28th Senate candidates outline plans

State Sen. John Millner says Illinois needs five-year financial projections to help dig itself out of a $13 billion budget hole in a timely manner.

If voters on Nov. 2 return him to Springfield in the 28th Senate District, he says he will renew efforts to pass just such legislation.

“The state needs a destination but the state also needs a road map to that destination,” said the Carol Stream Republican and former Elmhurst police chief who squares off with Democrat Corinne Pierog, a St. Charles District 303 school board member. “Instead, we seem to fly by the seat of our pants.”

Millner said his original legislation struggled to make it out of committee last year but its introduction gives legislators time to consider it more thoroughly before he reintroduces it.

Millner said Medicaid reform that requires proof of financial need and residency, as well as seeks to align the federal matching rate with surrounding states, also would help alleviate the deficit.

Millner has long been a law enforcement advocate after serving for 31 years, including 16 as chief, with the Elmhurst Police Department. He said he would continue to pursue legislation that will be tougher on crime.

Pierog said the key focus for anybody in Springfield should be jobs that make use of talent pool in the 28th District. The district is home to several universities and small colleges and Pierog said jobs brought into the area should use them in terms of research and work force.

She said clean air initiatives should be developed for the area, a move she says will create jobs.

“The area has the infrastructure to support it,” she said. “We have engineers who are out of work; factories underutilized. We have to align ourselves with future needs and goals.”

Pierog said if elected she would work to alleviate pressure on social services while also creating more accountability for the organizations. This would include requiring groups to explain in clear detail why they need the money they request. She said this would help stop a domino effect that ends with Illinois residents not receiving services.

She also said the district needs more sidewalks and bike trails for residents' quality of life.

The 28th District includes all or portions of South Elgin, St. Charles, Schaumburg, Roselle, Carol Stream, Bartlett, Bloomingdale and Wayne.