Will Burns Democrat for State Representative

THE ISSUES

Gun Violence

Protecting our kids, protecting our communities
Will knows that gun violence in the 26th District is unacceptably high, and the State of Illinois must do more to protect our communities. In 2004, 994 Illinois residents were killed by firearms, about three people every day of the year. In that same year, 263 young people aged 15-24 were killed in a homicide with a firearm, or 22 young people every month. And he knows this violence disproportionately affects African American communities. In 2004, African Americans were victims in 43 percent or 429 of all firearm-related deaths in Illinois. Of these deaths, 89 percent were homicides. The recent deaths of CPS high school student Blair Holt and University of Chicago graduate student Amadou Cisse are just two of the hundreds of tragic and preventable incidents involving guns and young people in our community that Will finds unacceptable.

Common sense restrictions to protect our kids and keep guns out of dangerous hands
Will supports common sense restrictions on gun purchasing and ownership. He is grateful that the Illinois House and Senate passed Senate Bill 940. Signed by Governor Blagojevich signed this past summer in the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings, the Bill requires mental health background checks before one can purchase a gun. This helps to prevent the sale of guns to individuals who pose a threat to public safety.

As your State Representative, Will will support other common sense legislation to reduce gun violence in the 26th District, including:

Working with law enforcement and community leaders
Will knows that legislation alone can't prevent gun violence, and he will help support those individuals and organizations already on the ground fighting to keep our communities safe. Will has a long track record of working in the communities of the 26th District and the skills and commitment to build community coalitions with government leaders to get the job done.

Education

Making more effective and efficient investments in our future

Comprehensive funding reform, not band-aids
As a father, parent and expert on education reform, Will's top priority is improving Illinois's schools. He has worked at a high level with State legislative leaders on education funding issues in Springfield, and brings the right understanding of the system and what needs to be done to lead the 26th District and Illinois forward. Will organized a statewide coalition of labor, business, civic, and civil rights organizations to advocate for fundamental school funding reform.

Will knows that Illinois schools are funded inequitably and inadequately. Since the 1970's our leaders have discussed school funding reform but done little about it. Since then a diverse chorus of voices , including education experts, Fortune 500 CEO's and leading bipartisan civic groups such as A+Illinois, has expressed its concern about school funding. Will is committed to finding a long-term, equitable funding solution so Illinois schools have the resources they need to give our children the tools to compete in the 21st Century.

Will supports comprehensive school funding reform which must include increased funding for public education, significant property tax relief, and funded through progressive tax policy. Will is committed to working to increase the level the floor of per-pupil spending to meet the level the state has found necessary to fund an adequate education, and new resources for school construction in growing communities.

Will will also fight for new resources to support after school programs, universal early childhood education, and gifted education programs.

Real, effective accountability
Before the State can effectively hold schools accountable for their results, it must first provide them with the resources to adequately do their job. Schools need manageable class sizes, they need well qualified and motivated teachers, they need committed families, and they need regular, honest appraisals from experts on their progress. To Will, accountability is not just looking at where a school falls on a standardized test chart-it means systematically analyzing and benchmarking school performance, rewarding good administrators and teachers, and putting people and systems in place to make sure that student performance is the number one goal.

Accountability also means supporting cutting edge and innovative ways of educating our children, including giving public school parents limited school choice options for where their children are educated, and creating good neighborhood schools throughout the 26th representative district.