Illinois Congressional candidate Paul Nolley weighs in on the issues

Democrat Paul Nolley is running for Congress from Illinois’ District 16, which runs from Peoria and Morton through Streator and Morris to Rockford and Galena. The 36-year-old Illinois State University graduate is married to a special-education teacher, and they have two children. From a working-class background, he’s now director of Project First Rate, a labor-management partnership that works in nine Illinois counties.

He took time away from his campaign to answer a few questions:

Despite little evidence of election fraud or non-citizen voting, President Trump wanted to restrict mail-in ballots and has supported the SAVE Act (which the House passed Feb. 11). That legislation would mandate that people supply evidence of their U.S. citizenship (such as a birth certificate) to vote. How do you feel about attempts to change elections?

Our electoral system faces more scrutiny today than perhaps any time in U.S. history. The process has been litigated in the courts for years, and members of Congress absolutely have the right and obligation to propose electoral changes that would increase transparency and security in our elections. However, with this scrutiny, we know our elections show few examples of voter fraud and are incredibly safe and secure. If elected, I would work with anyone who is attempting, in good faith, to ensure our electoral system is safe from credible threats. The SAVE Act is not a good-faith effort. I would oppose this legislation and the Republican attempts to scare the American people into supporting the weakening of their own voting rights. 

On Sept. 1, the House passed another Continuing Resolution to fund the federal government until Dec. 11. Are Continuing Resolutions the best way to authorize spending, or would you prefer another way?

I do not believe passing endless Continuing Resolutions is the best way to authorize spending, and I would support efforts to pass a full budget each year in Congress. Democrats and Republicans alike have utilized CRs to kick the responsibility down the road and play games with the American people. We must end this gamesmanship in Washington and do a key job representatives are elected to do: pass a budget. 

Polls say that Americans' top priorities are the economy, the war in Iran, better government transparency (esp. concerning the “Epstein files”), and improving immigration enforcement (specifically sharing arrest information, ICE agents not wearing masks, and citizens being able to record immigration officers). However, President Trump often talks about a new ballroom, a new arch outside Arlington National Cemetery, and taking over Greenland or Canada. How do you view this?

The Trump administration and Republicans in Congress would rather talk about anything else; otherwise, they might have to explain to the American people why they are failing to keep the promises of their 2024 campaigns. They promised to lower prices and release the Epstein files. Since being elected, all they have done is raise prices, fight tooth and nail to prevent the release of the Epstein files, and sit by while the Trump administration launches a disastrous war of choice without congressional approval. It is a dereliction of duty, and a total failure of this administration and its rubber-stamp Republicans in Congress. 

A recent Gallup poll reports that 71% of the American public opposes the construction of Artificial Intelligence data centers in their communities, opposition that’s Republican and Democrat, rural and urban, and all regions of the country. What do you think?

I think Americans are rightfully worried about the rapid growth of data center construction in their communities and the proliferation of AI in their daily lives, including loss of privacy, job loss, harmful impacts on their children, and far worse. Meanwhile, data center executives have pushed for tax incentives and forced local leaders to sign NDAs, all while insisting this product has to be developed at a rapid pace. 

We have to rethink our relationship with the industry. If elected, I would support legislation that bans tax incentives for data centers, ensures American consumers don’t pay a dime more in energy costs from data centers, and prevents their construction on prime farmland and in residential areas. I would also fight to pass legislation that halts the rush to achieve AI superintelligence, which could destroy humanity as we know it.

The U.S. deficit recently reached $40 trillion. Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman says that discussions often mix up different ways of measuring debt and Gross Domestic Product (GDP), making the fiscal picture look scarier than the underlying math suggests. Should people be concerned?

Americans are right to be concerned about our rising national debt, which hit a record high under the Trump administration. Taxpayers pay about 19% of the annual budget to service the interest on the debt, leaving less to invest in our schools, health care, and infrastructure.

We also need to be clear about why the national debt is where it is today. For decades, Republicans in Washington have given tax breaks to the wealthy, built in loopholes for huge corporations, and allowed the powerful few to dodge their fair share of the tax burden. At the same time, the ultrarich have seen their wealth grow to unimaginable levels and working people struggle to get by. This, paired with record military spending year after year, driven in part by inflated and corrupt contracts with defense companies, has placed a great burden on our nation’s finances.

We must ensure big corporations and the ultrarich pay their fair share in taxes, while also overhauling our government procurement and contracting system to add transparency and competition, and stop the endless cost overruns on major military projects and inflated defense contracts. We also need to end and prevent wars of choice like the Iraq and Iran wars, which have been devastating to our national finances. We should also pursue other cost-saving reforms, like allowing Medicare to negotiate all drug prices, which would save billions of dollars each year.