State's financial woes weigh heavily on 50th house GOP candidates
The state's financial mess weighs heavily on the minds of the three candidates for the Republican nomination for state House 50th District.
Freshman state Rep. Kay Hatcher of Yorkville is opposed by Kendall County GOP party leader Keith Wheeler of Oswego, and Geneva resident Bob McQuillan.
Hatcher said her first year in office has been an eye-opener. She knew state capital politics could be convoluted and messy, but the extent of partisan fighting amazed her.
"Good legislation disappears into a black hole. And we are one vote away from being veto-proof," she said of the legislature.
Even in little things, the state wastes money, Hatcher said. She cited as an example her mileage reimbursements. The state was six months late in paying her and 18 trips' worth built up. When it did pay, the state cut her 18 separate checks.
"You can't tell me that is economy of common sense," she said.
Wheeler wants to take a businesslike approach to reining in state spending and making Illinois attractive to job-creators. He says unemployment and underemployment for the 50th District is at or above the state rate. "To me it's a critical issue," he said, saying the state drives businessmen away with excessive fees, taxes, worker compensation and unemployment insurance rates.
He also favors tying funding and programming legislation - as in, if you propose a program, your bill should also spell out the costs of it, and how it is going to be paid for. Wheeler also suggests changing rules so that any bill that requires spending money requires a three-fifths majority to approve, instead of a simple majority.
"We have to pare down government ... you aren't allowed to create these kind of messes in the real world," Wheeler said.
McQuillan, who works in real estate, co-founded a taxpayer group that is watching the spending of the Geneva school district.
"It is my belief that the state budget could be cut by 15 percent and services could still actually be improved," he said. "Between sales taxes, property taxes, income taxes and other fees, we are being taxed right out of our homes."
He called for doing a complete audit of state spending and putting the document online, going line by line through department budgets to cut spending, and getting rid of high-level administrative jobs that are political appointments.
"The state needs to prove to the taxpayers that everything is being done to balance the budget with the long-term goal of actually reducing tax rates," McQuillan said.