Kitchen Table Issues

Common sense is not partisan. Or, at least, it shouldn’t be. Yet somehow in Washington, politics always gets in the way of helping families.

I’m not a politician. I’m a mom, running for Congress to put the focus on common sense, kitchen table issues that people actually worry about.

The most important thing we can do is keep families safe at home. If we don’t have safety in our homes, how can we provide safety anywhere else?

I’ve lived this reality my entire life. I grew up in a house full of abuse and neglect, where I lost my mother to cancer at the age of 10. In 2019, I lost my baby boy, Colton, when my estranged husband showed up at our house and brutally murdered him. I nearly lost my life that day from the strangulation and beating I took trying to protect my children, but thank God my daughter, Camryn, survived.

When I held my son for the last time in the funeral home, I told myself I couldn’t let this continue on. It was in that moment I realized, if I don’t step forward, there will be another Colton, another Cassandra out there. I was going to give myself a purpose by giving Colton a purpose—I resolved to turn my heartbreak into action and give a voice to the voiceless.

As someone who has lived through an unfathomable tragedy, I’ve seen firsthand the many failures that plague our country and the gaps in our system that are not being addressed. I used that experience to help pass a law In Illinois in my son’s name in 2021, Colton’s Law, that for the first time ever is taking a systemic approach to addressing and preventing domestic violence so we can finally break the cycle of abuse. We need this same comprehensive approach at the federal level.

We must also protect our neighborhoods and communities. Every single American is entitled to feel safe outside their home.

In Illinois, we’re seeing the failure of the hyper-partisan, progressive approach that protects criminals over victims. Violent criminals in Chicago and Cook County are targeting our suburban communities knowing if they can make it back to Cook County, into the good graces of State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, they’ll be free.

We have to hold criminals accountable and get them off the streets. We need to stop this “defund the police” movement. And I have the scars to prove “no cash bail” doesn’t work. Had my ex-husband not been released on an I-bond, my son would still be alive.

When I’m in Congress, I’ll put the focus on a common sense, bipartisan approach to making America safer.

Finally, we need to help working families support themselves. Because of wasteful spending by politicians in Washington, sadly politicians in both parties, families are struggling due to record inflation and stagnant wages.

We must balance the budget. Cutting spending will help us finally bring inflation under control. And we need to focus on creating good-paying jobs here at home.

It’s time Washington stopped playing politics, arguing back and forth and trying to score cheap political points. Let’s work together to actually fix problems.

For my forever 18-month-old son Colton, for my now 11-year-old daughter Camryn, and for my soon to be born baby boy—I will fight relentlessly to make sure all our children have the lives and opportunities they deserve.

Keep Families Safe at Home

If we don’t have safety in our homes, how can we provide safety anywhere else? If we’re going to address crime in our communities, it starts by addressing it in our homes. A criminal at home is a criminal on the streets.

I’ve lived this reality my entire life. I grew up in a house full of abuse and neglect, where I lost my mother to cancer at the age of 10. In 2019, I lost my baby boy, Colton, when my estranged husband showed up at our house and brutally murdered him. I nearly lost my life that day from the strangulation and beating I took trying to protect my children, but thank God my daughter, Camryn, survived.

When I held my son for the last time in the funeral home, I told myself I couldn’t let this continue on. It was in that moment I realized, if I don’t step forward, there will be another Colton, another Cassandra out there. I was going to give myself a purpose by giving Colton a purpose—I resolved to turn my heartbreak into action and give a voice to the voiceless.

As someone who has lived through an unfathomable tragedy, I’ve seen firsthand the many failures that plague our country and the gaps in our system that are not being addressed.

My ex-husband was in the military, federally recognized as an officer, yet never received any help. Why aren’t we better supporting our veterans and their mental health?

Many court systems force victims to face their abusers, often hours after an extremely violent situation. The courts forced me to testify against my ex-husband, which put me in even greater risk, even though I had notified them I was scared for my life. Why is our court system putting targets on victims like this?

Police are frustrated by the law, because after navigating the chaos of a domestic violence house call, most of the time either the abuser pressures the victim into recanting their statement and not pursuing charges, or the court system gives the abuser a slap on the wrist, like anger management or a short order of protection. Police know they’ll be right back at that house again. Why aren’t we better equipping law enforcement to navigate these emotional and dangerous situations?

Most judges handling these cases are not trained in domestic violence, they’re generalized judges handling very complicated situations. Often the court system scares very emotionally-fragile victims, especially when DCFS is involved. Why are we not giving our judges better training and providing specific supports for domestic violence victims?

Often the most victims can get from the courts is an order of protection. When I share my story with police departments and court systems, I tell them to take a piece of paper and hold it over their hearts, then I ask, “Would you feel protected if I tried to shoot you through that piece of paper? That’s what you’re giving us as victims.” That piece of paper doesn’t protect victims in any way, shape, or form, because by the time there’s enough evidence to prove that order of protection has been broken, it’s usually when there’s a coroner at the door. Why aren’t we using GPS monitoring more frequently to provide victims more protection? Why don’t we have a national domestic violence registry to track abusers?

Courts are giving known abusers the ability to visit with their children, even though it’s been proven if an abuser can no longer physically harm their significant other, they often seek to abuse them mentally by

physically abusing the children. Innocent children are being abused and even killed in visitations. Just last year, Illinois passed a law that says if you are found guilty of animal abuse or neglect, you are no longer allowed to own an animal—yet we keep putting our children back with abusive parents. Why are we putting children into situations we wouldn’t even put animals?

Thanks to a law I helped unanimously pass in Illinois in my son’s name in 2021, Colton’s Law, we’re asking these questions for the first time ever. Colton’s Task Force is taking a systemic approach to addressing and preventing domestic violence, proactively helping victims and abusers so we can finally break the cycle of abuse.

Throughout this journey, I’ve heard from so many people across the country who have suffered their own tragedies. I realized I couldn’t just focus on my state, there are Coltons and Cassandras in every state and they need a voice too. We need this same comprehensive approach at the federal level. This isn’t a Republican or Democrat issue, it’s simple common sense—politics shouldn’t stand in the way of helping people.

Addressing violence in our homes would do so much to make our communities safer. Children who experience trauma at home often become abusers or victims themselves, and they bring that with them to school. Workers and bosses who experience trauma often perpetuate that cycle of violence in the workplace. Every act of mass violence can be traced back to violence and trauma that started in their home. Trauma is the gateway drug to all the crime problems we see in our communities today.

Let’s put an end to the cycle of violence. The kids experiencing trauma without help today are the adults who will be running our country in 20 years.

Protect Our Neighborhoods and Communities

Every single American is entitled to feel safe outside their home.

I speak to victims of senseless violence every day. Mothers and fathers and children throughout the country who are scared for their safety, whose families and futures were destroyed by criminals. Hearing their stories, I just don’t understand progressive politicians who are pushing hyper-partisan policies that protect criminals over victims.

We’re seeing the failure of that approach in Illinois. Violent criminals in Chicago and Cook County are targeting our suburban communities knowing if they can make it back to Cook County, into the good graces of State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, they’ll be free. Criminals know they have more rights than victims do.

We have to hold criminals accountable. When they’re being let back onto the streets, getting away with smaller crimes, it’s a snowball effect—they’re just going to take even more violent actions. We need to get criminals off the streets, then give them the resources they need, resources they wouldn’t seek on their own, to stop them from being repeat offenders.

We need to stop this “defund the police” movement. If our police aren’t protected, how can they protect us? We need to provide our first responders the training, funding, and support they need so they can give protection to those they are supposed to be serving.

And I have the scars to prove “no cash bail” doesn’t work. Had my ex-husband not been released on an I-bond, my son would still be alive. This is a tremendous safety concern for our communities and will cost more lives.

When I’m in Congress, I’ll put the focus on a common sense, bipartisan approach to making America safer. I’ll work to improve communication between state, federal, and international law enforcement so criminals can’t pass freely from one state or country to the next. I’ll push to reform how funding is allocated so we’re funding solutions, not problems—funding should be tied to efforts that actually bring crime down, not the current system which penalizes community organizations for reducing the number of criminals. Finally, I will fight to secure the border, stopping the flow of illegal drugs into our communities. I will push for policies to be developed that automatically and immediately deport illegal immigrants who commit crimes.

Help Working Families Support Themselves

Working families need to be able to support themselves. But because of wasteful spending by politicians in Washington, sadly politicians in both parties, families are struggling due to record inflation and stagnant wages.

First, we must balance the budget. It’s time we started prioritizing our spending, allocating available funds by need just like everyday Americans do with their family budgets. We need to properly evaluate government programs and prioritize funding for those programs that are achieving results. Simply throwing money at every problem clearly isn’t working.

Cutting spending will help us finally bring inflation under control. Inflation is taxation without legislation, and it’s hurting families. Prices for everyday essentials are the most expensive I’ve ever seen—everything from gas to groceries to utilities to clothes. The cost of living is so high, many are having to get a second and even third job to afford to pay their bills. This cannot continue.

And we need to focus on creating good-paying jobs here at home. We should be putting American workers first, not shipping jobs overseas. We need to stop paying people so much on unemployment they refuse to go back to work. We have to prepare today’s and tomorrow’s workers for the jobs most in demand. And we must make daycare more affordable so working parents don’t have to choose between going to work and staying home to watch the kids

Life

I am Pro-life.

Obamacare

Repeal and Reform Obamacare. It might be time for us to take a break from asking who is going to pay the bill and start asking why the bills are so high. An average 1 night overnight hospital stay costs insurance approx $11,700. That is almost as much as an average homeowner in Illinois pays for their mortgage in an entire year.

Parental Rights

We need strong parental rights and advocacy for our children. Schools have gotten out of control and are omitting the voices of parents from the curriculum. Parents need to step up and assert their rights to be part of their childrens’ education.

Vaccine Mandates

I am opposed to Covid Vaccine Mandates.

Immigration

We need a system that serves our best interest. Our border is in crisis and needs to be secured. In our current system, if an illegal immigrant commits a crime they are put through the American Court system and deportation is not initiated. They are instead adding to our already full jails and often put back on the streets. If people are here illegally and commit a crime they should be deported.

On the other side we need to move to a merit-based system for entry and non-criminal illegals, we should eliminate the Visa Lottery, and end Chain Migration. We should create a system where it is safe for our new citizens to realize the American Dream.

Second Amendment

Many people ask me about this given the events of my life. I am in favor of our constitutional rights, including the second amendment. A law-abiding citizen didn’t take his legal gun to my house that day. It was a career criminal with a revoked FOID using a gun illegally.