Excited, motivated for governor hopeful

I recently attended a meet-and-greet event for gubernatorial candidate Daniel Biss. To be honest, I was skeptical walking in the door. My main concern was that he could not prevail in a primary against the wealth of Pritzker or Kennedy, both of whom are gaining increasing support from traditional Democratic power brokers. I also worried that Mr. Biss would prove to be just another tax-and-spend liberal.

I was wrong on both counts. I walked out excited and motivated for the first time in a long time. Daniel presented a vision that is both idealistic and doable, along with a strong body of successful community and legislative experience that is unmatched among his primary rivals. He is one of the increasingly rare politicians who is a family man of modest means dealing with the realities of childcare, public schools and all the other pressures of life when you live on a limited budget. He is for real - you could hear it, you could feel it.

Daniel tackled every question honestly and head-on. The intelligence necessary to have earned a Ph.D. in mathematics from MIT showed through as he explained issues and potential solutions. Most remarkably, he presented a vision entailing both fiscal and social responsibility, talking about meeting the full range of the state's obligation - pension funds, social services, health care, education - while balancing the budget with revenues derived from a fairer tax system. As in Iowa and Wisconsin, higher income people pay more and we all pay less in property taxes. Makes sense to me

I encourage readers to tune in to the upcoming debates. Listen closely and decide who is best suited to lead us to an Illinois we and others want to live in.

Peer T. Lykke

Barrington Hills