Coladipietro holds seat in House 45th

Voters in the 45th House District gave their nod Tuesday to Republican incumbent Franco Coladipietro of Bloomingdale, who said Democrats in the Generally Assembly have “run state finances into the ground.”

Unofficial poll results show him defeating Democratic challenger Joann Franzen of Roselle. With all 71 precincts reporting Tuesday, Coladipietro earned more than 63 percent of the 25,961 votes tallied, according to unofficial totals.

Coladipietro, 42, said cash-strapped Illinois needs to focus on education, infrastructure and providing safety net services for the state's most vulnerable citizens.

He opposes tax increases, saying Illinois needs to understand its budget priorities before considering new taxes to plug its $13 billion budget shortfall.

“We must first demonstrate that we can live within our means and make the same tough decisions that families have to make,” he said earlier this fall. “We need budget discipline.”

To fix the state budget, Coladipietro said Illinois needs to stop creating new programs in social services and other areas to leave enough funding for high priorities such as education.

He also supports a line-by-line audit of the state budget to root out wasteful spending.

“We need to stop. No new programs to start with at least,” Coladipietro said during the campaign. “All those new programs essentially start to cannibalize the other programs.”

Coladipietro said attracting jobs to Illinois is another top priority. He argues our state lags behind in commerce as it loses key business to surrounding states that offer more incentives. This means fewer jobs for residents suffering the effects of the recession, and less tax revenue for Illinois ailing budget.

“We must reduce the cost of doing business in Illinois to attract these jobs,” he said this fall. “That includes lowering the cost of workers' compensation, unemployment insurance and a variety of business regulations.”

Coladipietro also advocates for greater government transparency.

District 45 includes all or parts of Bloomingdale, Carol Stream, Glendale Heights, Glen Ellyn, Roselle, Wheaton and Winfield.