Rock Island Today

Savanna Mayor Tony McCombie believes it is time for change to come in Illinois. 

The Republican candidate for House District 71 is calling for several reforms in Springfield that she hopes will correct the path on which Illinois walks.

Among the changes she hopes to see is remapping of the legislative districts. The remapping effort hit a roadblock, however, when Cook County Circuit Judge Diane Larsen ruled that it did not meeting the requirements of the Illinois Constitution. The state Supreme Court is now considering the ruling on appeal.

McCombie asserts that the decision was a blow to the voters of the state.

“I fully support redistricting reform,” McCombie told Rock Island Today. “ (Judge Larsen’s) ruling is another hit to the people of Illinois. The current mapping process is ineffective because those in control do not know how to play honestly or fairly with others.” 

The mayor insists that Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan and his party fail to grasp the will of the people. She entrusts that the Illinois Supreme Court will judge rightly on the redistricting effort. 

“Madigan and his team are in control, and they need to understand that people are fed up with the way they do business,” she said. “I am hopeful that the Illinois Supreme Court will side with voters and allow them an opportunity to have their voices heard on this amendment.”

Having representatives listen to them are something voters desire in their leaders; however, the voices of the voters are dimming due to a thinning population. Many prime working-age adults and millennials are leaving the state to seek better opportunities elsewhere. This comes in light of another month of job loss and a shrinking workforce in June. 

“Until we create jobs in Illinois, we are not going to be increasing our tax base,” McCombie said. “Without job creation there is no increase in tax base but rather an increase in tax rate. My goal would be increasing the tax base rather than the tax rate.”

Increasing the tax base and improving the economy will help the fiscal crisis the state faces due to alleged financial mismanagement. Adding to this strain is the state’s backlog of bills, which is projected to reach $10 billion by the end of 2016. 

McCombie asserts that leaders cannot wait until after the election to tackle the difficult problem.

“It’s pretty simple: those that are in office should not be waiting until after the election to pass a balanced budget,” McCombie said. “We’ve gone way too many years without consideration to the tax payers’ dollar. It’s time that both parties to work together. They have to come up with a compromise. If Madigan cannot leave his party to compromise then it’s time for him to leave the office.” 

The mayor is hopeful that both sides of the floor at the capitol can unite and work out a solution.

“I believe the rank and file can work together to compromise to come up with a balanced budget. If we don’t have a balanced budget, then that backlog of bills is going to continue to grow and it’s going to continue to chase people out of Illinois.” 

If both parties cannot resolve the problems facing Illinois, then the state may need fresh faces in office. The call for term limits has been strong with Gov. Bruce Rauner promising to push it to the general assembly for  discussion.

McCombie supports Rauner’s initiative and favors term limits 

“I am proud to support term limits,” McCombie said in a statement. “It’s time to bring new ideas and fresh faces to state government. I will be a strong supporter of legislative term limits and independent redistricting, reforms needed to change the culture of corruption in Springfield."

McCombie calls out her opponent, Democratic Rep. Mike Smiddy, for being against term limits and protecting the interest of his party instead of the voters. 

“By opposing term limits, Mike Smiddy is proving he'd rather protect the politicians in power than empower the voters,” she said. “We need term limits to change the culture in Springfield and fix the broken status quo.”

McCombie is a passionate believer of fixing Illinois, and she asserts that term limits and fair mapping will be a big step toward curbing the mismanagement that has plagued the state. She concludes that all of Illinois needs to take a stand and work toward a better future for the state. 

"Term limits and fair legislative maps are the first step toward reversing decades of corruption, waste and burdensome taxes that have ruined our economy,” McCombie said. “We need to take a stand and fix their corrupt system and bring back sanity to Illinois. As your state representative, I will fight for common-sense reforms, and proudly support term limits and the fair map initiative."