Rock Island Today

Savannna Mayor Tony McCombie, the Republican candidate for the District 71 state House seat, recently talked with Kelli Grubbs, host of the Quad Cities' Newsleaders show, about what led her to run for the state House.

"As the mayor, with everything going on with the state of Illinois, the more I learned, the more disgruntled I got," McCombie told Grubbs. "Rather than complain about it, I was raised to do something. So I came forward and did a lot of research and soul-searching. Because as we get older, we want to do things that we're going to make a difference. So that's what I'm doing."

| Contributed photo

As mayor, McCombie worked to deliver balanced budgets for her city, which did not borrow any money or raise taxes. McCombie worked with the available revenue to provide the necessary services to residents.

When asked to identify her top two or three budget goals, McCombie explained her stance on the state's budget.

"To balance it is the top goal," McCombie said.

McCombie said that while voters want to talk about the budget, it should not be the top issue. McCombie said the budget is the "constitutional responsibility of those in office."

McCombie agreed that legislative reforms are necessary. Medicaid, workers' compensation, the state procurement process – all could use reforms that would help legislators balance the budget.

"I certainly don't think it's the time for us to be talking about any sort of tax increases," McCombie told Grubbs. "We, as taxpayers, continue to pay for the decisions made by those in office, and I feel they've been making some bad decisions, and we shouldn't have to pay for those."

McCombie also discussed her stance on the budget impasse and said she found it incomprehensible that the governor and legislative leaders have not been able to work together to benefit their constituents. McCombie said, using Grubbs and herself as an example, "It's not about me and you; it's about them."

McCombie made it clear that she didn't want to get involved with the ongoing bickering that appears to interfere with lawmakers' work in Springfield.

"I just want to represent the people of my district and do what I'm going to be voted to do," McCombie said.

Grubbs also asked McCombie about Exelon and the upcoming closure of two nuclear power plants. The power provider decided to close the Clinton Power Station in June 2017 and the Quad Cities Generating Station in June 2018. The closures will affect up to 4,200 direct and indirect jobs, including 1,500 plant workers.

The decision to close the plants was made after the Assembly refused to allow rate increases, despite Illinois receiving 92 percent of its carbon-free electricity from nuclear power plants. The two Illinois plants have lost $800 million in the last seven years.

"I stand with Exelon," McCombie said. "We all get an incentive, or we don't all get an incentive. I think we all need to level the playing field, and we need to do that in politics as well. The sides are so unbalanced, and so it's hard to get things done."

McCombie said she's more interested in the bottom line than in the politics of revitalizing the Illinois economy and bringing in new jobs.

"If we have people working here, they're going to live here, and if we can increase our property in our property base, in our tax base, we're not going to have to continue to raise our tax rates," she said. "I think that's ultimately the most important thing for our district."