it doesn’t speak to the reality of our quality of life. We are overworked, underpaid, and suffering under immensely rising housing costs that are not in proportion with inflation or wage increases. Bolstering worker protections, lifting bans on rent control, and funding housing programs as well as safety net resources like SNAP are imperative to creating a more equitable economy for the working class.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>CLIMATE CHANGE<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>What measures if any to combat climate change do you support?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>I support the Green New Deal. I endorse both the Homes Guarantee by Peoples Action & the Public Housing Green New Deal which also call for expanding socialized housing. We also must regulate our military’s pollution, as well as fund the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Science Foundation to cleanup the overwhelming pollution caused by our military, which has also increased cancer risks for current military personnel, veterans, and nearby civilians.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>GUN LAWS<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Describe briefly your position on how to balance the 2nd Amendment and gun safety.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Murderers frequently have a history of domestic violence. I support the use of red flag laws, banning perpetrators of domestic violence from gun ownership, including those in law enforcement. We have a 2nd Amendment right to form well organized militias. We do not have a 2nd Amendment right to personal weapons of mass carnage such as assault rifles, especially when they are used to sever the human right to life and terrorize our communities.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>MORE<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>When have you shown independence from your party on an issue of major import?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>I am a frequent critic of establishment Democrat’s complicity in increasing war and surveillance powers for the Trump administration. Issues that affect the survival of working and marginalized people come first. Anyone who does not take this stand demonstrates a tacit endorsement of our exploitation and oppression.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>If you are an incumbent, tell us the most significant accomplishment of your current term. If you are a newcomer, tell us how you as a rookie would keep from being a backbencher.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>As a grassroots candidate, I am not in the pocket of corporations or establishment politicians, unlike both of my opponents. I stand for workers rights and have gone to picket lines. My opponents have not because that would upset their donors. I have bold vision informed by lived experience, and a critical eye for policy discrepancies, miscalculations, and manipulation. My opponents know assimilation well and are unequipped to be anything more than tools of the establishment. I am ready to fight.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>