Sandack for House Dist. 81, Republican
The race for the GOP nomination in the Illinois House District 81 primary features a current state senator and a candidate who did not respond to requests for an editorial board interview. Our choice is easy: state Sen. Ron Sandack.
Sandack, 48, of Downers Grove and a former mayor of the DuPage County town, was appointed to his state Senate seat in late 2010. He is running for the House seat because of the new remap of districts that would have pitted him in a primary with state Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno. Rather than be disappointed in that, Sandack is energized about potentially moving to the Illinois House representing parts of Darien, Downers Grove, Lisle, Naperville, Westmont and Woodridge.
We like Sandack’s ideas on governmental reform. He introduced a resolution calling for term limits on state legislators — he’ll abide by his idea of a 10-year limit regardless of whether it ever gets approved — and he has turned down both the pension for state legislators and health care benefits, saying the job is part-time and benefits should not be part of the deal. His priorities are creating jobs, reforming the pension systems and restructuring the budget with at least a 10 percent spending cut across the board.
His opponent is Deborah Boyle, a registered nurse, also of Downers Grove.