We Asked The Illinois Governor Candidates 18 Yes Or No Questions

From gun control to the income tax rate, WBEZ asked Illinois' candidates for governor to take firm, easy-to-understand positions. But Republican incumbent Bruce Rauner and Democratic challenger JB Pritzker had little desire for solid stances.

Rauner didn’t respond. Pritzker only answered yes or no half the time, and provided written responses for the rest. Libertarian Kash Jackson answered all the questions with a yes or no. State Sen. Sam McCann, of the Conservative Party, answered yes or no to 16 questions, wrote a sentence for one, and didn’t answer one.

Election Day is Nov. 6. Illinois residents can register to vote up until then.

See how the candidates responded below — whether yes, no, written response (✎), or not at all.

	Bruce Rauner	JB Pritzker	Kash Jackson	Sam McCann
Do you favor maintaining Illinois’ flat 4.95% income tax rate?		✎	Yes	No
Do you favor lowering Illinois’ income tax rate to 3%?		✎	No	Yes
Do you favor increasing the flat tax rate to a level higher than 4.95%?		✎	No	No
Do you favor a graduated state income tax?		Yes	No	No
Do you favor an expansion of the sales tax to include services?		No	Yes	No
Do you favor legalizing marijuana for recreational purposes?		Yes	Yes	No
Do you favor freezing property taxes for all local taxing units?		✎	Yes
Do you favor expanding casino gambling in Illinois?		✎	Yes	No
Do you favor a casino managed by the city of Chicago?		✎	No	No
Do you favor slot machines at O’Hare and Midway airports?		✎	Yes	✎
Do you support requiring health insurance companies to not charge people higher rates if they have a pre-existing condition?		Yes	No	Yes
Do you favor the state licensing gun shops?		Yes	No	No
Do you favor banning the sale of bump stocks?		Yes	No	No
Do you favor banning the sale of high-capacity ammunition?		Yes	No	No
If the federal government strips organizations that receive federal money for abortions, would you support state funding of organizations that provide abortions?		Yes	No	No
Should the state admit negligence in its handling of Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks at the Quincy veterans’ home so that the 12 pending Court of Claims lawsuits can be settled?		✎	Yes	Yes
Do you favor changing the state constitution, removing the language that state pension benefits cannot be diminished?		No	Yes	No
Do you favor additional borrowing to help pay down Illinois’ $129 billion unfunded pension liability?		✎	No	No
		See a PDF of JB Pritzker's answers	See a PDF of Kash Jackson's answers	See a PDF of Sam McCann's answers

In the interest of transparency, Chicago Public Media (CPM) reminds its audience that we receive philanthropic support from The Pritzker Foundation. JB Pritzker, who is a candidate for Illinois governor, is not involved in The Pritzker Foundation and does not contribute to it. He and his wife lead a separate philanthropic foundation, the Pritzker Family Foundation, from which CPM has never received any funding.