North Cook News

One of the most perplexing issues facing Illinois is the fact that many of the state's politicians and staffers, such as Tim Mapes, Kevin Quinn and Ira Silverstein, are still receiving full pensions despite being allegedly involved in sexual harassment scandals. 

Though there are many areas of the Illinois government that do need to be fixed, Katy Dolan Baumer, who is running for the 44th House District, won't stand for this kind of misbehavior anymore.

"This is very shameful," Baumer told North Cook News. "Pensions should be given for a job well done, years well served. In light of allegations of scandal, how many more lawmakers are hiding among the weeds and wishing it would all blow over?"

Republican state House candidate Katy Dolan Baumer

Baumer explained that when she first considered running for state representative, she was warned that the House of Representatives was more like a frat house than a political institution.

"It seems that some have used their position and power to corrupt their positions and trust of the people. It seems that the system is rewarding people for a job poorly done, usurping the very trust they were charged with upholding," Baumer said.

But rewarding poor behavior is uncalled for, and Baumer believes that enough is enough.

"Lawmakers, like people in the private sector, should be held accountable for their actions," Baumer said. "It also seems that this type of behavior was widely known... yet not curtailed. This behavior... also begs the question of why other lawmakers did nothing to stop it when they knew it was occurring? That, too, is shameful."

Baumer believes that the individuals accused of harassment and involvement in scandals must be dishonorably fired when the allegations are proven. 

"The pension system should be addressed and reworked from many standpoints, but [it] also should have cautions in place that take the pension away if positions are misused, as it seems they are in these cases," Baumer said.