Vince Romano

Vince Romano was born in Evanston, Illinois. Romano's professional experience includes working in real estate and finance. He has also worked as an inventor, self defense instructor, and small business owner. Romano earned a degree from Columbia College in 1996.[1]

Romano has been affiliated with the Knights of Columbus.[1]

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Video submitted to BallotpediaReleased Oct. 10, 2022

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

My family immigrated to the Chicago area and we have lived here ever since. I grew up in Skokie and am proud homeowner and taxpayer in Skokie. My professional life has been in the private sector... I am a Women's self defense instructor, have trained police and Special Operation Forces, an inventor with several patents, I hold a Real Estate license in multiple states, worked in finance and held a series 7, 31 and 66 licenses, am a independent contractor and small business owner. I also coached youth football in Skokie and am a 4th Degree Knight of Columbus in our local council that helps charities around Chicagoland.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

SAFETY/CRIME- If you value safety for your families and community, you need to vote for me. My opponent is a champion of NO CASH BAIL and wants criminals back on the streets ASAP.ECONOMY/JOBS- If you value good jobs and a keeping business in Illinois, you need to vote for me. My goal is the same now as it was when I ran 10 years ago. Illinois needs to be a top 5 state for business, so we can keep businesses and jobs not only from leaving the state in record numbers, but get new business and new jobs here in Illinois. This will help solve our debt problems and keep our families together here in Illinois. My opponent want to tax business and "the rich" but doesn't under stand business 101... business do not pay taxes, they pass it on to you and me(the middle class). The number 1 reason people are leaving is Taxes, they want to tax more...causing more to leave.TAXES- Illinois has the highest overall tax rate of all states, with over 7000 units of government( over 3 times that of Texas which has 4 times our population) We need to forensic audit the state, zero base budget and find out where all these taxes are going. We tax the most, so it time to stop asking who will pay more and find where all the money is going, so we can take care of our most vulnerable and pay our bills.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

CRIME/SAFETY Being a women's self defense instructor and having trained police and knowing many of them. Crime and Safety is effecting everyone and the soon to be "SAFE T" Act that is about to come into effect with the NO CASH BAIL provision (which my opponent backs) to get criminals back on the streets as soon as possible needs to be repealed as soon as possible.

Business climate- Illinois is ranked 48 or 49 out of 50(depending which report you read)... Illinois with it central location, access to the Atlantic and Gulf, rail and trucking hub that no one else has, some of the greatest farm land in the world, 2 international airports and a wold class metropolis .... all those resources and we are bankrupt and driving businesses out of the state and scaring of any potential business from coming(unless the get a sweet heart deal which isn't good for the tax payers of course...all businesses should be able to thrive, not the hand picked ones)

Disability Services - 10 years ago when I rant, Illinois had the worst rank for disability services (ranked 51st out of the 50 states plus the District of Colombia), I am sure we have not improved. Shameful that a state with all our resources, they we are the worst rated for taking care of our most vulnerable

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

My parents, who both grew up in the slums of little Italy Chicago and became top producers in their respective fields. My father was a highly respected school teacher and counselor before getting into Finance and was a top producer for many companies over the years. My mother owned her own business when I was young and ran it from home(I was her helper :) and then went on to be a top producer in Real Estate.

Both have showed me how you can achieve what ever you want if you work hard, become innovative and how to run a business.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Being a Statesman and not a politician... a Statesman is one who listens, educates, is honest with their constituents and leads vs a politician is one who takes polls and says what ever he needs to say to get elected or gain power and is a pawn for what ever his party wants them to do.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Honest, innovative thinker, business and finance minded, intuitive, adaptable and good listener

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

To listen to and do what is best for their constituents

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The Shuttle blowing up- I was 13.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Helping my brother as a mechanics assistant at age 7.... sometimes I still work with him

Caddy Evanston Country Club- 2.5 years

Dominick's Grocery- Bagger and Cashier- 3 years

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Paying high taxes in Illinois...

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Bringing businesses back to IL, stop people and jobs from leaving, lowering our tax burden(highest in nation and #1 reason people and businesses are leaving), reduce our big 5 state pension debts.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

Seeing the way our state has been run into the ground by people who have been in office for years or have worked for the politicians then they run for office like my opponent ( he was chief of staff to Villa who was backed my Madigan and given 1.4 million by Madigan and then she endorsed and gave money to my opponent)... I will have to say no... we need new blood, new views and definitely not someone who is part of the Chicago Machine

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

Yes... we need to find out what our commonalities are and work towards those and make Illinois a better place. We also have to know and understand what are differences are and talk and debate ideas on how to solve those differences and make commonalities out of them.

What process do you favor for redistricting?

Another thing Chicago/Illinois is known for is our ridiculous districting.  Creating an

"independent citizens commission" sounds great but who's on it?  Lest we forget, Illinois

is known for its corruption.  I would favor applying guidelines that limit fingers or cut outs

and place a priority on geometric designs consisting of squares, rectangles and straight

lines.  Start at the bottom or top of the state and work your way to the opposite end(accounting for non straight State borders). This sounds like the most fair, non or least partisan thing to me. No more carving out

special interest districts and no more districts with fingers running across a map.

Then we  have the issue of selecting impartial committee members that will approve or

disapprove any deviations.

Is there a particular legislator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Ronald Reagan

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

At this point my efforts and concerns are working on solving Illinois's problems, so we(all of us) don't have to leave the state.

Both sitting legislators and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

Yes... I have heard a lot of them and is the reason I ran for office 10 years ago and am running today. I have heard too many stories of how Illinois under Democrat control is breaking families apart... I have friends and family who's children have to leave the state to find good jobs, that is where they will meet their significant other, that is where they will get married and raise their children and now they have effectively broken that family apart. They will not have their parents or grandparents there to help them, or their friends... and neither will those parents see their grandchildren and help raise them. We need to stop this and bring good jobs back to Illinois and keep families here.

Tell us your favorite joke.

What did the fish say when he swam into a wall?

Dam!

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Doing what is right for the citizens of my district and the state is what is desirable... compromising for bad policies that have bankrupted our state is not a path we should go down any longer.

Romano's campaign website listed the following issues:[8]

Economy

Excerpt: "The economy is the major issue in Illinois right now! We are ranked near last (47th out of 50) in business climate. This climate is repelling jobs from our state and has to change."

Pensions

Excerpt: "Illinois needs pension reform to stop individuals from robbing the taxpayers by collecting two and three tax-payer funded pensions, as well as stopping individuals from collecting pensions after working as little as one day."

Fraud/waste/and corruption

Excerpt: "Illinois has a reputation of corruption and fraud, and the people of Illinois need to end the cycle theft and payoffs that the political machine has maintained for the last century. Dignity needs to be restored to our great states name!"