Candidate interview: Anna Valencia running for secretary of state

Candidate interview: Anna Valencia running for secretary of state

By JERRY NOWICKI
Capitol News Illinois
jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com

This story is part of Capitol News Illinois’ coverage of the race for secretary of state ahead of the Tuesday, June 28 primary. We’re reaching out to the candidates this week to discuss their policy positions and plans for the office should they be elected.

Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia has frequently employed a quip during her race for the Democratic nomination for secretary of state: Outgoing Secretary Jesse White’s shoes can’t be filled, but they should be replaced by high heels.

She’s been endorsed by White, who has been secretary of state since 1999, as well as Gov. JB Pritzker and the state’s two U.S. senators, Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, all of whom are Democrats.

She participated in a Zoom interview with Capitol News Illinois Tuesday while recovering from COVID-19, outlining her plan to create a civics corps, work with lawmakers to tighten ethics laws, modernize the office and more.

“I grew up in Granite City, so I did not grow up in a wealthy zip code,” she said. “And I had the opportunity as a sophomore in high school to job shadow then-state Sen. Evelyn Bowles in my area. And I knew nothing about government or that this was even a pathway for me.”

She said she knew then that she wanted to make a difference.

“And there are so many young people across the state that don’t get that access, that if you’re not a donor’s kid, or you’re not connected in any way, there’s no way to even understand that dynamic or that you can be part of a change in your own community,” she said.

The Illinois Civics Corps would be a public-private partnership looking to engage youth in an extension of an existing paid internship program. She’d look to build it with input from young people, educators and community activists.

Valencia is also endorsed by abortion rights organizations like Planned Parenthood of Illinois Action and the Personal PAC, as well as a long list of state legislators.

But while she has the endorsements of the Illinois Education Association and the Associated Firefighters of Illinois, former state treasurer Alexi Giannoulias has received greater support from labor unions such as the Laborers’ International Union of North America, the Illinois Federation of Teachers and the Service Employees International Union among others. Notably, however, the powerful AFL/CIO federation of labor unions has remained neutral.

Giannoulias has also had the money lead in a contentious campaign between him and Valencia, with each taking shots at the other’s purported ethical shortfalls, as covered by the Chicago Tribune.

Valencia’s been on defense regarding potential conflicts of interest stemming from her husband Reyahd Kazmi’s career as a lobbyist. He lobbies the city of Chicago for high-profile clients such as Monterrey Security, and he’s also registered with the secretary of state to lobby lawmakers and the governor.

Valencia said she and her husband will release tax returns every year should she be elected, and they would also not participate in individual stock transactions, and she’s denied impropriety. She’d also like to strengthen ethics laws.

“I think that we should have more full disclosures, a statement of economic interest,” she said, also advocating for stronger revolving door prohibitions between lobbying and being a member of the General Assembly. 

Valencia frequently points to her experience as Chicago City Clerk, which she said was also an administrative and operational role.

There, she oversaw the city’s City Key program, which allows Chicagoans to apply for a free city ID card that does not replace a driver’s license but can be used with certain banking and housing organizations in Chicago, among other uses.

It’s a program that she said she will consider scaling to a statewide level.

“So think of undocumented communities, homeless, domestic violence survivors, veterans, LGBTQ youth, a lot of these folks have a hard time getting the documentation they need, (to receive an ID) or it could be the barrier is the fee,” she said.

“And so what we created was a, not only a government ID, but we integrated the library card, the CTA transit card, in a prescription discount card, all in one government ID and it’s free,” she said.

The ID allows its holder to self-identify gender and has a place to list medical conditions, but it cannot be used for driving or for any federal purposes.

Valencia said she believes she’d be successful working with lawmakers because she worked with them in 2019 to pass a bill that prohibited the state from suspending licenses for unpaid fees, and she previously worked on Illinois Senate staff and for U.S. Sen Durbin. She also worked with the Chicago City Council to get things done, she said.

“So I already have those relationships,” she said.

She said she’d also look to increase the impact of library grants overseen by the secretary of state’s office, which amount to about $109 million for the current fiscal year. To do so, she said she’d seek federal funding and private foundation support.

She said she’d also look to expand driving facilities to have more mobile availability and flexible hours, while looking to expand online services to ensure each Illinoisan has an individualized portal where they can interact with the office. She’d also look to create a mobile app.

The full conversation with Valencia is available on the Capitol News Illinois Capitol Cast podcast, which you can find on most podcast apps or by clicking here.

 

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government that is distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

Leave a Comment





Local News

Sorry, we couldn't find any posts. Please try a different search.

Neighbors

Sheri Cannataro, of Cannataro Farms, demonstrates the gear she wears to extract honey from a bee hive for visitors who stopped by to see her products at the Hills Chamber of Commerce Business and Community Expo Saturday at Conrady Junior High School in Hickory Hills. (Photos by Joe Boyle)

Residents warm up to Hills Chamber Business Expo

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle Spring has arrived but winter continues to leave its calling card. However, that did not prevent the Hills Chamber of Commerce from holding its 10th annual Business and Community Expo Saturday at Conrady Junior High School in Hickory Hills. While the temperatures were frigid and windy outside, the spirit inside…

Palos Park Mayor Nicole Milovich-Walters speaks about zoning codes at the March 25 council meeting. (Photo by Jeff Vorva)

Palos Park to tweak outdated village zoning codes

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva The village of Palos Park has no grand plan to change the village landscape. But officials want to modernize some of its zoning codes. “The village has not comprehensively updated its development regulations since 1960,” Mayor Nicole Milovich-Walters said at the March 25 village council meeting. “Due to this, there…

Ridgeland sd122 logo

SD122 psychologist resigns over Islamophobic posts

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Nuha Abdessalam A psychologist for Ridgeland School District 122 has resigned after hundreds of parents demanded she be fired for social media posts that were pro-Israeli and anti-Palestinian. District Supt. Joseph Matise announced at a schoolboard meeting last week that Dr. Laurie Hoke had resigned. “Dr. Hoke will no longer be working…

CRR_NH

Clear-Ridge Reporter and NewsHound March 27, 2024

Spread the love

Spread the love

Mary Stanek

Will the month of March leave like a lion?

Spread the love

Spread the love. By Mary Stanek Your correspondent in Archer Heights and West Elsdon 3808 W. 57th Place •  (773) 517-7796 . The days are getting longer and slightly warmer. But my prediction of a few weeks ago–March is certainly not leaving like a lamb–may prove to be correct. A sure sign of spring in…

Peggy Zabicki

Robin sighting a sign of new beginnings

Spread the love

Spread the love. By Peggy Zabicki Your correspondent in West Lawn 3633 W. 60th Place •  (773) 504-9327 . I saw a robin the other day. This was the first sighting of the season for me. I remember my mom saying that the first robin of spring is a promise of new beginnings. May it be so. Is…

SRP-IMAGE-Logo

Thome sweet Thome: Nazareth baseball defeats Hall of Famer Jim Thome’s alma mater

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Nazareth baseball team took a road trip to the middle of Illinois and improved its record to 7-0 on March 23 by beating Limestone, 6-0. Limestone is the alma mater of former White Sox player and Baseball Hall of Fame member Jim Thome, who is an assistant coach…

SRP-IMAGE-Logo

Chicago Catholic League greats headed to Hall of Fame

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent A handful of area stars will be inducted into the Chicago Catholic League Coaches Association Hall of Fame. The list features Kevin Bracken (St. Laurence, wrestling), Kevin Carberry (St. Rita, football), Matt Macievic (De La Salle, cross county and track), Mike McGrew (Mount Carmel, football), Dan Nicholson (Brother Rice,…

SRP-IMAGE-Logo

Fire II tops Chicago City, advances to to second round of Hunt Open Cup

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Chicago Fire II picked up a late invitation to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and beat Chicago City, 6-0, on March 20 in front of an announced crowd of 810 at SeatGeek Stadium. Defender Giovanni Granda and midfielder Vitaliy Hlyut each made their professional debut and scored…

Julia Bianchi heads back on defense shortly after delivering a first-half goal for the Chicago Red Stars on March 23 at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview. Photo by Jeff Vorva

Red Stars top Seattle, open season with two wins for first time in franchise history

Spread the love

Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent Last year’s last-place finish notwithstanding, the Chicago Red Stars have had a pretty rich history of success. The franchise has seven NWSL playoff appearances and has finished runner-up twice (2019, 2021), and prior to 2022 had finished no lower than fourth in the league ‘s regular season standings for…