Mike Quigley
Passionately defending one's principles is crucial. Representing your district is fundamental. But refusing to entertain the common ground - with no other cost but giving the other guy a political 'win' - is a disservice.
I don't buy that there's nothing we can do to stop criminals and the mentally ill from killing if they want to.
There is such a thing as commonsense middle-ground gun reform, and most gun owners support it.
As a policy maker, I have to stand up for the rights of all my constituents, regardless of their faith.
Ever since I arrived in Washington in April 2009, I have been fighting for more transparency and accountability in government.
I introduced the Transparency in Government Act, a multi-faceted transparency bill that would bring unprecedented access and accountability to the federal government.
I am committed to working towards a more transparent, accountable, and ethical federal government worthy of the public's trust.
Anyone who has ever asked for directions knows you need two crucial pieces of information to get good results: a starting point and a destination.
We need to replace hyperbole with a reasonable, informed discussion about how to reinvent the federal budget with more transparency and better accountability.
Opening up the Capitol dome and giving the public a look at the inner workings of Congress - however messy they may be - certainly won't be pretty. But trust isn't earned by showing off only your Sunday best. The dirty laundry has to be aired, too.
Whether I'm reading a national publication or one of my local Chicago newspapers, I don't need to turn too many pages before I stumble upon another scandal. Not only do ethics violations deteriorate the public trust, but they also disrupt and undermine legitimate debate and policy.
I spent 10 years fighting for reform in Cook County, and I didn't change my DNA when I got to Washington.
My outspoken positions haven't always been popular in the halls of Congress, but they have been rooted in what I believed was right and necessary.
During my time in Washington, I have become increasingly frustrated by the power held by the gun lobby.
The people of Chicago have made it very clear that they favor sensible restrictions on gun ownership.
Since 2001, I've done what every elected official should be doing in government right now. My staff and I took a look at the books, thought outside the box and proposed reforms.
I've seen it with my own eyes: When government takes money from the poor and the middle class, everyone suffers.
I'm a longtime believer in the old adage that sunlight is the best disinfectant, particularly in politics.
Ironically enough, why I got into politics is because I came to the conclusion that if you wanted to save the world, which in my mind was through the environment, those elected officials seemed to be the ones who made a lot of the important decisions, if not the most important decisions.
From high school, you can see my Sierra Club card - I've been a member since 1979. That gives you an indication of early interest.
Just the circumstances of being in D.C., people give you books, and there are issues you want to learn more about, so you are tearing into as many as you can.
Honest to goodness, Brian Campbell, he was holding the Cup, and there was no one around for a minute. He says, 'Hold this for a second.' So he hands it to me - one of the best moments of my life.
One of the things we have to understand is that federal transportation dollars require a local match. If that money isn't there, that money goes to another state.
Wrigley Field was built and designed at a time when people got to the ballpark by trolley, train, and horse cart.
Forty-two thousand people is an attractive target for people who want to hurt us. And a ballpark that's about 6 feet, at one point, from the street is as big a target as any we can imagine.
One of the cornerstones of our democracy is the peaceful transition of power.
Democracy is not a spectator sport.
What I would like to do... once I take care of all my kids' student loans, is buy a red 1965 Mustang and fully restore it.
You could make a case for job creation or education, police on the street, but none of those things can happen unless we got our financial house in order.
Racial politics in Chicago has a long history of being intertwined with the mayor's race, but I'd like to think we're past much of that.
I was the last person to announce I was running for Congress in a big district, and I still won.
Only in Chicago do they care more about who the mayor is than who's president.
It is the duty of Congress to ensure our lead regulations are up to date and consistent with modern detection methods so that we can better protect children from the harmful consequences of exposure.
Everything is connected, so you can't just live in a Trumpian world and be an isolationist when you're managing government by congressional district or by city. The mentality that you can cut off one area to punish a policy just doesn't work in the real world... it's cutting off your nose to spite your face.
We didn't build the modern country to be bike-friendly - our initial round of infrastructure was not designed to think about how to get around if you're not in a car. So we've got to be targeting resources, both nationally and locally, to how people are going to get around in the new world.
I learned that Chicago lunches are terrible. If I was a Chicago student, I would ask my mom to pack a lunch.
The problem in D.C. is that everything is on paper, and it's theoretical.
When they talk about my job being important, I say, 'The important jobs are the ones that you'd notice if you left for a week.'
President Trump's executive order creating a Muslim ban undermines the foundational ideals of the United States, a nation founded by immigrants.
I have never been reimbursed at the federal level. Never want to be in a million years. To me, it's just not worth the red flag.
I come from a state where four governors have gone to jail since I've been alive. Two of my last four predecessors in this seat went to jail or are going to jail.
There are more kids playing hockey, and the game has become more diverse from a cultural, ethnic and geographic point of view, but we still don't have a lot of congressmen.
I'm thinking of trying to talk Jonathan Toews into running for Congress. We could use him.
If I wanted to win all my fights, I would be a Yankee fan. I'm a Cub fan.
I get lobbied by governments, schools, nurses, charities. It's not all a bad thing.
This is a global economy. If you're not at the bargaining table, if you don't get an agreement, someone else does.
We should be growing and make ourselves, as a state and a nation, more competitive. India, China and these other countries are not waiting for us.
A lot of the O'Hare Modernization Plan may have been a mistake.
In many cases, here we are, putting out reports that we're spending $100 million a year on, and we're telling the public, 'Oh, you don't have access to them.'