Rhys Read: 2026 candidate for Illinois House District 56

Bio

Office sought: Illinois House 56th District

Party: Republican

City: Des Plaines

Age: 69

Previous offices held: Des Plaines Library Board 2000-2009

Q&A

What do you consider the three most pressing issues facing the state in the next four years, and how should they be addressed?

1. The ever increasing tax burden especially in Illinois. I propose a middle class tax cut by increasing the personal exemption to $15,000 and I support Candidate Bailey's proposal for a property tax cap at 1% of value

2. The $140 billion unfunded pension liability. I propose making full retirement age 67, basing benefits on the top 35 years of earnings, and limiting total benefits to the FICA maximum wage, currently at $184,500

3. Rampant fraud and abuse estimated at $3-6 billion per year. I would require all state agencies to share their databases and resources with the federal fraud task force and the appropriate federal agencies to combat this fraud

How would you assess the General Assembly's handling, to date, of the various proposals surrounding a Chicago Bears stadium in Arlington Heights? What proposals would you have been willing to support and in what ways, if any, might you have approached it differently?

The General Assembly's handling of the Bears has been horrible, and they are solely responsible for driving the Bears out of Illinois. The Bears had two simple requests, tax certainty and utility and infrastructure improvements. The legislative proposal addressed neither of those while providing for tax breaks for campaign donors. My proposal is to let the Bears build and finance their stadium, we will freeze property tax assessments at the amount Arlington Park was paying plus annual inflation increases and build all the infrastructure and utility improvements they request financed by a bond issue to be repaid by an amusement tax on stadium ticket sales.

Now roughly three years into the elimination of cash bail in Illinois as part of the SAFE-T Act, how would you assess the success or failure of the criminal justice reform measure? What changes, if any, would you support?

The SAFE-T Act has been a total failure and made us all less safe and secure in our property. I would support changing the program so that recidivists are not allowed release as well as people who use a crime in commission of a crime even if the gun was not used or carried by only one of the crime participants.

Illinois homeowners face one of the highest relative property tax burdens in the country. What specific proposals could you offer to ease the burden on state residents?

We need to take a deep dive into school finances and answer why less than 40% of our educational dollars end up in the classroom, why we have 851 separate school districts and why public districts like the CPS have more non-teaching employees than teachers. Eliminating the $8 billion in administrative waste in public schools (my estimate) would go a long way to reducing property taxes

Gov. JB Pritzker recently paused a state initiative granting incentives to data center developers, and residents statewide have concerns about how such developments are affecting their access to water, utility rates, and the environment. How should the state approach data centers going forward?

I support the water recycling requirements for the data centers. We must stop restricting energy uses, reopening our closed nuclear facilities, expanding natural gas (the cleanest energy source) and coal powered plants and end the subsidies for intermittent energy sources like wind and solar which only drives up costs

Illinois’ “sanctuary” policies concerning immigration have made it a target for the Trump administration and critics who say they encourage criminal behavior. How do you feel about those policies, and how, if at all, would you change them?

I would end and outlaw sanctuary city policies as this only encourages criminal behavior and require all municipalities to share their files and databases with DHS to remove the criminal illegal aliens from Illinois

Many women in the legislature complain about a culture of sexual harassment in Springfield. Do you see evidence of this and, if so, what should be done about it?

I have not seen it but am opposed to that kind of culture and would not permit it if elected.

Are you satisfied with the state's existing ethics policies for senators and representatives? If so, what about the policies should reassure Illinoisans that elected leaders abide by high standards? If not, what changes need to be made?

We must maintain the highest ethical standards. I am not part of Springfield culture so don't have a specific solution to the issue

What personal qualifications do you bring that would make you an effective legislator?

I am an MBA, CPA with 40+ years' experience. I spent 9 years as the Controller and Treasurer for a $20 billion pension fund, so I have specific pension experience. I served 9 years as a Des Plaines library trustee, working with the city so I have an understanding of local governments and how they work. I've served on an ELL task force for CCSD 59 and taught in an after-school chess program, so I have education experience