Capitol News Illinois submitted questionnaires to each of the candidates that will be on the ballot for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Dick Durbin. We asked each candidate 12 questions, touching on qualifications, foreign and domestic policy preferences and more. Each candidate received a Feb. 11 deadline. On the Republican side, candidates Don Tracy and R. Cary Capparelli responded, and Jeannie Evans responded on March 16. Candidates Casey Chlebek, Pamela Denise Long and Jimmy Lee Tillman II were contacted but did not respond. Democrats Juliana Stratton, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Robin Kelly, Jonathan Dean, Steve Botsford and Kevin Ryan all responded. Candidates Sean Brown, Awisi Bustos, Bryan Maxwell and Christopher Swann were all contacted but did not respond. Click each of the candidate’s names below to see their responses to our questions. The responses are shared in full without any editing for length or clarity. If more candidates respond, they will be included below. Candidates wishing to be included can email editors@capitolnewsillinois.com. Candidates and parties are listed below in alphabetical order. Democrat Steve Botsford Why are you qualified to serve in the U.S. Senate? I spent years working in Washington for Congressman Tony Cárdenas, where I saw up close how Congress actually works and where it’s broken. I drafted legislation, built coalitions, and negotiated across party lines on tough issues. I wrote the American Worker Mobility Act and secured a co-sponsor from a South Carolina Tea Party Republican, because any meaningful action on the country’s real problems is going to require bipartisan support (and I’ve shown I can build it, even in hard places). Right now, the top issue for Americans is affordability. My agenda is grounded in two degrees in economics and my experience as a small business owner. I focus on bringing costs down in practical ways that can actually pass, without adding to an already unsustainable national debt. And I refuse to run on pie in the sky promises like Medicare for All or a $25 minimum wage. I’m here to deliver tangible results for working and middle class families, not slogans that poll well and make political consultants happy. What is the top issue facing the people of Illinois that Congress needs to address? Affordability. Illinois families are being squeezed from every direction. Housing, healthcare, childcare, groceries, and utilities all cost more, and wages have not kept pace. People feel like they are doing everything right and still falling behind. Congress can help by tackling the national drivers of those costs. That means building more housing near transit, training more doctors to expand supply, breaking up hospital monopolies that drive up prices, repealing hidden tariff taxes that raise everyday costs, deploying cheaper clean energy to lower utility bills, and fixing supply chain bottlenecks. If we want Illinois to grow, we have to make it affordable to live and raise a family here. The cost of living is a top concern for voters. Briefly name three things you would do to make life more affordable for people: 1) Build more housing. Legalize apartments near transit, streamline permitting, and support modular construction so we increase supply and bring rents down. 2) Cut healthcare and prescription drug costs. Train more doctors to expand supply, break up hospital monopolies, and reform pharmacy benefit managers so patients and employers actually see the savings at the pharmacy counter. 3) Lower energy and shipping costs (and end hidden taxes). Deploy more nuclear power to bring electricity prices down, repeal the Jones Act to cut shipping costs, and have Congress take back its tariff authority from the executive branch so families are not paying for trade taxes that never get an honest vote. What role do you believe the U.S. should play to help end the war in Ukraine? More broadly, what role should the U.S. play in NATO? The United States should support Ukraine so it can defend itself and negotiate from a position of strength. That means providing weapons, intelligence, and economic support to help Ukraine deter aggression and bring the war to a just end. Under no condition should American troops be put into harm’s way in that conflict, and I do not support Ukraine’s admission into NATO. More broadly, NATO remains a cornerstone of American security. We should lead the alliance and ensure our allies have confidence in U.S. commitments, especially at moments when presidential rhetoric creates doubt. At the same time, alliance credibility runs both ways. NATO members must meet their defense spending commitments, and if they fail to do so, there should be real consequences, not just speeches. Multiple presidents, including President Donald Trump, have taken military action without approval from Congress. Should Congress make any changes to the War Powers Resolution? If so, what? Yes. Congress should reclaim its constitutional war-making