Our Picks for Local Republican Candidates This Election Season

Dear 13th Precinct Neighbor,

     Increasing property taxes have driven people out of their homes and out of Illinois.

The Chicago Democrat Machine's long standing dominance of the Illinois General Assembly has driven

Illinois to become the worst debt-ridden state in the union.  As a Frankfort Township Precinct Committeeman

and resident for the last 28 years, I have gotten to know the all of the candidates on the ballot.

This election is different because of the big differences between the candidates.

Margo McDermed, running for reelection for Illinois House has lived in Frankfort Township for the last four

decades and has never voted to raise taxes. When the last unbalanced Illinois budget was up for a vote, Margo

was one of only 15 principled Republicans who voted NO to this Madigan deficit raising bill.

Margo’s opponent, a personal acquaintance of Speaker Madigan, just moved into the district from Cook

County. His purpose upon election, will be to do Madigan’s bidding.

Laurie McPhillips for Will County Clerk was endorsed by the last two Will County Clerks because of her

outstanding record of public service and integrity.  Laurie’s opponent left Arizona after forging and cashing a

check from the company she suddenly quit. This fact was originally pointed out by her party's primary

opponent. She moved to the Midwest and never has made restitution for the money she stole.

Steve Weber running for re-election as Will County Treasurer also has lived in Frankfort Township his

whole life and every year he has been in office he has figured out how to save taxpayers many millions of

dollars with tight fiscal controls and outstanding investments.  Steve’s opponent was previously turned out of

office as a Joliet City Councilman by the voters, for his part in a public housing scandal in Joliet.

Jim Reilly running for Will County Sheriff  is a highly educated, experienced and decorated law enforcement

professional.  The Democrat incumbent Sheriff’s policy is NOT to turn over arrested illegal aliens to ICE.

As a result, one such individual was just sentenced to 80 years in prison for rapes committed after being

released from custody despite an ICE immigration detainer.  

Judge Ben Braun who lives in Frankfort Township and Judge Victoria McKay Kennison are outstanding

jurists who have both been recommended by the Bar Association.

You can vote from home when it is convenient for you by requesting a Vote-By-Mail ballot from the Will

County Clerk website at:

https://www.thewillcountyclerk.com/elections/voter-services/vote-by-mail/vote-by-mail-ballot-request-form/

Simply fill out the form and send it in. Some Robo-callers delete your phone number from their lists after your

ballot is sent in so you could expect to get a drop in the number of such calls.

Robert Swale

13th Precinct Committeeman

Frankfort Township

Tired of High Property Taxes? - Who to Vote For This Election

Maybe you've already made up your mind on the Presidential election. Maybe your a life-long Democrat who believes in his/her's party's presidential candidate. I have a few of those as friends and neighbors and yet we still get along (probably because we don't choose to talk politics during our gatherings).

Yet, many times over a nice cocktail, I will hear complaints about the rise in local property taxes, or the state income tax increase that was passed just after the 2010 election. I will normally listen passively, not wanting to ruin the evening by reminding my friends that the people who normally support tax increases are Democrats and those who oppose them are Republicans. I will just sit there passively, nod my head and ask for more peanuts or another beer.

But now its election time and people need to understand who is behind the things they complain about. Take some of our local candidates for example - the people who have a direct bearing on how high your taxes will be - the ones who actually vote or affect the local tax levy, which directly calculates out to how much you pay for your property taxes.

Let's look first at Cory Singer, running for County Executive. Cory is President of the Will County Forest Preserve District. Back when the recession first hit, Cory could have kept everything on auto pilot and raked in the cash through an increased tax levy and made the Forest Preserve District employees happy by raising their salaries. Instead, Cory recognized what was going on: there was a recession, property values were going down, people were out of work and losing their homes. Should the people who directly depend on these taxes ride along with no impact, or should they, like the rest of the community they serve, have to tighten their belt? Cory chose the latter case and acted by not allowing any salary increases during the recession. His opponent Mr. Lawrence Walsh, is infamous for saying he wanted to tax Will County Residents "to the max." Mr. Walsh's approach is to seek ways to raise your taxes, despite your struggles and he will keep on doing so if he is reelected. Cory has the proven track record when it comes to making choices between what is best for taxpayers versus government employees.  Taxpayers will be the winners under Cory Singer.

Next let's consider Chuck Lyons, running for Will County Coroner. Chuck often jokes that he is the "last person anyone wants to talk to" but he is very serious about his sought after job. Chuck believes that the job of Coroner is an extremely important one and that the people he serves are those who have no voice to speak for themselves. Looking at the mess his opponent made of the Drew Peterson trial - where his opponent, Patrick O'Neil, declared the death of Peterson's second wife "accidental" - one can begin to see his point. The Coroner's job is to make sure that the dead get a fair shake. If the Coroner cannot do the job, he/she is accountable to the public by virtue of the ballot box. Although the Coroner doesn't have much say in his yearly budget, Chuck's opponent apparently thinks paying Lawrence Walsh's sister $90K a year as his secretary is a good use of County funds. Its time to show Mr. O'Neil the door.

Marlene Carlson, running for the mundane office of Circuit Clerk actually has some fresh ideas to modernize this office and have it better serve the taxpayers of Will County. Say you have some business with the court downtown. Today, you would have to take the time to drive from your home to the Will County Circuit Clerk's office to pay your court fees, etc. Not only do you owe money, but you have to pay it during regular business hours, potentially costing you double in lost employment pay. Under Marlene's plan, you would be able to pay for your court fees online from the comfort of your home. Plus the costs of her office would either not grow or would grow slowly over time, since less staff would be needed to process payments. Marlene's opponent, Ms. McGuire, wants to keep things as they are. Presumably to pay for all of her family members and campaign contributors presently working for her in the clerk's office. Between her and Mr. Walsh above, the tab for taxpayers comes to a whopping $750,000 per year for Will County taxpayers. Time to rethink Ms. McGuire.

Laurie McPhillips is a real estate professional and small business owner who started much needed reforms during her first term in office. First elected in 2004, Laurie began a series of modernization efforts to ensure that previous problems in the office such as lost or incomplete property transaction records, and lost proof of complete mortgage repayment records were eliminated. Imagine paying your mortgage for 30 years, only to find that the Recorder of Deeds had lost your proof of final payment. Something that occasionally took place. Laurie implemented a state-of-the-art land records system and she reduced expenses by voluntarily cutting personnel costs. She also opened the first satellite office in Bolingbrook to better serve Will County taxpayers. The current incumbent stopped her reforms while taking credit for what she started. Keeping an accurate accounting of who owns what property and how much that property is sold for is key to maintaining a fair and equitable property tax system in our County. Laurie will ensure that the reforms she started will be completed if she is elected. Additionally, Laurie has been endorsed by the public employees who work in the Recorder of Deeds office, despite their current employment under her opponent Karen Stukel.

Please consider Margo McDermed and Tom Weigel both running for Will County Board in the 12th District. Margo represents a strong, conservative voice for common sense in county government. Margo is an attorney who oversaw the legal department in BP Amoco's world headquarters, supervising a staff of over 30 employees. Margo's corporate experience plus her austere approach to government finance is needed on the County Board to ensure that our taxes aren't raised. Her Democrat opponents have it in with the Cook County Democrats who would like nothing better than to have a chance to transfer our tax dollars to Cook County to prop up failed Democrat programs. In Cook County each household is $32,000 in debt. In Will County, each household is $12 in debt. You do the math. Tom Weigel has been a County Board member for 8 years and advocated the new Silver Cross Hospital construction, a gem for Will County Residents. Tom is fiscally conservative and represents another vote on the County Board against the redistributive policies favored by Cook County Democrats and their allies in Will County.

Edgar Montalvo, running for State Senator from the 19th District, represents hard work, selflessness and an infinite sense of community service. Edgar served two tours and three years in Iraq rebuilding that torn nation and he wants to use his skills to "rebuild Illinois."  Edgar has a wealth of experience in finance and management and is a small business owner. Edgar will vote to change the disincentives that Illinois erects to chase away or discourage business from settling in Illinois. Edgar will vote to repeal the 67% tax increase passed in 2010 and obsolete worker compensation laws. Edgar wants to eliminate the current fraud and abuse in the state pension system.  Unlike his opponent, who is in the pocket of the teachers unions and is opposed to teacher performance measures, merit pay and charter schools; Edgar believes in school reform, real pension reform and in all cases, keeping taxes low and expectations high.  Probably highest on the list of reasons to vote for Edgar is his history as a taxpayer. Edgar has lived in the 19th Senate District for over 20 years and has dutifully paid his property taxes. He knows how much of a burden property taxes can be on a family's finances. His opponent does not own a home and as a sitting member of the Sandburg High School District Board, has shown his true colors. Instead of being responsible, he opted to extend his high school glory days as a football player by voting to spend $3M on artificial turf for Sandburg's football fields. This despite his district having one of the highest pension liabilities in the state.

Folks, if we want to keep our taxes low we have to elect fiscally responsible people to represent us. The people I have presented above all want to increase the efficiencies of the services they will provide or will work to prevent reckless spending by County and State governments. It is up to you to decide if you want more of the same in the form of high taxes for questionable results; or lower or at least stable taxes and improved services. If you vote for the people listed above, it will be a good start.

Why Vote Republican This Fall In Obama's Home State?

As I've walked around the precinct this election season gathering signatures for Edgar Montalvo, our state senate hopeful, or knocking on doors to place yard signs, I've heard several comments to the effect of: My vote doesn't count anyway because Obama has the state wrapped up, so why vote?

The answer is simple. If we are going to stop the corruption, the dirty deals, the "pay to play" politics, the excessive taxation and crushing debt in this state we will have to put honest, fiscally conservative, small government Republicans in office at all levels of government.

Let's look at what has transpired over the past past decade with Democrats in control of the Governorship and both State Houses:

The cost of and spending by state government has increased while the population has decreased. As you know, we have all seen our state income taxes go up and have heard about the State's financial woes while neighboring states have fixed their fiscal problems. Census data from the 2010 census, show that Cook county and the City of Chicago have seen an extensive loss of population. In fact, the loss has been so great that only New Orleans after Katrina has seen greater losses than Cook County and Chicago. We didn't experience a Katrina in Illinois, so what happened?

What happened was a continuation of the failed policies established by one party Democrat rule at the State, Cook County and Chicago levels. Think about what you've read and heard over the past decade. Whenever there is a shortage of revenue in Chicago or Cook County, what is the first thing that the Cook County President, Mayor of Chicago or State Democrat leadership call for? A tax increase! Do they ever say they want to find places to make cuts in their budgets? Never.

Cook County Democrats look with disdain at business owners, the real drivers of revenue and prosperity, and consider them to be "the rich." Business owners employ people, people who work, contribute to the economy and pay taxes. Because Democrats favor government solutions over private ones, they think that taxing and regulating business owners is the answer to issues such as unemployment and the lack of funding for state services. As a result of this hostile climate, business owners then leave the city, county and state and take their payroll and tax revenue with them.  

Despite the 2010 election results, the Democrats were able to redistrict the state as they saw fit. The result? Despite a breathtaking loss of population in their former strongholds, they maintained enough power to extend their Federal and State legislator's districts out into Will County. That is why we have Congressman Bobby Rush as our current representative in Congress. Now this election gives us a choice between Rush, who doesn't represent our interests and who doesn't attend half of the legislative sessions he's supposed to, and Don Peloquin, who is a small business owner who refuses to be chased out by Rush's policies. The redistricting also affected our local state legislative districts. We still have Renee Kosel as our State Representative but we lost Christine Radogno as our State Senator. We now have a choice to make between a small business owner who pays taxes in the form of Edgar Montalvo, and a new member of the Cook County Democrat apparatchik who lives with his parents outside the district he is supposed to represent.

The current state economy shows what is in store for Will County if we cannot keep the Democrats out. Because Democrats had substantial majorities in the State Houses they got to redraw the maps. After chasing businesses and people out of their districts, they now need to come after us in Will County for the revenue. Cook County politicians view Will County as a big healthy dog and they are the tick. They intend to suck us dry of our taxes to continue to fund their failed policies and programs.

Examples include: The RTA sales tax. This is a prime example of Democrat desires to redistribute wealth back to Cook County and the City of Chicago. We in Will County send .75% of our sales tax revenue to the RTA, which is controlled by City Democrats. We receive little in the way of any extra services. In fact, most of the money is taken by the RTA to pay for the pensions of CTA and Cook County RTA workers. An example of payoff for political support by their union over the years.

Here are some facts for you to think about as you decide who to vote for in this coming election:

Will County, currently controlled mostly by fiscally conservative Republicans, has a per capita debt of $3 for every person residing in Will County. Cook County households face a staggering debt of over $32,000 per household or $8,000 per capita assuming families of four.

According to both Edgar Montalvo and Don Peloquin, there are enough Republican and independent voters in the 1st Congressional District and in the 19th Senate District to elect Don Peloquin and Edgar Montalvo. But these voters need to turn out.

So is there a reason to vote in this election even if Obama is likely to win the state? If you want to keep the quality of life you enjoy here in Will County you need to get out and vote for Republicans this cycle. If you don't and Democrats take over control of Will County, you will see your taxes go up and your quality of life go down as more and more people and businesses are chased out. This is a future that one shudders to even think about.

Early Voting Roundup - The Best Candidates To Vote For

Early voting opportunities begin Monday October 22nd and stretch until November 3rd. Election Day is Tuesday November 6th. With those dates in mind we are making available our recommended candidate selections for voters in the 13th Precinct. Hopefully this guide will help ensure that 13th Precinct voters are well informed when they choose to vote.

This guide can be printed out and taken with you to the voting booth. However, you may not show it to others when inside the polling place or within the 100 foot boundary from the entrance to the polling place.

Below are our recommendations and endorsements for the upcoming election:

 

President of the United States (Vote for One)

☐   Mitt Romney (R)

Successful businessman, turnaround pro. Saved the Olympics. Has a wealth of executive experience. Will repeal Obamacare.

☐   Barack Obama (D)

Incumbent with >3.5 years of 8%+ unemployment, increased debt by $5 trillion+. No plan to balance the budget or any plan for that matter.

☐   Gary Johnson

The Libertarian candidate. A vote for Johnson is a vote for Obama.

☐   Jill Stein

Green Party - Marxism colored green.

U.S. House of Representatives – District 1 (Vote for One)

☐   Donald E. Peloquin (R)

Don Peloquin is a small business owner and the mayor of Blue Island. As Blue Island mayor, Don has successfully worked with local, state, and federal governments to benefit the South Suburbs. Mokena Mayor Joe Warner has endorsed Don. Don believes in Congressional term limits and vows to not run more than two terms. Don is endorsed by the Chicago Tribune.

☐   Bobby L. Rush (D)

Former defense minister of the Black Panthers street gang. Fails to attend over half of Congressional sessions.

Illinois State Senate - District 19 (Vote for One)

☐     Edgar Montalvo (R)

Edgar Montalvo is a retired U.S. Army Colonel and an Iraq War veteran having served three years there. Edgar has a wealth of experience in finance and management and is a small business owner. Edgar will vote to change the disincentives that Illinois erects to chase away or discourage business from settling in Illinois. Edgar will vote to repeal the 67% tax increase passed in 2010 and obsolete worker compensation laws. Edgar wants to eliminate the current fraud and abuse in the state pension system. Edgar will put limits on pension system double dippers. Edgar is endorsed by the Chicago Tribune.

☐   Michael E. Hastings (D)

Son of $200K/year “triple dipping” Cook County Democrat. Called his opponent a “weekend warrior” despite his opponent’s three years in Iraq. He is against charter schools and other proven ideas to improve education.

Chief Executive Officer (Vote for One)

☐      Cory Singer (R)

Frankfort Township’s own Cory Singer represents a sensible voice for local government spending restraint during hard economic times. As President of the Forest Preserve District and Will County Board member, Cory stood against the big spenders and those in county politics who favor Chicago and Cook County over their own community. Cory will be a strong voice for Will County, protecting our interests and our hard-earned tax dollars from corrupt Cook County and State politicians, while promoting our county to attract new business.  Cory will NOT raise county taxes.

☐   Lawrence M. "Larry" Walsh (D)

Stood by while Jesse Jackson Jr. tried to cheat Will County taxpayers over Peotone Airport. Silently allowed Cook County Dems to impose CTA tax on Will County residents. Wants to “tax to the max” Will County residents. His own home town is poised to vote against him.

State's Attorney (Vote for One)

☐      Dave Carlson (R)

Endorsed by Joliet, Will County and Bolingbrook police. Wants to tackle heroin epidemic and domestic abuse problems.

☐   James W. Glasgow (D)

 Dismisses 60% of domestic abuse cases despite tough rhetoric. Not endorsed by a single Will County police department.

Coroner (Vote For One)

☐      Charles Lyons (R)

Wants to minimize administrative staff and increase deputy training. Believes in office holder’s integrity and small government.

☐   Patrick K. O'Neil (D)

Employs the County Executive’s sister as his secretary for $90K/year. Determined Drew Peterson’s wife’s death “accidental.”

 

Circuit Clerk (Vote for One)

☐     Marlene Carlson (R)

Marlene Carlson is a former resident of the 13^th Precinct and a 20-year IT professional. Marlene will use her experience to modernize the Clerk’s office using the power of the Internet. Her goal is to reduce cost and increase customer service. Marlene opposes the nepotism and partisanship of the current incumbent.

☐   Pamela J. "Pam" McGuire (D)

Partisan Democrat. In office to serve herself and provide her family and friends with government jobs.

Recorder of Deeds (Vote for One)

☐     Laurie McPhillips (R)

Small business owner, former Recorder of Deeds who lost reelection in the 2008 Obama wave. Wants to resume her modernization efforts. Endorsed by the Recorder of Deeds employees union.

☐   Karen A. Stukel (D)

Refused to respond to Chicago Tribune and Daily Herald questionnaires.

County Auditor (Vote for One)

☐     Mark Batinick (R)

Wants to incentivize small businesses to settle in Will County. Wants to reform township governments to eliminate nepotism.

☐   Duffy Blackburn (D)

Violated campaign disclosure laws.

Board Member District 12 (Vote for Two)

☐     Margo McDermed (R)

Mokena’s own Margo McDermed represents a strong, conservative female voice for common sense in county government. Margo will oppose all tax and user fee increases, will balance the budget and welcome business back to Will County. Mokena Mayor Joe Warner endorses Margo.

☐     Tom Weigel (R)

Tom Weigel is a veteran and has been a County Board member for 8 years and advocated the new Silver Cross Hospital construction. Tom chairs the County Board’s Land Use and Development Committee. Mokena Mayor Joe Warner endorses Tom.

☐   Santino Lettieri (D)

Finished last in contested race for village trustees 

☐   John J. Sanchez, Jr. (D)

Self-Described  “Luddite” (a person opposed to increased industrialization or new technology)

Third Judicial District Appellate Judge (Retention)

NO for Tom M. Lytton

Partisan politics influence his decisions

YES for Daniel L. Schmidt

Judge Schmidt is a conservative jurist who believes in not legislating from the bench. He should be retained.

Twelfth Judicial Circuit Judge (Retention)

YES for Daniel J. Rozak

Judge Rozak is a no-nonsense judge who is tough on criminals. He should be retained.

Proposed Amendment to the 1970 Illinois Constitution

☐ YES

Will require a 3/5ths majority vote to increase any State employee pension benefits. Will make it harder to impose excessive government pensions.

☐ No

Will leave things as they are

Michael Hastings and the Chicago Teachers Strike

In light of recent events, we thought it a good idea to point out how Mr. Hastings positions on education compare with those held by the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU). Some of his more interesting positions found on his issues page include: 

Hastings' Position: Allow "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) To Expire.

The CTU is definitely in favor of this one. NCLB is big on accountability and testing students to assess the performance of their teachers and their school. Probably the main issue in the CTU strike is the union's unwillingness to have teacher job performance judged against performance indicators such as test scores.  They desperately want the NCLB or anything like it to expire and Michael Hastings gives them his full support. 

  Hastings' Position:  Charter Schools

• It is unfair to keep establishing charter schools when the real goal is to increase the quality of education statewide
• Charter schools are essentially making a two-tier education system, separate and unequal
• Let’s focus on improving the schools that we already have in place, rather than creating new ones

Michael Hastings is correct about one thing, Charter Schools are unequal to the schools run by the CTU. They cost less - teachers salaries average $49K/year in Chicago's non-union charter schools versus $76K/year in CTU run schools - and they produce better results. A study by the Illinois Policy Institute looked at Chicago's open-enrollment, non-selective high schools (meaning all Chicago students may apply to go there) and found that nine of the ten top performers were charter schools. 

What Mr. Hastings finds unfair should not be the establishment of more charter schools; instead he should be arguing about the unfairness of paying CTU members 55% more for being above average only 10% of time. His proposal to  "...focus on improving the schools we already have in place, rather than creating new ones.." misses a big point. Charter schools are the improvement. By eliminating union work rules, demanding excellence from teachers and students and weeding out incompetency, the Charter Schools that Mr. Hastings decries are in fact making improvements. The key to success is not to stop establishing charter schools. Instead, the key to educational excellence is to make all of the schools charter schools.

This concept is something that the CTU and their new ally: State Senate Candidate Michael Hastings, refuse to contemplate.

Coffee For Edgar Montalvo September 20th 7 pm

My wife and I are hosting a coffee for our neighbors in the precinct to come meet Edgar Montalvo. The date: Thursday September 20th. The time: 7:00 pm. If you wish to attend please email your RSVP at frankfort13threpubs@gmail.com or you may contact me via Twitter or Facebook.

Hope to see you there!

A Look At Michael Hastings, Democrat Running for the 19th District Senate In Illinois

As part of our ongoing interest in the happenings of local and State politics, we decided to take a look to see what the Democrat competition looks like for Illinois' 19th Senatorial District. Our query led us to a web site at http://www.hastings2012.com 

Of particular interest was the Issues page we found there. Candidates issues pages frequently reveal their stance on issues of importance to voters, since voters frequently decide how they will vote based on a candidate's given stance on critical issues. What is interesting to note is that Mr. Hastings seemingly adopts some Republican concepts on key issues. This would normally give us hope, thinking that the Democrats are finally seeing the light. But we are forced to remember where we live. You see, we live in Illinois where Democrats have been entirely in charge of the state government for the past decade. Given the mess they have made of things, it is no wonder that Democrats are nervous as the electorate is in the mood for change. The best way of course to counteract this problem is to make your candidacy appear identical to that of your opponent and rely on party loyalty to carry you through to victory. Then after the election you can reveal your true identity.

Our purpose here is to point out where Mr. Hastings positions on the issues might sound Republican or conservative, but they are in actuality thinly veiled standard Democrat positions on the issues that have failed our State over the years. Democrats try to hide their positions when they are in trouble or where their stands on the issues don't fit with voters values. 


Number one on our list is the fact that Mr. Hastings predecessor left because she knew she would be voted out of office. And the reason why? Because she voted for the 67% tax increase on Illinois families. Conspicuously absent from Mr. Hastings' web site is any promise to even consider repealing that law. In fact, the closest he comes to saying anything about taxation at all is where he states: "The key to retaining businesses in Illinois is to maintain a level of taxation and regulatory oversight to fund governmental operations." If anyone can tell us what that means exactly we would be interested in knowing what it is. Our sense is he means as long as government is fully funded, no matter how burdensome it is, he will keep on taxing and regulating at the same levels. We have seen what happens when Democrats raise taxes and regulate with abandon, it isn't pretty and our state unemployment rate reflects it.

Looking further on his issues page we found several interesting stances. We have broken it down by subject area to give you our take.  The issues listed here are from Mr. Hastings' Issues page recently taken from his web site:

Getting Illinois Financial House in Order

>  ZERO BASED BUDGETING

• Begin with zero based budgeting practices and cut all non-essential personnel and services.
• Illinois currently takes in approximately $34 billion in revenues and spends approximately $43 billion. The net result a budget deficit of $9 billion
• The legislature must be committed to balancing the budget and eliminate reckless spending  

 >  STOP BORROWING TO PAY OUR BILLS

• Illinois pays $5 billion in interest annually – an unbelievable amount resulting in almost 15% of our state budget

>  ELIMINATION OF THE LEGISLATIVE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM 

• Unless the legislature agrees to impose objective guidelines on its members to award the scholarships instead of handing them out as political favors, I will vote to abolish the program

>  CANCELLING THE STATE COMMISSION SYSTEM

• Other than the parole board, I am not sure there is a need for all the different commissions on every subject

• There should be one omnibus board that has oversight over all departments

So are we to believe that Michael Hastings, a Democrat, is going to cut spending? Stop borrowing? That he will heroically rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic by putting all those people in all those commissions into one "ominous" board? While he knows that the people want to hear and believe that as a Democrat he will do these things, people should realize that he will do what he is told to do by James Cullerton, Senate Leader.

Mr. Cullerton and Mr. Madigan, leaders of the Illinois State Senate and the General Assembly, respectively, have no intention of doing any of these things. Had they, they would have done them already. Having held absolute power for over 10 years, why would they change? Mr. Hastings, as a Democrat, simply has no credibility on taxation and spending issues, because putting him in office ensures the same leadership will remain and no change will occur. His predecessor voted to increase your taxes, voted to borrow and spend more and voted to run deficits. Why should we think he will do any different as a freshman senator under the control of Mr. Cullerton? We shouldn't.

 Hastings on Pension Reform:

>  OVERVIEW:   

• There is nothing more unfair than working your whole life with the expectation of a pension benefit, then to be told the people in charge either stole it or mismanaged it to the point where it is insolvent.   This has happened continuously with Congress raiding the pension funds, expanding benefits
• The bottom line is that government officials over a period of time lacked political fortitude and competence to pay the employers fair share and manage the funds correctly.  The problem that exists now only has two solutions:  do employees want to lose it all or do they want to lose some of it

>  MY VIEW ON SENATE BILL 512

• I support Senate Bill 512 giving state workers three options going forward:  1.) paying more into the system to maintain their scheduled benefits 2.) Paying the same for a smaller defined benefit or 3.) moving to a 401(k) –style defined contribution plan

>  PENSION PLAN REFORM

• We need to protect the unions (i.e. teachers, firefighters, police, etc.) by providing them a place at the table when negotiating and discussing any matters regarding pension reform.  Legislators are not investment bankers, nor should they be managing or determining over the future of people’s lives 
• Rather than choosing “riskier” funds that give a higher rate of return in the Teachers Retirement System (TRS), we need to reinvest back into it.  The TRS has been raided time and time again by the state legislature and is comparable to a modern day “Ponzi Scheme” 
• Pension Shortfalls: Pension funds are on target to go bankrupt because the state overpromised what it could deliver, then began shorting the funds on going back as far as 10 years ago
• Currently, there is no way to fund the pensions without the cooperation of the retirees with some or all of the following options:

1. Increasing retirement age

2. Increasing co-payments for health benefits or mandating managed care programs

3. Decreasing benefit payouts

Mr. Hastings makes a critical point in all of this discussion and that is this little nugget: "Pension funds are on target to go bankrupt because the state overpromised what it could deliver, then began shorting the funds on going back as far as 10 years ago" Funny isn't it, that this is precisely the period of time his party has held control of both state houses and the governorship? We agree with him that "...moving to a 401(k) –style defined contribution plan" is a great option. In fact such a move would be a win-win for the state and for the teachers, fire fighters and police that pay into these pensions. That would give them ultimate individual control over their own destinies and prevent their funds from being raided by greedy politicians seeking reelection. In fact, such a system would keep everyone honest. There would be no more recalibrating your retirement benefit by getting a big raise your last three years of employment; or filling in as a substitute teacher so you could collect a six figure retirement on a five figure salary.

Who among us seriously thinks that Mr. Hastings, son of a long-time Cook County Democrat politician who is seeking this government job, is going to actually vote to take control of pensions away from politicians and give it to the workers where it belongs? By ceding control of the State pensions to the very workers who earned them, elected officials would not be able to blackmail for campaign cash or garner votes from the workers to keep their pensions intact. So bottom line, don't expect much in the way of fair and effective pension reform from a Cook County Democrat whose party has been in control over the period of time that this crisis was hatched and grew into the albatross it is today.

Education in Illinois

>  ALLOW "NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND" (NCLB) TO EXPIRE

>  REDUCE DEPENDENCY ON STANDARDIZED TESTS AS A MEASURE OF GROWTH

• We need to move away from teaching our students how to take a test and prepare them for the challenges of the real world
• In 2010, 56 of 665 schools met Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).  In 2011, this number was reduced even more    
• We have set a plan in place to ensure that schools in the State of Illinois fail.  The result is majority of schools in the state not meeting the standards of AYP

>  CHARTER SCHOOLS

• It is unfair to keep establishing charter schools when the real goal is to increase the quality of education statewide
• Charter schools are essentially making a two-tier education system, separate and unequal
• Let’s focus on improving the schools that we already have in place, rather than creating new ones

>  PREPARING OUR STUDENTS TO COMPETE IN A GLOBAL MARKETPLACE

• Illinois needs to invest in our children by expanding vocational education and training programs available to students.  Instead of losing jobs overseas to foreign and cheaper labor, let’s keep the work at home
• We need to ensure all students meet the minimum education standards set by the Common Core to ensure they have the knowledge and skills necessary to compete in today's society
• Recent research has shown that today's students need a higher level of training and education to do what we used to call "blue collar" jobs

>  "ENTREPRENEUR" ILLINOIS

• Expand the subjects fundamental to entrepreneurialism in education (finance, marketing, advertising)
• Rather than being thousands of dollars in debt with no skills to show for it.  Students who major in subjects like aroma therapy, basket weaving, etc.  have the education on what is required to start their own business rather than depending on jobs paying minimum wage working at the mall

>  VALUES & WORK ETHIC STARTS AT HOME

• Under my plan, I will propose legislation that begins a state wide campaign focusing on how families can support their children at home.  Many of our children have difficulties in education due to their environments at home

>  ENSURE THAT THE STATE BUDGET IS NOT BALANCED ON THE BACK OF EDUCATION

• Illinois is falling behind other states in terms of its focus on education.....if we are not spending our money on our children, what are we spending it on? 

• If we do not make the education of our young children a priority, then Illinois will never move forward

Where do we begin with this one? Mr. Hastings it seems has pulled many if not all his opinions from the National Education Association playbook. You know, the people who played hooky from work in Wisconsin to take over the capital building, and protest Scott Walker because he wanted them to pay 5.8% toward their own pension and 12.6% toward their own healthcare benefits?

Mr. Hastings is against No Child Left Behind and standardized testing. Both of these put an emphasis on performance through measurement. While there are many failings in NCLB, one good thing it does is point out that America's schools are not performing well. While the rest of us undergo at least yearly performance reviews and get judged on everything from customer feedback to profitability, teachers (or at least their unions) want no part of that and Mr. Hastings is on their side. 

Mr. Hastings implies that spending should be increased, or at least not decreased "on the back's of students." However, a look at neighboring Wisconsin's per pupil spending over the years (Illinois' underlying data is similar) tells us that spending has increased dramatically over the last five decades while we know that test scores have been static or have decreased. So it can safely be argued that increased spending does not necessarily result in increased test scores. In fact, the opposite point can be made when looking at the performance of Chicago schools, which spend lots per student versus downstate or many suburban schools, which spend less. Educator accountability has been proven to result in increased test scores and better educated students.

The teachers unions that Mr. Hastings emulates in his opinions take issue with accountability because it eventually translates into individual performance measurement. Individual measurement means teachers with seniority will be compared to those with less seniority. Sometimes, those with less seniority will surpass the performance of those with more seniority. As we all know, those with less seniority, no matter how good they are, will be laid off first during any economic downturn and make less money. Teachers who must perform for their pay are more likely to improve children's education for their own sake and the sake of their students.  These teachers would also be less tolerant of unions that protect their incompetent and lazy coworkers. As more competent teachers are kept on, they will be able to absorb the workload of their less competent peers with no downward trend in test scores. More workload means larger class sizes, which means less teachers.

Needless to say, unions are against accountability and merit based rewards, since they have the potential to result in less dues paying members. Increased spending on education means more teachers, more dues paying members and a fat and happy union leadership. Watch the film "Waiting for Superman" if you are skeptic on this point and need to be convinced.

Hastings' opposition to Charter Schools is also troubling yet further telling of his pandering to teachers unions. Charter schools represent some of the only options left for some schools whose teacher populations are entrenched and unwilling to do what is necessary to educate children properly. In charter schools, there aren't as many work rules as in your standard public school. Teachers are expected to show up and do their jobs and do them well or face dismissal. They are not there to hide behind union work rules. The separate but unequal canard used by Mr. Hastings can be turned on its head if one thinks about it. The charter school is the improved school that Mr. Hastings wants. The only problem with the charter school from Mr. Hastings perspective is because  the union is against it, and why? Because it diminishes their power. Shouldn't Mr. Hastings instead be demanding that charter schools be the end result of the improvements he purports to seek, instead of trying to spread the misery evenly under the current system?

Competing in the global marketplace and fostering economic progress should be a goal of education as he suggests. The trouble is, the Democrats in this state have done everything in their power to thwart the best efforts of those with the vision and energy to excel in the marketplace. They have stopped efforts to reform education so that people who have the skills cannot teach our children without the "correct" credentials. This at the behest of their public union allies. They demonize risk takers and entrepreneurs as "The Rich" and vote to raise their taxes 67% to pay for their failed and ridiculous policies and theories. We have no reason to believe that Michael Hastings will actually stand for any of this should he get elected and fall under the control of Mr. Cullerton, whose campaign coffers are filled with union dues.

Whose values would Mr. Hastings promote to families? Would it be those of city politicians like Rahm Emanuel and Joe Moreno who would employ Soviet style tactics to deny business permits to owners of chicken restaurants because they held personal beliefs contrary to Democrat orthodoxy? Are these the sort of values Mr. Hastings would impose? We think the imposition of values is best left at home, considering all the damage done by the Democrats so far to our culture.

Bringing Business Back to Illinois

>  OVERVIEW: 

• Illinois increased the Corporate tax rate 45%
• Illinois increased the Personal Income tax rate 67%
• Unemployment is currently at 10%
• Companies like Sears, CME Group, Motorola are threatening to leave our state

>  MY VIEW ON THE CURRENT BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT:

• The key to retaining businesses in Illinois is to maintain a level of taxation and regulatory oversight to fund governmental operations
• We need to ensure that we take care of the core mission of state government while providing a safety net for the most vulnerable in our society – children, the elderly, the disabled and the indigent
• Businesses and individuals can flourish to their full potential if we let them operate to their highest ability in a free market
• I do not support large incentives to private companies and would prefer that those same funds be used to retain and attract small businesses, which make up the bulk of the business revenue to the state

>  BRINGING BUSINESS BACK TO ILLINOIS PLAN: 

• Construction of Peotone Airport

• Workman's Compensation Reform

• Pension Reform

• Expand tax credits to companies that bring technology and innovation jobs to Illinois.

• Create "Tax Increment Financing (TIF) - like" districts specifically for areas zoned for technology and innovation development.

• Create a tax incentive program for companies that bring "Green" manufacturing jobs to Illinois.