“My mission is to both reduce the wealth inequality and shrink the government here in the state of Illinois. We are going to accomplish this by cutting spending top down, and by cutting taxes bottom up!” – Andrew Cottingham
Tax Reform
- Income Tax: My plan is to increase the state the standard income tax deduction to (____). This effectively is a bottom-up income tax cut for poor, working, and middle class families here in Illinois.
- Tax on Unemployment Benefits: My plan, in accordance with cutting the state income tax bottom up, is to stop taxing unemployment benefits in the State of Illinois.
- No Tax on Tips: In accordance with cutting the state income tax bottom up, I will also eliminate the income tax on all cash/electronic tips.
- No Tax on Overtime: In accordance with cutting the state income tax bottom up, I will also eliminate the income tax on all overtime pay. We should be rewarding our workforce for their extra work, not punishing them with additional taxation! I believe we will see an increase in productivity, an increase in employee satisfaction/fulfilment, and a decrease in poverty within our workforce.
- Sales Tax: My plan is to eliminate the state sales tax on necessities first. Sales taxes directly impact the poor, working, and middle class the most here in Illinois. Eliminating the 1% grocery tax, which goes into effect January 2026, is a step in the right direction; however, it is not enough. What are necessities? To me, necessities include food, medicine, health & hygiene products, infant products, etc.
Election Reform
- Reduce/Abolish Ballot Access: I support reducing or abolishing ballot access requirements for independent and third-party candidates for local, state, and federal offices.
- Protect Voters: I support amending the Illinois State Constitution to include political affiliation and voting history as protected classes from discrimination. No one in the State of Illinois should be discriminated against for who they vote for or for which political party/identity they affiliate with.
- Abolish the Secret Ballot: Next to California and New York, Illinois has some of the worst election integrity in the nation, which is why I support abolishing the secret ballot in the State of Illinois. By abolishing the secret ballot, in addition to protecting voters as mentioned in my Protect Voters policy, not only can we allow thorough audits of our elections to take place, but we can also allow voters to audit their own voting history. Lastly, I believe that every voter should receive a printed receipt upon the submission of their ballot on Election Day.
- Write-In Ballots: I support changing the current format of our ballots from “multiple choice” to write-in ballots, which is how our ballots used to be formatted. This policy would also coincide with ballot access reform. Such a policy would lower barriers of entry for local, state, and federal candidates; additionally, implementing such policy would encourage fair competition amongst all parties and candidates. This policy strictly applies to the General Election ballot, for party primaries will be left to the parties to decide.
- Proportional Representation (Statewide): I support returning the State of Illinois to a proportional representation system for our state legislature. I believe doing so will promote growth in representation throughout the state both geographically and ideologically. I also believe doing so will give independent and third-party candidates a greater chance of securing seats, which will also make our elections more competitive.
- Congressional District Method (Electoral College): I support amending the Illinois State Constitution to shift the State of Illinois away from using the winner-takes-all system; instead, Illinois could utilize the congressional district method that the states of Nebraska and Maine use. I believe doing so will make Illinois far more competitive in Presidential Elections; otherwise, we will continue to be a state that is vastly overlooked.
Welfare Reform
- Negative Income Tax Initiative (NIT): Establish a new poverty line after cutting taxes bottom-up.
- Those who fall under the newly established poverty line or are qualified to collect Social Security, disability, or unemployment benefits will be eligible to apply for the Negative Income Tax Initiative.
- The Negative Income Tax Initiative would aim to consolidate current welfare programs as a means to provide more efficient, effective, and quality service while also reducing government spending.
- The Negative Income Tax Initiative gives citizens the opportunity to choose between receiving a direct cash payment or “Necessity Vouchers” in exchange at a higher ratio for the cash value of their NIT.
- While Necessity Vouchers do limit what one can purchase, they also provide the recipient with greater purchasing power than the direct cash payment.
- While the direct cash payment might not have as much purchasing power as the Necessity Vouchers, it can be spent on any needs that are not supported by the vouchers.
- Necessity Vouchers can be exchanged for goods and services such as:
- Groceries
- Medicine & Vitamins
- Health & Hygiene Products
- Healthcare Services
- Clothing
- Infant Products
- Childcare
- Education (Including Student Loans*)
- Housing
- Transportation
Environmental Policy
- I will ensure that we improve the quality of our air, water, and soil.
- I support efforts to rewild our public lands by returning native plants and animals, and by removing invasive plants and animals as well.
- I will protect threatened and endangered plants, animals, and fungi.
- I support regenerative agriculture practices.
- I support pollinator conscious and friendly agriculture practices.
- I support community gardens.
- I support turning Cahokia Mounds into a National Park.
Alternative Medicine
- Cannabis: I support repealing registration requirements for growing cannabis plants for personal use.
- Psychedelics:
- Step 1: Legalize the research and therapeutic use of psilocybin, MDMA, DMT, peyote/mescaline, ayahuasca, and LSD.
- Step 2: Decriminalize and legalize medicinal MDMA, DMT, peyote/mescaline, ayahuasca, and LSD.
- Step 3: Legalize the possession, cultivation, sale, and distribution of psilocybin mushrooms.
- Step 4: Apply a (_%) sales tax to the sale of psilocybin mushrooms and products containing psilocybin.
- Step 5: Tax revenue from sales tax will be allocated towards current state mental health programs.
- Step 6: Support access to therapeutic treatments utilizing psychedelics for police officers, firefighters, veterans, and other first responders suffering from trauma, PTSD, addiction, etc.
- Step 7: Support clinics that provide therapeutic treatments utilizing psychedelics for people suffering from trauma, abuse, addiction, PTSD, etc.