Attorney General: Bill Malan
Political affiliation: Libertarian
City: Chicago
Marital status: Married
Occupation/Firm name: Attorney - Malan Law Office
Campaign HQ address: No response
Campaign website: www.BILL4AG.org
What is your campaign budget- No response
What do you consider to be the most important roles and responsibilities of this office-
The most fundamental responsibility of any elected official in Illinois is to support the Constitutions of the United States and the State of Illinois.
The attorney general therefore, should work with the Illinois Legislature to enact laws that respect Constitutional limits and to repeal or amend those that do not, and take action through the courts to enforce the laws of the state.
What are your top priorities for the office- For challengers, would you move in a direction different than the course set by Attorney General Lisa Madigan-
Illinois is insolvent. The top priority of any state official should be, to the extent of the authority of his or her office, returning the state to solvency. I would focus on three areas.
The first is to work with other states attorneys general to push for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolishing all state and federal entitlement programs (including Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security) and replacing them with a guaranteed national income payable to all citizens 21 and over who are not in jail.
Though a Constitutional Amendment and guaranteed national income are drastic measures, we are clearly at the point where it has become politically impossible to successfully deal with the growth of entitlement programs in a piecemeal fashion.
By replacing the myriad of patchwork and overlapping entitlement programs with a single, universal program, administrative overhead at all levels of government can be significantly reduced. Consequently, a guaranteed national income program, along with ending all other government entitlements, will result in the elimination of hundreds of thousands government jobs. At a time when Illinois and other states are facing a "pension crisis," the elimination of hundreds of thousands of government jobs alone should make this an initiative worthy of debate.
A guaranteed national income will of course be a safety net for those who need one. Moreover, it will induce many who perceive they presently have no stake in society - i.e. "nothing to lose" - to act more responsibly.
My second priority would be to work with other state AGs to end Drug Prohibition and replace it with a system of regulation, similar to how alcohol and tobacco are dealt with today.
Chicago and Illinois are world famous for two things; Al Capone and corruption. Alcohol Prohibition fueled both, and although Alcohol Prohibition is gone, it has been replaced by the even more disastrous policy of Drug Prohibition.
It is also noteworthy that Alcohol Prohibition required a Constitutional Amendment to be enacted; Drug Prohibition became law with no clear Constitutional basis - yet even questioning this decades long debacle is likely get one branded as a heretic or lunatic.
My third priority would be to work with legislators to remove the unreasonable ballot access laws that exist in Illinois. Illinois voters deserve to have more options and hear perspectives other than those served up by the Bipartisan Party.
Given the state's budget crisis, what would you cut or scale back in the AG's office-
I have not reviewed the AG budget, but promise at least a 10% cut or I will take no salary. My goal will be to reduce its budget to the 1998 level, adjusted for population growth.
Do you favor statewide grand jury authority for the AG's office-
In limited circumstances it can be appropriate.
Should the AG's office have a legislative agenda and take the lead in lobbying in Springfield-
Yes.
Should the Legislature make any changes to the campaign finance law passed in 2009- Would you support capping donations from party leaders during general elections-
It is erroneous to distinguish actions of The Same Old Party (i.e. the asses and elephants) from those of government. Given their duopoly control, activities of the Democratic or Republican party operatives are de facto acts of the government. As such, they should be completely transparent.
While I do not favor putting limits on anyone doing whatever they want with their own money, since the two parties are but extensions of the state, there should be full transparency and disclosure of all cash or in-kind expenditures by the Bipartisans. This should apply not only to general elections, but to all actions they take in regard to getting people on and keeping others off the ballot.
The ballot access laws of Illinois were made by the duopoly with the purpose of keeping them in power. There was more turnover in the Politburo than there is in our government.
Restrictive ballot access laws need to be revamped to allow real competition of ideas. The duopoly's hammerlock on the electoral process fuels their arrogance and is a significant reason Illinois is such a corrupt and bankrupt state.
Even when a challenger gets over the ballot access petition-gathering hurdles imposed by the Same Old Party, costly and frivolous challenges are sure to follow. There should accordingly be full disclosure required of the sources of funds that support efforts to knock others off the ballot.
What can be done to strengthen implementation of the new FOIA law- New legislation has exempted performance evaluations of public employees and public school teachers and administrators. Do you support these changes or would you push to reverse them-
Government employees should have their privacy respected. Performance evaluations of "run of the mill" employees such as teachers should not be publicly available. Political appointees or elected officials should not have the same expectation of privacy.
Under what circumstances, if any, should the Attorney General refuse to defend a state official, state employee or the constitutionality of a dubious state statute-
No response
Would you move to reduce the use of outside legal counsel in the AG's office-
Probably, though there are situations where the judicious use of contract workers can be used to cut the overall budget (and pension liabilities) of an organization by reducing head count.
List your educational background
BS, Political Science, Summa cum Laude, University of Idaho
JD, University of Idaho
MBA, University of Illinois at Chicago
Please list civic, professional, fraternal or other organizations to which you belong
Tri-Taylor Neighbors;
CAPS volunteer;
Chicago Bar Association;
Illinois State Bar Association
Libertarian Party
Have you held elective or appointive political office or been employed by any branch of government-
I have never held elective or appointive office, though to state this fact is perhaps taking unfair advantage of my opponents.
The state's finances are a train wreck because of Democrats and Republicans. The Same Old Party leaders, like some blind two-headed Casey Jones calling for more money to be thrown in the boiler, are unable to see that they are driving the thing off the rails.
Please list jobs or contracts you, members of your immediate family or business partners have had with government
No response
Name your five biggest campaign contributors and the amount they contributed
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