Candidate Responses

walter m. johnson

Candidate for State Representative

District 89

maxsad1@sbcglobal.net

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CIVIL RIGHTS

Do you believe that people with disabilities have the same rights as anyone else?

YES

Do you believe that individuals with disabilities should be the primary decision maker in their lives?

YES and No - Depends on person's disability and situation.

POLITICAL LEADERSHIP

Will you make it a priority to include people with disabilities as part of your political team and/or as advisors on relevant issues?

YES

If YES, how do you intend to do so?

By placing calls and talking to people about issues, and meeting with citizens to get their imput on issues.

TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Do you support legislative measures to require that Internet technologies be made accessible to and usable by people with disabilities in Illinois?

YES

What measures would you propose to ensure that consumer electronic and telecommunications devices are accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities in Illinois?

By making sure that the person with disabilities can use a device to get on to internet, by voice or machine, and would have help to train the person how to use machine to hook to internet.

INTEGRATED COMMUNITY LIVING

Do you support funding mechanisms, such as "Money Follows the Person," that allow people with disabilities in Illinois who are currently unnecessarily institutionalized to move into integrated settings?

YES

How would you increase opportunities for people with disabilities in Illinois to live in the most integrated settings?

By surveying how many people live in certain areas of Illinois that have disabilities and by seeing how many residential homes are in areas and then look at building more homes (of six to eight residents) to handle housing.

How will you address the shortage of community direct care attendants in Illinois?

By providing reasonable pay for the work they do, and also providing training and benefit packages.

HOUSING

What would you do to increase the availability of affordable, accessible, integrated housing opportunities in the community for low and moderate income people with disabilities and their families?

To try and provide a tax break to landlords and home owners to rent or lease to people with disabilities, and to encourage new developments to make apartments and houses handicap accessible.

EMPLOYMENT

What steps would you take to reduce employment barriers and improve employment opportunities for people with disabilities in your district and in the entire state of Illinois?

To provide quality training on certain jobs and to support workshops statewide with more funding to guide and train the people for the jobs.

EDUCATION

Federal and state laws require that students with disabilities are educated in the least restrictive environment and that appropriate accommodations and support services are provided to them. How would you ensure that these laws are enforced in Illinois?

To provide trained counselors and teachers that can handle the needs of the person; to interact in classroom settings, and that records be kept and reviewed by qualified state professionals.

HEALTHCARE

What steps would you take to ensure that people with disabilities in Illinois have access to affordable, quality health care that is responsive to their individual needs?

To try and have more medical facilities accept Medicaid and to have person with disability treated fairly.

How would you improve the quality of health and rehabilitation services provided to veterans with disabilities in Illinois?

To provide more funding to VA Hospitals and Clinics, to try and get more VA Hospitals and Clinics built, and to provide better medical transportation to VA Hospitals and Clinics.

TRANSPORTATION

What would you do to expand access to affordable, accessible transportation for people with disabilities in Illinois, especially in rural areas?

To try and increase funding to transportation companies to provide longer hours of operations of basic services, and to work with transit authorities to provide service in rural areas.

VOTING

What steps would you take to ensure that voters with disabilities in Illinois are able to vote privately and independently?

To provide some voting machines that are lower to wheelchair height, and to have trained disability workers help people place their votes and sign form stating to not reveal person's vote.