Rock Island Today

Jeffery Orton wonders when lawmakers in Springfield will start to perform their jobs more in line with what voters expect from them.

“No one you talk to wants to see taxes raised any higher than where they already are,” Orton told Rock Island Today. “Yet, we’re spending all this time talking about doing just that. You wonder who these politicians think they are really working for.”

Running for re-election on the Henry County board in November’s general election, Orton said he wants to be part of the movement to bring common sense government back to Illinois.

“We’ve got to change the attitude in Springfield from its anti-business posture,” Orton said. “Yes, the state probably needs more revenue, but you’ve got to have more jobs to generate that. People are already stretched enough; you can’t just keep trying to tax your way out of the problem. The population steadily declining should tell you something.”

The state also needs to come up with a sensible plan for paying down all its already incurred debt before even thinking of adding more, Orton said.

“I’m a fiscal conservative and everything about who I am says you have to pay off your debts,” he said. “I’m of the belief it will take major change in Springfield for us to get to a point where we take that seriously.”

Orton sees that change as starting and ending with longtime House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago).

“He’s got to go,” he said. “There’s really no question about that.”

Nestled in Northwestern Illinois, Henry County is composed of rolling farmland and is known mainly for its production of corn, soybean and cattle.

Orton was voted to the board in 2014, and lives in nearby Geneseo with his wife and children.