North Cook News

The Illinois General Assembly is scheduled to be in session less than 20 days before April, with lawmakers receiving a $67,000 annual salary, an unacceptable notion according to Katie Miller.

"In the first 11 weeks of 2018, the House of Representatives has scheduled just 16 session days,” Miller, Republican House candidate seeking the 53rd District seat, told North Cook News. “They are only thinking of themselves. Taxpayers have to work hard; our lawmakers should work just as hard to help make our state run better and decrease tax burden on taxpayers.”

The House hopeful, who is looking to replace retiring Rep. David Harris (R-Arlington Heights), responded to the Illinois News Network report “Republican lawmakers: Maybe it’s good legislature is not in much,” saying career politicians are more concerned with their own re-election campaigns than they are with serving the people of their district.

Katie Miller

“Many are struggling to make ends meet, and they’re being forced to send more of their hard-earned paychecks to Springfield thanks to the tax-hike budget lawmakers passed last summer,” Miller said. “While lawmakers take time off work, people in our community are working overtime.”

During the little time they are serving, Miller said incumbents need to find solutions to lowering taxes, making college more affordable, bringing down the costs of health care and improving the education system.

“Will they have any plans to make needed changes to the pension system or workers' compensation costs that are dissuading businesses from staying or moving here?” Miller asked. “What about reducing regulations or making Illinois more business- and family-friendly? Or do they choose to kick it down the road as they have been doing for years?"

Delaying rather than making structural reforms and spending cuts is par for the course, she added.

“That is what our politicians have been doing in Illinois for years,” Miller, a long-time nurse at St. Alexius in Hoffman Estates and case manager at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights, said. “The longer it takes for the state to get on the right track and the harder and deeper the cuts need to be. We need to focus and start to work on the problems in Illinois.”

Her Democratic opponent, T. Aaron DeGeorge, is nowhere to be seen when it comes to discussing the needed changes in Springfield, Miller said.  

“It is hard to know what any of his positions are,” Miller said, adding he does not have a website or Facebook page. “He has not been speaking out about the corruption as I have. I am running to change government in Springfield and be an advocate for taxpayers. We need to have citizen legislators, who are not focused on their own career but on the taxpayers.”