Walsh would be best voice for 8th District

I am a lifelong resident of the 8th District, taxpayer and graduate student at Northern Illinois University (NIU). There is a real possibility that NIU may shut down and I will not be able to complete my doctoral degree because the state of Illinois cannot meet its financial obligations. Already, NIU has imposed furlough days for some employees (although the school referred to it as an administrative closure), increased tuition and fees for students and now there is talk that there is a possibility payroll cannot be met in the coming months. Yet, there is plenty of our money being sent to Washington and distributed to other states when Illinois so desperately needs to keep what its residents produce in order to fund certain necessities, such as higher education. According to TaxFoundation.org, Illinois only receives back $0.75 for each dollar it sends to the nation's capital, while neighboring states receive more money back: Wisconsin ($0.86), Iowa ($1.10), Missouri ($1.32), Kentucky ($1.51) and Indiana ($1.05). Why are we the eternal loser in the tax game?

Our state is close to fiscal bankruptcy and yet we are losing a quarter on every dollar sent to Washington! Melissa Bean has failed the people of the 8th District. She has failed to hold town hall meetings, failed to keep our money in the state, and failed as a representative of the values of 8th.

I met Joe Walsh during a candidate's forum and he listened to my situation. He is just as fed up as I am with the political nonsense in Washington and the 8th District's lack of a reliable voice. He intends to get our tax money back and stop the out-of-control spending in Washington. Joe Walsh already has my vote, and I hope you will vote for him so we have an advocate in Washington to take back what is ours.

Marcella Reca Zipp

Ingleside