Mike Smith (D-Canton)
Address: 1148 N. First Ave., Canton, IL 61520
Age: 43
Occupation: Full-time legislator
Marital status/children: Married (Donna), no children
Educational background: B.A. from Bradley University
Elective or appointive public offices:
State Representative (1994-present)
Canton Township trustee (1991-94)
Organizations of which you are a member: Canton, East Peoria and Pekin chambers of commerce, Knights of Colombus, Moose Lodge
What is the biggest issue facing our state on which you want to focus?
Without a doubt our biggest issue in state government is the current fiscal crisis.
What are some of the positive changes you want to initiate?
My top priorities are: to work for job creation and retention to grow our economy, to continue fighting for fiscal responsibility in state government, to continue working to restore trust in government through reform efforts and to help ensure the best education system possible.
East Peoria is largely covered by the 91st district. What do you think is the most pressing thing that needs attention in the city, and how will you help to achieve it?
Job growth and economic development are pressing concerns throughout the district. I will continue to work with city officials and community leaders to help achieve this goal and to be an ambassador and ombudsman between the city and state.
What do you want voters to know?
I am proud of my record of service in the General Assembly. We face serious issues in Springfield that demand serious leaders. I constantly strive to approach my job with honesty, sincerity and plain common sense. I enjoy the opportunity to assist individuals with their problems or concerns. Constituent service is a very important part of my job. I want the voters to know that they have in me someone that they can trust in government and that is always willing to listen, serve and act on their behalf.
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Mike Unes (R-East Peoria)
Address: Citizens for Unes, PO Box 8171, East Peoria, IL 61611-8171
Age: 35
Occupation: director of recruitment and network administrator for Heinold-Banwart, the largest privately held accounting firm in Central Illinois.
Marital Status/ Children: Married to wife, Natalie, since 1998 and have four children – Meghan (8), Nathan (6), Michelle (5) and Nicholas (2).
Educational background: Bradley University, 1996
Elective or appointive public offices held: former vice chairman of the East Peoria Mass Transit District Board, elected to first term as East Peoria city commissioner in 2007 — serves as the accounts and finance commissioner as well as mayor pro-tem for the council.
Organizations of which you are a member: Served as president of the East Peoria Rotary, board member for the Young Professionals of Greater Peoria, steering committee member of the Tazewell County Resource Center, vice chairman of the East Peoria Mass Transit District board, treasurer of the Itoo Society, ambassador for the East Peoria Chamber of Commerce, youth sports coach and religious education assistant. In addition, started a literacy campaign, together with the Rotary Club, for the Tazewell-Woodford County Head Start program. This campaign provides an educational interaction between low-income children and business leaders of East Peoria.
What is the biggest issue facing our state on which you want to focus?
The biggest issue facing our state is addressing the state’s budget deficit and spurring job creation.
Illinois has a state budget deficit of more than $13 billion and counting for FY 2009, according to Comptroller Dan Hynes. This is a problem that has been entirely created by a majority party that has not only presided over massive increases to the state’s structural deficit (through not properly funding its pension benefit system guaranteed to its employees and retirees), but has also increased state spending to a point that the state’s budget is no longer sustainable.
This $13 billion deficit has been created while continuing to “balance” state budgets on the backs of local Medicaid and social service providers. By increasing payment delays to state vendors by several months, the state is pretending as if it has a balanced budget, as required by the Illinois State Constitution. These payment delays to vendors have driven many small healthcare providers, pharmacies and state vendors to bankruptcy.
Social Service providers throughout Central Illinois are cutting back on service delivery to try to balance their budgets because of the state not paying the bills on time for services these organizations have already provided many months ago.
If the state fails to adequately pay its bills, more jobs will continue to leave the state because of constant rhetoric from their elected officials calling for increased income and service taxes. In the current economic crisis, some states have positioned themselves to attract new jobs to their state, while the current administration in Illinois, with the aide of the majority party, is actively driving jobs across our borders.
What are some of the positive changes you want to initiate?
• Return to fiscal responsibility — for too long the State of Illinois has spent more money each year than they have taken in. In order to “balance” the state budget, they have increased payment delays to state vendors and human service providers. This cannot continue. We must explore ways to re-structure Illinois government in order to provide services more efficiently.
Below are several strategies I would support to help do just that.
Institute PAY-GO (Pay as you Go budgeting). PAY-GO legislation would mean that before any legislator can pass a bill that requires increased state spending, they must identify a corresponding cut to duplicative or inefficient programs.
Create a Sunshine Act/Sunshine Commission as a tool to review state government programs and eliminate wasteful spending — to stop wasteful, fraudulent, ineffective or inefficient spending in state government a Sunshine Commission should be created to conduct a review of all executive-branch programs for their relevance, efficiency and effectiveness in getting the results sought in the original legislation.
• Run my office with
constituent service as a top priority — One of the things I heard time and again when considering a run for state representative is that constituent service is not where it needs to be for those living in the 91st District. I will run an office that is extremely responsive to constituents that contact me with state issues beyond their ability to remedy or about bills that they support or oppose in the Illinois General Assembly. Many in the district feel that their current state representative has not kept them updated after they contact his office with opinions on issues or with problems they are battling with state agencies. I make a promise that I will have an open door for constituents and will be responsive and proactive to their needs.
• Institute REAL campaign finance and ethics reforms — In the wake of Rod Blagojevich’s impeachment, Illinoisans begged their representatives for real reforms to Illinois’ campaign finance and ethics laws. What they received over seven months later was, quite simply, sham reform. No limits were placed on the ability of legislative leaders, like Speaker Michael Madigan, to funnel unlimited amounts of money to legislative candidates and incumbents like Rep. Mike Smith. The role of campaign money from leaders and the toxic strings that come attached to that money is one of the base problems we have in Illinois government.
The current system drowns out independent voices and views and requires allegiance to state parties instead of constituents. I plan to be an independent voice for this district and will push for real reforms that limits the power of ALL state political parties and caucus leaders. This is the only way to reform state government from the ground up.
East Peoria is largely covered by the 91st District. What do you think is the most pressing thing that needs attention in the city and how will you help to achieve it?
Serving on the East Peoria City Council has been a very rewarding experience. Witnessing firsthand the struggles that come with a municipal budget, especially during a downturn in the economy, has helped me realize the massive impact and role legislators have with municipalities. Cities are faced with unfunded mandates at all levels. I have a tremendous understanding of what this means for East Peoria and all municipalities. I am very cognizant of how legislation can potentially effect local government taxes (i.e. property, sales, restaurant, hotel/motel, taxes etc., etc.,). Many times, local governments feel forced to turn to higher taxes to pay for mandates passed on to them by their legislators in Springfield. My belief is that increased taxes do not equal increased revenues for municipalities, and while it may put a band-aid on the problem in the short term … it only increases a larger, long-term problem.
Residents expect and deserve basic city services. Municipal elected officials should provide those in the most cost-effective and efficient manner. State elected officials representing those municipalities can assist by having an understanding of their budgets — I have that understanding and will use it while representing the 91st district in Springfield.
Legislators can also assist by being responsive to funding needs for projects that will create jobs. There is no better example of this than the project facing the City of East Peoria with its downtown redevelopment. However, requesting funding isn’t enough … it isn’t just a matter of a legislator taking credit for supporting a funding request.
Being responsive and playing an active role in the funding of the project goes well beyond submitting a request. Projects often take many years to complete and deserve active leadership and follow through every step of the process. I want to oversee that requests are not brushed aside, that funding comes through as promised on time, that bonds are sold appropriately and that real jobs are created through the taxpayer’s investment. East Peoria has a strong track record of developments that have spurred local economic growth. Smart tax policies combined with responsible developments that are self sustaining will provide the most revenue needed to pay for the essential services expected from our residents. My understanding of municipal budget needs will only help in the responsible and active leadership that East Peoria and all of the 91st district need and deserve.
What do you want voters to know?
The 91st District has a long history of electing democrats to the state legislature. While I am conservative, I am not partisan. I will be an independent voice in the House of Representatives who will help give Illinois a new beginning. I intend to take my message to the voters for the absolute necessity of reinstating the tried and true two-party system in Illinois. The checks and balances that two-party balance will bring to Illinois will go a long way for each party keeping the other honest. The two-party system allows voters to revert to the other party when one party takes the state in the wrong direction. Total one-party rule has ruined our state government.
I am offering myself to democrats, independents and republicans as an honest alternative with a principled approach to solving problems. In East Peoria, our city finances are always challenging.
Obviously there are competing interests. My approach has always been to do my homework, listen to all sides of the issue, be thoughtful in my approach and rely on my morals, values and principles, and to be disciplined to live within our means.
I have voted against raising taxes on our people. Raising taxes is the easy way of solving every budget problem but is the wrong choice because it is a terrible burden on our taxpayers and leads to a loss of business and a loss of jobs. I take the approach to government budgeting the same way my wife, Natalie, and I do with our household budget — with four children — well-considered prioritization and careful management.
I am proud of my accomplishments for the people of East Peoria. But I know I can do more as your representative in Springfield.
