Endorsement: Crespo for House Dist. 44

This endorsement is a consensus opinion of the Daily Herald Editorial Board.

Fred Crespo has been a steady hand in the General Assembly for 16 years, representing the 44th House District.

The Hoffman Estates Democrat is on the steering committee of the Moderate Caucus in the House and over the years has enjoyed the support of a number of Republican leaders in his district.

We need more people like him in state government in this time of deep partisan division.

Since his early days in the House, Crespo has served in various roles on education committees. We appreciate that commitment to schools.

He may not be a flashy legislator, but he is consistent, always thoughtful and levelheaded.

When his Republican opponent, Hoffman Estates resident Patrick Brouillette, found himself out of work during the COVID-19 pandemic, he dusted himself off and started a business of his own. We applaud his grit.

He also got angry - about Gov. JB Pritzker's mask mandate, about school closures, about the cost of things, about high taxes. He got mad enough to decide to run for election.

But his platform is what you might expect from someone with no political experience: eliminate the state income tax, cut property taxes by more than half, forbid mask mandates, have no restrictions on guns and eliminate taxes on senior citizens. He offers no thoughts on how to accomplish these goals.

Crespo is endorsed.

The district includes portions of Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates, Streamwood and Bartlett.