Name: Willie Preston

What office are you seeking: Willie Preston, Congress-Second Congressional District

What is your political party? Democrat

What is your current age? 41

Occupation and employer: Illinois State Senate-District 16

What offices, if any, have you previously held? Local School Council-Scott Joplin Elementary School

City: Chicago

Campaign website: electpreston.com

Education: Attended Chicago State and Roosevelt Universities.

Community involvement: Among his civic engagements over years, Preston served on the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago’s Early Childhood Education Board and represented parents on the Scott Joplin Elementary Local School Council, and co-founded the Grassroots Alliance for Police Accountability. He attends New Life Covenant Church Southeast.

Marital status/Immediate family: Wife Brittany and six children, ages 9 to 20.

What are your top three legislative priorities for your first year in the U.S. House?

1. Appropriate money for a new Level II trauma center within the starved 2nd District.

2. Appropriate money for new trade schools and apprenticeship programs within the 2nd District, working closely with trade unions.

3. New antitrust law to break up mega-corporations like BlackRock and forbid them from speculating on tax-distressed properties.

What specific local issues in this district will guide your work in Congress?

As a former SEIU janitor, butcher and union carpenter who grew up on the South Side of Chicago actually working for a living, I have seen the damage that indifference and institutional corruption can visit on poor and working families. Working families on the South Side, Southland and Central Illinois are being priced out of their way of life by a political class of insiders and yes-men and -women who do not connect with the people they serve. I enjoy that connection and will use my lived experiences to fight to keep property taxes low, end healthcare deserts that have Black women having babies at the side of the road and fight attacks on Social Security and healthcare.

What federal funding priorities would you advocate for this district, including infrastructure needs like roads, bridges, broadband, and transit?

The Number One Priority for the 2nd Congressional District is building more healthcare infrastructure so that Black women are not having babies on the side of the road. As chair of the Illinois Senate Black Legislative Caucus, I have shone a spotlight on the Black mortality gap - and presided over the biggest appropriation to safety-net hospitals in modern Illinois history. We need another trauma center in the Southland and we can’t do that without federal support. Additionally, we need maternal and birthing centers -and must continue the work I began in the Illinois Senate of re-opening mental health facilities shuttered by former Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

How will you prioritize the concerns of your district versus the priorities of your party?

I will ALWAYS put the concerns of the District before Party - and you have recent evidence of this for your own eyes to see: Because of the mid-decade redistricting war begun by President Trump and the remapping of Texas, national Democrats sought to gerrymander the 2nd District for the possibility of gaining a seat in the upcoming midterm elections. I ALONE AMONG ALL THE CANDIDATES IN THIS RACE - stood against the gerrymandering plan because it would have given up Black voters in what is an historically Black District, fought for by Civil Rights leaders. They all wanted to be good boys and girls for the Party - but I said NO, and I will always say NO to any outside special interests whose interest are not aligned with the people I am elected to serve.

Has Congress given up its Article I powers during the Trump administration? How would you restore congressional authority?

Congress has absolutely abrogated its Article One powers during the Trump administration, especially in matters of making war. Currently, there are candidates in this race like Donna Miller who are funded by groups like AIPAC who support the type of forever wars that Congress has allowed, frankly, since the Afghanistan invasion. Likewise, President Trump is totally abusing his tariff authority, has weaponized the Justice Department and bypassed the Congress’s appropriation authority. To restore order, the Congress will need to fully delineate Article I authorities but, just as importantly, expose abuses through oversight hearings and hold the administration accountable by withholding funding.

What is your position on U.S. intervention, specifically Ukraine, Israel and Venezuela?

I am opposed to the use of American military force without Congressional authorization and can find no reason whatsoever for American service members to have “boots on the ground” in any of the conflicts listed. Unlike Donna Miller, I reject the AIPAC agenda of “forever wars” - though I do see Russia as a threat to American interest and the North Atlantic Treaty, the most successful treaty in the history of the United States, as an appropriate counterbalance. Meddling in Venezuela to make some of Trump’s oil tycoon friends richer - while keeping the corrupt remnants of the Maduro regime in place - shows how cynical and unserious that policy is.

Do you believe the President should have the constitutional authority to order military strikes and detain a foreign head of state without prior Congressional authorization? Why or why not, and where should Congress draw the line between executive action and its own constitutional war powers?

There is no Constitutional authority to detain a head of state without Congress -- it is an act of war. The Framers specifically constrained such actions so that an American president could not enter the nation into wars without limits. The lines are already drawn in the Constitution and, though steadily blurred since Vietnam, they’re still there. It’s up to the Congress to re-assert this easy-to-understand authority.

Do you believe any conduct of the current administration needs to be investigated?

From crypto bribes to collusion with white nationalists to Elon Musk’s grubby little fingers, this administration swims in illegality every day. The list is too long to go into, but Hell Yes, this administration needs investigation.

Has the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) gone too far in its recommendations?

It’s just a fact that the DOGE cuts neither saved taxpayers or made government more efficient. Agencies like the Social Security Administration and the Veterans Administration are reporting massive disruptions in services owing to the ill-thought and reckless cuts. But what is more concerning is that non-government actors got their hands on the private data of every single American citizen - for reasons we STILL don’t know. DOGE was a total and corrupt failure and the fallout is only now coming into view.

How will you work across the aisle to pass legislation?

I am THE MOST BIPARTISAN MEMBER of the Illinois General Assembly and, though a faithful Democrat, I will do everything I can to work across the aisle, continuing my practice of transparency and open communication. There are plenty of areas - SNAP benefits, Medicaid funding, vocational training - where I KNOW Republicans would work with Democrats. This doesn’t mean laying down our principles -but it does mean having an open door when it means helping ALL of our constituents.

Do you support term limits for House members, and if so, what limits?

No. Elections are term limits. I DO support campaign finance reform to prevent outside groups form buying poor districts like the 2nd Congressional District.

What is your stance on border security and immigration reform?

I am a proponent of a strong border and strong enforcement of existing law to remove violent offenders from our street. I am also for legal pathways to citizenship for nonviolent undocumented residents. But it’s clear that what the Trump administration is doing is lawless, violent and un-American. I was one of the co-leaders of the fight against police brutality in Chicago following the Laquan McDonald murder and coverup in Chicago. I wrote the landmark Memorandum of Understanding that began the subsequent process of reform in the Chicago Police Department. DHS - and ICE - require immediate reform to align with the principles of Constitutional law.

Do you support changes to Social Security or Medicare to ensure long-term solvency?

I do not support ANY changes to Social Security eligibility or benefits. I support limiting of Medicare Advantage or anything that directs Medicare toward for-profit and privatized models. Repealing the massive Republican tax cuts to Wall Street and the billionaire class will immediately put both programs on the path toward long-term solvency.

What should Congress do to address healthcare affordability?

I support single-payer universal healthcare coverage - also known as Medicare For All - which will achieve trillions in savings. I support prioritizing wellness over the current reactive model. I support reversing cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act and repealing the massive tax cuts for Wall Street, all included in the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill.” I support capping surprise out-of-network bills.

Is the CDC a trustworthy, qualified source of information under RFK Jr.? How should public health policy be managed?

Under RFK Jr., the Centers for Disease Control, once the gold standard for the world, has been thrown into disarray, with confusion abounding. We might see a polio comeback. We are already seeing the largest measles outbreaks in modern history - all while we’ve lost hundreds - probably thousands - of the best frontline disease specialists on the planet. I’m all for healthy skepticism and debate - but this is NOT that. The United States won the Cold War by a rigorous commitment to transparency and science. We must restore excellence and expertise and take the reins out of the hands of the quacks elevated by RFJ Jr.

How should Congress regulate artificial intelligence, if at all?

It’s the duty of Congress to protect and regulate industries that affect the commerce and health of the American people. There are well-connected powers - foreign and domestic - working right now to avoid oversight and not all of them have the good of the American people in mind. Congress must work closely with the states to figure out what the next era of regulation looks like - but it cannot be nothing since the potential disruptions that can be expected from AI are so vast.

If Democrats win the House in 2026, how do you feel about calls for impeaching President Trump?

With all the priorities facing the next Congress, I am ambivalent about calling to impeach Trump, since, though impeached in the House, it is almost impossible to see his conviction in the Senate (as we’ve already seen twice). There IS value in impeachment hearings - creating an historical record and potentially exposing wrongdoers. But does anyone think impeaching Trump the last two times moderated his behavior? Given how blatant this administration’s corruption is (the pardons alone are their own category of impeachable offenses) it may be necessary to go forward with impeachment proceedings but I would not consider it a top priority of the next Congress.

If Democrats win the House, what issues should oversight committees investigate first?

1. The manipulation of housing markets and distressed properties by investment banks.

2. Monopolistic price fixing by major agricultural mega-businesses.

3. Collusion and price gouging by all sorts of producers and manufacturers.

4. Union-busting activities by major corporations that get federal subsidies and cheap labor.

What issues, if any, do you agree with Republicans on?

I agree that federal funds should not be used to pay for gender reassignment surgery for minors without parental notification.

Should private equity and hedge funds be allowed to purchase so many homes?

No, no and no. I support oversight hearings and the use of antitrust laws to break up corporations like BlackRock, which are putting homeownership out of reach, feasting on tax-distressed misery and killing the family farm.

Do you support or oppose the expansion of work requirements for SNAP recipients? Why?

As a former SNAP recipient myself, I intend to form the SNAP Defense Caucus in the House specifically to address the myths and lies put forth by those who want to cut federal assistance to the working poor. This myth of the “undeserving poor” is just that. Only a small percentage of the SNAP beneficiaries are able-bodied adults and the work requirements are not tailored to promoting their entry into the workforce. Not really. It’s all performative BS to distract from the REAL welfare queens in the system - major corporations whose workforces face food and housing insecurity. If I saw evidence that work requirements would get people back into a family-supporting job, then yes, I would support it.

Who are your top donors? How often do you speak with them?

Willie Wilson is one of my top donors. I see him at church almost every Sunday.

How would you reform U.S. trade policy so that farms don’t need repeated bailouts from tariff impacts?

First and foremost, Congress needs to assert its authority and get rid of these idiotic tariffs. Illinois farmers just want an even playing field to sell their goods - NOT a handout from the government. But for our farmers to thrive, we need to remove the boot of seed and supply monopolies from their neck and for that I will turn to antitrust law.