LEGISLATIVE PROFILES-EDUCATION

DEMOCRATS

SHANNON B.

My name is Shannon B. and I was born at Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield, IL. I have lived in Warrenville, IL for seven years. I went to Holmes Elementary School and Bauer Elementary School. Both are in Warrenville. In third grade, I moved to West Chicago where I attended Turner, West Chicago Jr. High, and currently am at WCCHS. As of right now my favorite subject is Human Anatomy and Physiology. I hope to go into a medical field in college.
I believe I am a democrat because I believe in their thoughts. I strongly believe in the Bill of Rights, the protection of the workers, and the even distribution of wealth. Even though most of my thoughts are democratic, I can see the republican side of the issue as well. I also oppose religion in the public school. If people want to pray they can do it on their own time, but don't set out school time for prayer.
I strongly oppose political rights if they keep incompetent workers on the job. There are a lot of other qualified people that are more deserving of the hard earned money. This is a democratic belief on the political spectrum. I also strongly support the even distribution of wealth. The republicans all say that poor America can help themselves. They believe that they can get better jobs, but they are too lazy. I believe that if they could they would. A lot of the non-wealthy need a little help. They can't get better jobs if they can't afford the schooling they need to get that better job. They also can't get that better job if they can't go to school. Therefore, they need a little help in getting the education they need. The republicans are too greedy and want to keep their money for themselves. The wealthy should lend a helping hand to those who need it. We need to educate our youth. Another Democratic view is the regulations of business. Many businesses need to be regulated. Do you really think that businesses would hand out their own cash to clean up the environment? It can be very costly and many businesses don't want to spend the money. The cities around the factories deserve clean air just like everyone else. Also, if businesses weren't regulated, working conditions would be a lot more horrible. There would be no breaks during the day for the laborers and they would probably would be working for a lot less than minimum wage. Everyone deserves the basic human rights. That again goes back to the republicans wanting to keep their money and not spend it for the well being of others. Since I believe mostly with the demodratic views, I would consider myself a pretty strong democrat.

HAMID NEZAMEDDIN A.

I am Hamid NezamEddin A. I was born in Winfield, IL, in Central DuPage Hospital. I briefly lived in Wheaton a birth and when I was one month old, we moved to West Chicago, IL and I've been living there ever since. I first attended Turner Elementary School, then West Chicago Middle School and then upgraded to West Chicago Community High. My favorite subject as of now is psychology. It is very mind opening and interesting. My hobbies are my obsession in music and cinematography, and work a the DuPage Convalescent Center as a food service worker. I plan to attend C.O.D. for two years and then transfer, hopefully, to U.S.C. (Southern California) to major in music industry and/or cinematography. Yet if the option of a decent " rock" band comes, I wouldn't do anything else.
I have chosen to be an affiliate of the Democratic Party. I believe in the freedom of the individual and the whole. The choice of the one person yet the equal right and/or restrictions of the whole. The views that I have just happen to fall on the left of the spectrum of political choice which is democratic. I believe in an equal tax percentage, equal sentences, etc. We must work together, not above or below, to better this country.
I believe very left on the spectrum about abortion as for assisted suicide. It all is linked toward this choice of the individual, whether it be the bearer of a child or the bearer of fatal pain. I strongly oppose a flat tax system. The wealthy can afford it and they have succeeded under this system, therefore, they should pay the same amount, relative to their income of course(progressive taxing). I rather see a Communist system work. Then all would truly be equivalent, yet in history, communism has turned more onto a dictatorship, therefore, I feel history will show its toll again. I would venture into socialism though.

KRISTEN F.
hi, my name is kristen marie f.i'm a seventeen year- old student at west chicago community high school. i was born in park ridge,it, at lutheran general hospital. i lived in park ridge till i was about 4 years of age and attended schambarg preschool. i then moved to carol stream where i attended evergreen elementary and benjamin middle school. my favorite subjects in school were science and art. i'm now a senior at west chicago community high school, where i'm taking general courses. i'm in between jobs right now, but work a t-shirts plus. my interests are dolphins, and collecting pictures of all kinds. i plan to go to college and hopefully become a child therapist.
i believe myself to be a moderate liberal. there are many subjects that lean me toward the democratic side. democratic is more of an equal rights type of person.;and thats how i am, except for a few exceptions that i agree with the republic side.(capital punishment,flat tax,and abortion) the political spectrum is a line between liberal and conservative. i'm about mid-point to become a moderate liberal. the statements and subjects that come about are all in the democratic party. taxes are a very good thing to help out this country and children of this nation.
i'm very much for the capital punishment. i believe if you plan,attempt or do kill other human being, you deserve to die yourself. nobody in this world deserves to to get murdered under any circumstance, but if you or anybody else takes other life, why do you get to live? i also believe that abortion is wrong " pro-life", but at times i change to "pro-choice." i would never have an abortion myself, but as for others they have the choice. the government has no right to fiddle in anybodys personal life. i would also support the morning after pill. its not an abortion its more a form of birth control. i think people should be created equal, therefore i think that we should try to welcome those from different countries. i also believe that taxes are good because it helps the children and the fund raisers and schools become bigger and better.
thats why i believe that i'm a moderate liberal.

GABE B.
My name is Gabe B, I was born right smack in the middle of West Chicago, well maybe not right smack in the middle but, in Dupage Hospital. It's hard to believe that was about seventeen years ago! My elementary schooling up until fourth grade was totally crazy, (being in bilingual classes and all!!) I would have to travel from one school to another after lunch and since I moved a couple times I had to go to different schools. My first school was Gary, were I went for Kindergarten, and then for first grade I went to Gary have of the day and then to Indian Knoll the rest of the day, anyways I manage to go to Gary, Indian Knoll, Pioneer and Turner School throughout my life. I enjoy to draw alot and sometimes it really gets me in trouble because I manage to nod off in lectures and don't pay attention in class while doodling!! I also enjoy spending my time playing RPGs (Role Playing Games) which usually take about fifty or sixty hours of game play to beat, they are basically like interactive books, but with a little video gaming added to it. I have had my job at Family Foods in West Chicago for almost two years now and during the summer I took a second job working at Wendys, right across the street, but I quit when the school year began. My future plans are to work as a computer animator or audio engineer.
My party affiliation is Democrat, although I have some issues that are Republican, like lowering taxes and death sentencing. The only reason I am a Democrat is because of a survey I took that says I was a Democrat and the fact that I would like to remain the Democratic class communicator.
I strongly support abortion and lowering of taxes, assistant suicide, and death sentencing. The reason I support abortions is because I have had friends that fear going to the clinic because of those damn protesters killing people because of it, it just really gets me pissed off, why don't they go watch Oprah or something and stop bothering these people. It's their decision what they do with their life!! And taxes, who wants to lose well earned money to those poor people sitting around collecting welfare when they could be outside working for themselves!! And the death sentence I believe would lower crime because people would know that they will suffer the consequences if they do commit crimes. Assistant suicide, if that person wants to die and they can't do it themselves then why not help them a little!?

ALEJANDRINA P.

My name is Alejandrina . I was born in Chicago IL . I've Lived in Wisconsin, Texas, Ohio, Mexico, and all over Illinois. My favorite subjects in school are Art, Music, Drama, Band, Davea (Multimedia & Television Production). I like to write poems, lyrics, music, and draw cartoons. I also like to go out with my friends. My future plans are to work in Communications (Broadcasting) television or radio. I plan to travel all over the world.
I am a Democrat because I am against the death penalty. I believe immigrants are the foundation of this Country. I believe in freedom. I believe that any one should be able to do what they want if it is for their own good.
I believe in open adoption records, because I think that some one who is adopted might need to know their medical backgrounds.

RENE A.
Hello, my name is Rene and I was born in Winfield, IL. on December 11, 1979. I have lived here all of my seventeen years. I amd currently enrolled at the West Chicago Community High School. After graduation I plan to go to the airforce for a couple of years and then go back to school. I don't know what I'm going to study.
I'm not so sure as to what I claim to be. I think I'm more on the democratic side than I am on the republican side. I seem to fall right in the middle on most of the issues. Some people though think I might be on the Republican side.
For example, in a way I am agaist abortion, but at the same time I think the people should be able to make their own decisions. Another example is on gun control. I don't think people should have guns. Even if it's just for protection because it could always get into the wrong hands and then there will be more problems than we already have. On other issues I strongly agree on the left side. I feel that I tend to lean on the left side.

MELAINA S.

I have lived in Illinois my entire life. I was born in Dolton, IL, and have lived in Norridge and Carol Stream. The high schools I have attended are Glenbard North and West Chicago. My favorite subjects are Science, English, and Spanish. My hobbies are playing the piano and listening to music. I currently work at Balzano's Pizza. My future plans are to go to University of IL at Urbana-Champain to major in biology.
My party affiliation is a Democrat. I believe in a loose interpretation of the Bill of Rights as times change. I am pro- choice for all types of abortions.I believe in progressive taxes and an equal right for all American citizens to succeed.
I strongly support the woman's choice to have any type of abortion, at any age, without parental consent. The government should not get involved with the choices of women. I think it is better for a woman to have an abortion than raise a child that she does not want or will not have enough money to support. Pro-choice is a democratic view. I disagree with flat taxes because people with a higher income can afford to pay more taxes than those with a lower income. If there was a flat tax of 10%, lower income families might not be able to afford that high of a tax. I think immigration should become open for all immigrants who have family in the U.S. or who are capable of working. Everyone in the United States has family who were once immigrants, except for the Native Americans. There would be no United States if immigrants were not allowed in the country.

JEREMY A.
My name is Jeremy Alfaro and I was born in Sycamore, Illinois. I have lived in linois most of my life, but I have also lived in Kansas for a couple of years. Since I moved a lot, I have been to so many schools. I have been to Pleasant Hill in Winfield, then moved to Kansas and went to another school which name was also called Pleasant Hill. While in Kansas I went to a Catholic school which name was St. Mary's. Then I moved back to Illinois and attended Smith school in Aurora. After that I moved to Warrenville and went to Bower school. Then finally I moved to West Chicago and attended the following schools: Pioneer, Gary, Indian Knoll, St. Mary's, Jr. High, and currently attending WCCHS. So I guess you can say that I moved all over the place.
My favorite things to do is hang out with my friends when I'm not working. Also I like to play sports, such as soccer, baseball, and basketball. I was on the high school soccer team for two years. My future plans are to graduate then get a good job and try to be successful in life.
I am a moderate democrat. I can see both sides of the political spectrum. Such as abortion. I believe that everyone should have the right to life. But there are certain circumstances that come into play on this subject. Such as if the woman was raped or if she is not able to carry the child.
I don't think that we should have affirmitive action. This country is supposed to be equal and affirmitive action is not equal. It permits the best qualified person for the job. I also feel that people should have the right to own a hand gun to protect their home. But they should not abuse the right to own a gun. So that is how I feel about being a moderate democrat.

EMILY ANN L.
I was born at Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield and lived in West Chicago for seventeen years. I have attended West Chicago public schools for all of my education; my favorite subjects are hort. II and English seminar. I enjoy swimming twice a day, even though it means arriving at the school at five in the morning and not being able to leave until six-thirty, because I strongly believe in dedication.
What makes me a democrat is the desire to defend workers rights as well as political rights. I also strive for the distribution of wealth and a strong central power.
The United States Bill Of Rights guarantees us the right to bear arms, but it is to my recollection that this right is is killing innocent people than saving lives; therefore I am for gun control.
The U.S. now has in it's possession nuclear bombs that can evaporate 1/4 of the world, contaminate the environment with enough radiation to leave any survivors with unknown forms of cancer. My question is, do we need this excess form of protection? The government needs to spend less money on the military forces and more money on society, like health care, and feeding the hungry.

REPUBLICANS

JOSEPH ANTONIO M.

My name is Joseph Antonio M., I was born in Winfield, Illinois at Central Dupage Hospital. I have lived in West Chicago, Illinois for 18 years of my present life. At this time I am working to become a tool and die maker, I've been working as an apprentice in a machine shop for about a year and a half now. So far I feel that I am doing pretty well for myself now. Some of my interests and hobbies are drawing, painting, golfing, fishing, and playing billiards.

I am a moderate republican and there are many reasons why I have chosen to be one. First of all I believe in the traditional family values. I also believe in Pro-life. The execution of unborn children is just wrong in my eyes. The reason why I placed myself as a moderate republican is because I also have many democratic views. For example, I feel that there should be an expansion on legalized gambling.

An issue that I strongly support would have to be the expansion of legalized gambling. I feel that the gambling will create large government revenue.

JANIE R.

My name is Janie R., I was born in St. Charles Delnor Community Hospital in Illinois. I've lived in West Chicago, 610 Kenwood Ave. all my life. For kindergarten I went to Gary Elementary School. I then got transferred to Pioneer Elementary School for first through sixth grade. After that I went to West Chicago Junior High for seventh and eighth grade. For my high school years I attend West Chicago Community High School. I'm currently attending my last year in high school. My favorite subjects I have learned to like were Microcomputer Applications, Keyboarding, and my BTI class. My hobbies are going fishing, playing soccer, and writing poetry. I am currently working at In The Swim. In two weeks though, I am going to start working at the West Chicago State Bank. My future plans are hopefully to be a ticket agent or an accountant. I like working with people and I like working with numbers. I'm looking forward on having a family of my own someday. That's not into a long time, though.

I feel like I am a Republican. The reason for this is because I believe in a lot of the stuff the republicans do. For example, I like the idea of wanting to lower taxes. I don't believe that we should be paying so much taxes. Also, I support the status quo. I represent traditional family values and make sure things are as they have been. I believe that the government should be small. I also believe that people who commit murders should deserve the death penalty.

Issues that I strongly support are making abortions illegal. There are exceptions though, for instance, some cases where women get raped, or incest is involved, or if the pregnancy may cause death for the mother, then it is fine. Other than that , women shouldn't go killing their babies just because they don't want it. Another issue that I support is having the death penalty for anyone who kills. I believe that anyone who murders someone should pay the consequences and die. People can't go on killing people and just get away with it by being in prison for a maximum of somewhat years. They are being fed everyday while a family is suffering the pain of a lost one. An issue that I strongly Oppose is having the government butting in to businesses. For example, the government shouldn't set rules for the businesses.

EVAN L.

My name is Evan L. and I was born in St. Charles, Illinois. I have lived in West Chicago all of my life. I went to Indian Knoll Elementary, West Chicago Middle School, and am now attending West Chicago Community High School. My favorite classes that I have taken so far would probably be Biology and American Government. After high school, I plan to attend Purdue University in Indiana in the Fall of 1998. I want to study chemical or computer engineering in my years at Purdue. My parents, Dale and Dana Larson, are Republicans and that is one of the main reasons that I have declared myself to be a republican as well.

I feel I fit in most with the Republican Party for many reasons. One that I mentioned before, and the fact that I agree with most of their views overall. There are some issues where I lean towards the Democratic view of things but I am mostly for the Republicans. I care a lot for what the government does and does not do for the better of its people.

Some of the important issues that I feel strongly about is that the people need to pay less taxes, and criminals, who have major offenses such as murder, should be charged with the death penalty and it should be utilized more often. Another issue I feel equally strongly about is that English should be the official language of the United States, and people such as immigrants who do not speak English should be taught. These are all issues that I reside on the Republican side for and they are issues that I feel most strongly about.

JACK D.

My name is Jack D, and I am declaring to be a Republican. I was born and raised in West Chicago. I've attended Turner School, West Chicago Junior High, and the Community High School. I hope to attend Northern Illinois University next year and I plan to become a teacher of social studies or mathematics. Presently, I work at Town and Country T.V. in West Chicago, where I help to pick up broken TV's and take back fixed ones.

I am a Republican for a very good reason. I believe in leading this nation toward a common good, which comes from good, wholesome values with the people. Also, I can probably be called a moderate because I veer to the left on social issues like abortion, where I favor pro-choice. I don't believe the way to help people is to create an endless number of programs to help people when they might not receive cent one of the dollars sent to help.

One thing I believe in is less taxes for our citizens. Our hard-earned money, no matter what your economic background, shouldn't be taken away from us to pay for Washington fat-cats on the Hill who can't keep the money in their pocket. Something else is the system of government itself. The states have too little to say nowadays. I'd like to return to the days where the power was split up more evenly among state and federal powers.

SHIVANI M.

My name is Shivani . I was born at Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield, and I have lived in Winfield ever since. I attended Winfield Elementary and Middle Schools. I now go to West Chicago Community High School. After graduation, I plan on attending a four year college and majoring in psychology.

I am a republican because I believe in having family values. I think that everyone should have a flat tax. Also, I think that profit is a reward for peoples hard work. I believe that wealth will be distributed by trickle-down economics. Also, each business should establish their own rules, benefits, standards, and are able to make decisions on their own - not the government.

I oppose abortion as a form of birth control. This is because if a couple wants a child, but can't have one, they might never have the opportunity because of the long adoption process. I also strongly oppose the death penalty. I think that killing someone for a crime they commited is just as bad as committing the crime. Doing this contradicts all the laws against murder.

KATIE M.

M y full name is Katie Lynn M. I was born in West Chicago at Central DuPage hospital. I've lived in West Chicago, IL all my life. For my schooling I attended the Wheaton Christian K-3rd grade, Wheaton Christian Grammar School 4-7th, Medinah Christian 8th, Wheaton Academy HS 9-10th, and West Chicago HS 11-12th. My favorite subjects are math and business. My hobbies are dancing and softball. My future plans for after I graduate HS are to go to COD for two years then go to a four year college.

My political affiliation is conservative republican. I feel that they have more morals in the sense religiously, which our country needs. I feel that I am one because I am pro-life, pro-gun control, and the government should stay out of the businesses.

I do not support abortion because there is no reason why we should take a life. Not only are you murdering a human but you'll have to live with that forever. We should have gun control, to many little kids that are in gangs are caring them around. How are we support to live in a safe environment like that? By being against these things I strongly believe I am a republican.

JOE V.

My name is Joe V. I was born at Central Dupage Hospital in Winfield, Illinois on March 22, 1980. I have lived my whole life in Winfield in the same house behind the hospital. I have attended both Winfield Elementary and Middle schools. I now attend West Chicago Community High School. Some of my hobbies include almost any sport invented. I also enjoy to sleep and watch television once in a while.

I am not sure which party I truly belong to but if I have to declare a party, I will declare Republican. I decided to choose Republican because of my strong belief that there should be pro choice on the issue of abortion, and that there should be stricter death penalties for repeat offenders of serious crimes or for people on death row. There is no need to pay to keep people alive if they are never going to see freedom again.

Although the slight majority of my views are on the right of the political spectrum, I do have views that fall on the left. One of these such views is that of a tax plan. I don't feel a flat tax plan is necessary of good. If there are people who make less money than others, they shouldn't have to pay as much, but if there is someone making more than the average income, they should pay a little more to help out the poor.

KELLY B.

My name is Kelly , I was born in Melrose Park , IL. I lived in Villa Park until the age of four and then moved to West Chicago. From K-8 th I went to a private school in Naperville, IL. called Calvary School. After graduating from middle school I came to West Chicago High School my freshman year. I love to dance, and I am currently on the pom-pon squad , I am also a co-captain. I also love to tan. I worked in a tanning salon for a month and then it closed down. My future plans include going to a two year college and majoring in pre-law , I then plan on transfering to a university.

I have always been brought up in a Republican home , so I believe that thier ways are right. I strongly believe in banning abortion. I believe that it is murder , killing your baby is just sad. I also am against welfare and giving money to people who don't earn it. I believe that you should stand up for what you believe in but it shouldn't be an obsession. I believe in family values, like going to church and spending time with your family. I agree with almost everything the republicans believe therefore I feel that I am one.