Meet Don Debolt, candidate for Illinois 54th Senate District

Candidate's professional background

Certified Public Accountant for over 45 years

Candidate's educational background

Bachelors of Science in Business from Eastern Illinois University.

Candidate's family background

I have been married for 49 years with two sons and five grandchildren.

Healthcare costs continue to soar. What proposals do you have to address the escalating costs of healthcare including prescription drugs?

Much of the high cost of insurance is due to federal rules and regulations but there are some factors in state government contributing to the high costs as well.

Every time the states adds to the list of mandated coverages, the cost of health insurance goes up. One of the first things I would want to see done is investigate all of the state insurance mandates and review them to see what kind of costs are associated with those mandates and look at potentially rolling them back as a means of reducing costs.

We also should be working with the Illinois Congressional delegation to find ways at the federal level to reduce the cost of healthcare coverage. Example would be allowing families to purchase insurance across state lines.

Finally, we need to stop efforts at the state level to redirect 340B savings from patients to healthcare providers. The 340B Drug Pricing Program is a U.S. federal government program created in 1992. The program requires drug manufacturers to provide outpatient drugs to eligible health care organizations and covered entities at significantly reduced prices. The intent of the program is to allow these covered entities to "stretch scarce federal resources as far as possible, reaching more eligible patients and providing more comprehensive services."

Recent initiatives in Springfield are making it harder for patients to realize these savings and this is wrong.

More: Donald Debolt takes on Sen. Steve McClure in GOP primary for Illinois 54th Senate District

Toxic political polarization has permeated the landscape. How will you work to heal the divide?

The polarizing landscape in Springfield is not really a Republican/Democrat divide. What it really is a divide between those who want real change and real reform versus those who are content with the status quo.

My opponent, who calls himself a Republican, voted with the Democrats to double the state gas tax and put in an annual tax increase that does not require cowardly politicians to vote and approve it. The problem in Springfield is not the partisan divide. The problem is weak-kneed Republicans like my opponent who refuse to stand up to the terrible policies wrecking our state and hurting working families. I will fight for the forgotten working families and taxpayers and stick to conservative principles to reduce wasteful spending instead of raising taxes, and I will oppose the bipartisan combine that has destroyed our state.

Illinois has been ranked as the least tax-friendly state for the middle class in the nation. Beyond the tax relief passed in the most recent budget, how will you try and help ease the burden on taxpayers?

My district is overwhelmingly a working-class and rural farm district and the people in the 54th Senate District are often forgotten and betrayed by our state leaders. We need to eliminate pensions for state lawmakers, reduce spending so that we can provide permanent, meaningful tax relief to the working families. I support ideas like moving to a zero-based budget process to help reduce spending as well as focusing on enacting pension reform to give us the needed flexibility we need to lower taxes.

More: Meet Steve McClure, candidate for Illinois 54th Senate District

Another way to lower taxes is create an environment for job growth. We can bring high wage middle class jobs back is through smart deregulation. Specifically, we need to:

• Re-Tailor our regulatory policies to benefit working class wages and new opportunities instead of just legislating to benefit the major corporations and special interests

• Take advantage of our ability to be an Energy Producer and Exporter

• Defend and promote good-paying jobs in coal, oil, nuclear, gas, and more.

• Create a robust all of the above Energy Plan to utilize our vast Natural Resources to put people to work on Coal, Oil, Nuclear, Gas, Solar, and Wind.

These simple and first steps will go a long way toward revitalizing the economy in my district and stemming the mass exodus of people from Illinois.

Contact Royale Bonds: rbonds@gannett.com, twitter.com/@Royale59699722.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Illinois primary election: Don Debolt, 54th Senate District