Q&A With Rep. Stephanie Kifowit
Rep. Stephanie Kifowit (D-Oswego).
Following her announcement Thursday she was planning to challenge House Speaker Michael Madigan for his job, State Representative Stephanie Kifowit (D-Oswego) spent about 15 minutes with The Illinoize discussing her decision to challenge Madigan and why.
Some questions and answers have been edited for clarity or condensation. None of the substance of the answers were changed.
Q: What prompted you to do this? We’re 33 days from an election, the Speaker is under a cloud. Why now
A: Why not do it now? What we are seeing is a Speaker of the House who, earlier this year I wrote a letter and I told him I thought the right thing for him to do was to step down because he’s compromised the Office of the Speaker of the House. To me, the Office of the Speaker of the House is a position in the Illinois House of Representatives that’s not a political position. Obviously, he is the chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois, as well. But, I think that the people of Illinois need to have government that that they have faith in and I believe that he has compromised the integrity of the Office of the Speaker of the House. I believe that he’s undermined the public trust and as time goes by it seems there’s another thing then another thing. I think the people deserve to have government they believe in. I served my country in the United States Marines, my husband served our country in the United States Army, my son is currently serving in the Navy, so I have a strong passion for our country and our government. I don’t believe we should continue down this path and I believe we need new leadership for the 102nd General Assembly.
Q: At what point did you decide to challenge the Speaker?
A: It’s not just one point, I think it’s a gradual realization that you have to do something. At the end of the day, I just thought I had to do something. Maybe it’s because I was in the military, I don’t know. I felt compelled to do something about the situation for the people of Illinois. Leadership has a higher standard than the confines of the law. We need to hold leaders to a high standard of morality and trustworthiness and honesty. You have the [ComEd] Deferred Prosecution Agreement, on top of the Metra scandal a couple of years ago on top of the sexual harassment scandal, and, at some point, enough is enough. The people in the state of Illinois need to have new leadership. I believe in that.
Q: What are your feelings on the Speaker’s refusal to testify before the Special Investigative Committee?
A: I’m not going to get involved with the Special Investigative Committee, that’s for the members [of that committee] and for the parties involved. But the public wants to know what’s going on. The public wants to have faith in their government. As a leader, you should be able to explain your actions. As a general leadership quality, a general leadership principle is that leadership is about taking responsibility for your actions and to be able to talk about that.
Q: Do you believe the Speaker is corrupt?
A: I believe that there are some serious allegations against the Speaker and the fact is that he is identified as “Public Official A” in FBI documents.
Q: What kind of Democrat do you consider yourself?
A: I’m a moderate Democrat. I’m a little left of center but I think I’m pretty independent and I look at all things openly with an open mind.
Q: Is there a place for moderate Democrats in your caucus today?
A: We have conservative Democrats in our caucus and moderate Democrats and liberal Democrats, so it’s a big umbrella.
Q: There’s no doubt the Speaker would be considered a more prolific fundraiser than you are. Obviously, a big part of the job is raising money. Are you prepared and able to do that?
A: Absolutely. I think that fundraising right now is being used as a tool. You can look at the reports that Mike Madigan has all the money and controls all the money. With a new speaker, there are avenues to fundraise I believe will materialize. I absolutely know I can raise the money for the caucus and I absolutely know I can work with representatives to ensure that we have good policy and good legislation coming out of the House that everyone in Illinois can be proud of.
Q: Many outside perspectives would agree most of the budgets passed in recent years were out-of-balance. The state is working at a gigantic deficit. How would you change the budget process to fix the state’s financial footing?
A: It’s going to take a lot of work. With COVID and our finances, the public needs people they can trust at that table working on the budget in their best interest. Illinois has gotten into its share of problems and I think having people who are trustworthy at the table is what Illinois needs.
Q: Folks downstate would probably say “well, Madigan’s corrupt, they’re probably just going to replace him with another corrupt Democrat.” What makes you different?
A: I served my country in the United States Marine Corps. I love this country, I love this state, and I’m going to do everything I can for it. I can’t help if people want to make assumptions not knowing me, but I have my military record, I have my history to stand on, and that’s who I am. We can have a discussion about it. I’ll talk to people about that. I’ll talk to everybody because I think the Speaker of the House is about the whole state, downstate, central Illinois, northern Illinois, and Chicago and Cook County. The speaker has to be available to the whole state and start looking at whole state solutions for the issues affecting us today. I’m happy to have a conversation with those people, I’m happy to meet with those people.
Q: Could you describe your conversations with members of your caucus leading up to this announcement, and how many have pledged support to you at this point?
A: It’s a work in progress and, right now, I’m having discussions on how people can view the future of the Illinois House of Representatives. [I’m] getting a lot of great ideas and having great discussions. I just announced today and the caucus is going to be toward the end of November, so I’m just going to reach out and listen and talk about the future of the state and the future of the House of Representatives.
Q: Would you ever consider a deal with Republicans to get their votes to move you into the Speaker’s position?
A: I think I’m going to talk to everybody in the Illinois House and they’re going to vote whichever way they want to vote. That’s what democracy is about. I’m not ruling out there might be another person or two who might jump in the ring as well. Democracy is about being able to engage in respectful debate about issues and concerns that we have.
Q: The Speaker is considered the most powerful person in Illinois. Is this a folly? Is this a realistic pursuit of the Speaker’s office?
A: I think I’m taking a stand and I think I’m doing the right thing by speaking up for the people of Illinois. To be quite honest, I don’t know how it’s going to turn out, but I think there needs to be a choice for the 102nd General Assembly and I put my name out there for a choice.