Robert G. Abboud (Democratic)

Robert Abboud has lived most of his life in the 16th Congressional District of Illinois and does not come from a political background, but is a man of science and energy as he received his Bachelor’s Degree in Nuclear Engineering from Purdue University and a Master’s Degree in Nuclear Engineering from Northwestern University.

Abboud had worked for Argonne National Laboratory before he was commissioned by the U.S. Navy Submarine Nuclear Weapons program. After that he worked for ComEd for 20 years as a Senior Nuclear Engineer.

In 2001, Abboud was elected as the Barrington Hills Trustee, and then in 2005 he was made Village Board President.

For the issues Abboud would like to address, were he elected, he wishes to help provide high-quality, publicly financed education to all children and work to repeal the “No Child Left Behind” Act.

Abboud will work to strengthen the economy by reinstating America’s manufacturing base, creating jobs and promoting technological innovation, in order to keep America’s spending within its boundaries instead of overseas.

As for health care, he believes we already have universal health care, but it is the way people pay for it that needs to change, by setting up a “Health Care Trust Fund” for everyone to dip into instead of paying through employers.

The war in Iraq, Abboud believes, is one of the biggest failures of foreign policy in U.S. history and wants the Iraqis to take hold of their own future, leaving the U.S. military free to be ready elsewhere.

Also, as a nuclear engineer, Abboud wants to propose for a hundred new nuclear power plants for energy provision.

SOURCES:

http://www.robertabboud.com/

Scott Summers (Green)

Scott Summers has been a lawyer for over 20 years and has managed his own practice since 1990. He received his law degree from Northern Illinois University, as well as an MBA from Northwestern University and a liberal arts degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Summers has held various civic titles including treasurer of the Hospice for McHenry County, a member on the Board of Visitors for the NIU College of Law, and is currently a trustee at McHenry County College.

Among the higher-priority issues Summers is addressing, he is looking at the war in Iraq, health care, the economy, and energy policy.

Summers does not support the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. He supports a strong military, but believes that the best way of handling the Middle East is by being peacekeepers and not warriors. He wishes an expedited withdraw of troops from Iraq, believing terrorism will subside if America shows itself as peaceful.

When looking at health care, Summers believes health care should be a service provided for all in the same way elementary education, police and fire protection services are provided for all. By doing this, according to Summers, it will be provided for by having no more deductibles or co-pays, cutting down defense costs and increasing tobacco and alcohol taxes.

To improve the economy, Summers wants to approach it by creating home-grown jobs through micro-capitalism, or using small amounts of money to finance entrepreneurs to be self-employed and productive. Summers is also not in favor of the government’s recent actions of bailing out large corporations.

As for his energy policy, Summers is looking to push forward with wind, solar and geothermal energy, while referring to fossil fuels as “dumb energy” and nuclear power as a “spectacularly failed experiment.”

SOURCES:

http://summersforcongress.com/

http://www.summerstimes.com/

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/print/?id=245855

Donald A. Manzullo (Republican and Incumbent)

Donald Manzullo is the current Congressional representative of the 16th district and has been since 1992. He received his B.A. from American University in Washington D.C. and his J.D. law degree from the Marquette University School of Law. He had been a lawyer with a private practice for the majority of his career until he ran and won for U.S. representative in 1992.

He has been involved with the Republican Party since his college years with the Young Republicans group and working for Representative John Anderson.

During his time as representative, Manzullo has been seated on numerous committees, including the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Committee on Small Business. He has been a champion for American manufacturing and has been steering jobs to be kept in the United States.

For education, Manzullo has been supportive of higher education and wants to increase funding for Pell Grants while decreasing interest rates of Stafford Loans. He also wants to put more into science, math and technology programs to help promote manufacturing jobs in the United States.

Manzullo wants to continue to strengthen the economy by keeping work in the United States and creating more jobs while also rewarding U.S. employers with tax benefits for keeping work in America.

As for health care, Manzullo believes the government should be held accountable for making a health care system affordable and available to everyone. He wants to help small businesses be able to provide a health care plan to their employees and wants to replace the current reimbursement formula for doctors so it reflects more accurately the doctors’ expenses so they do not lose money.

Manzullo is very much supportive of veterans and troops and the war in Iraq. He believes the surge is working and is not in favor of an immediate pullout from the country.

Manzullo is also not afraid to bend civil rights for the sake of homeland security as he has voted for the use of electronic surveillance without a warrant and gathering intelligence without civil oversight.

SOURCES:

http://manzullo.house.gov/

http://www.manzullo.org/

http://www.ontheissues.org/IL/Donald_Manzullo.htm