Meet Terry Martin, 13th Congressional District candidate for Illinois
Editor's note: Early voting for the June 28 primary starts May 19. The State Journal-Register asked some candidates in contested races to answer questions related to the office they seek.
Professional background: Owned a Printing Firm for 10 years, and the last 25 years, professional journalist.
Educational background: BA from University of Missouri, MA from American University in Washington
Family background: Grew up in a family of 7 children. Two of my four sisters are nuns. I was married for nearly 17 years and became the custodial parent of my three sons, who are now grown.
Agriculture is one of downstate Illinois' biggest industries. What key changes would you seek in federal ag policy to benefit Illinois farmers?
We need to bring broadband to our rural communities. We also need to rebuild the locks and dams on the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers and expand the locks from 600 feet to 1,200 feet so our barge lines don't have to break our barges apart at every passage through a lock. And we need to limit foreign ownership of agricultural lands and limit foreign ownership of our food processing plants. This is a national security issue.
More: Newcomers battle over open seat in Illinois' 13th Congressional District
Toxic political polarization has permeated the landscape. How will you work to heal the divide?
As a journalist, I have been professionally nonpartisan for years, and have many friends in the Democratic Party. So I will not attack my political opponents on a personal level - as long as they show me the same respect. Respect must be mutual, and if we want to really serve America, we need to work together. I will look to work across the aisle on those many issues which should not be partisan; the locks and dams, locking up violent criminals, work to bring back manufacturing to the United States, lowering our energy costs, and protecting America's National Security. We need to fix America's problems! THAT is my agenda, and I have no agenda for attacking others on a personal level.
In 2020, a record 45,222 people died from gun injuries in the U.S. including suicide and murder, according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control. What, if anything, should be done to control guns?
We don't need to control guns, we need to control the CRIMINAL USE OF GUNS. Enforce existing laws. Hire more police. Get Rid of "No-Cash Bail" and ensure those who engage in violent crimes with the use of a gun should not have bail. Punishment must focus on those who violate the law. More laws regulating guns will have no effect on gun violence. This is a law enforcement problem. We have laws against theft, against entering the nation without permission, against drug use...yet laws against these actions have done nothing to stop these acts from growing. Only the law abiding are impacted by new laws. Criminals by definition do not follow laws. A FIRM application of law against those who break EXISTING laws would go much further to stop violence than the futility of passing more restrictions which will in turn be ignored.
Contact Andrew Adams: aadams1@gannett.com; (312)-291-1417; twitter.com/drewjayadams.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Illinois primary election: Terry Martin, 13th Congressional District
