North Cook News

Illinois legislators are earning too much at taxpayers' expense and delivering too little, according to Joan McCarthy Lasonde, 9th District Republican candidate for the state Senate.

Lasonde told the North Cook News she had signed Wirepoints.com’s no-pension pledge, which has been gaining traction among GOP hopefuls, and challenged her rival, state Rep. Laura Fine (D-Glenview), to follow suit. Fine currently represents District 17 in the state House.

“The part-time legislators, including my opponent Laura Fine … are receiving a pension and free lifetime health care funded by the taxpayers,” Lasonde said. “Part-time legislators should not be receiving a pension.”

Rep. Laura Fine

But pensions are only one symptom of the state’s political dysfunction, according to Lasonde. She blamed the Democrat-controlled state legislature for enacting policies that make the state’s business climate hostile to small businesses.

“There are too many regulations and mandates on small businesses,” Lasonde said. “Illinois is not business-friendly. We need to stop raising taxes and start passing reforms.”

A recent Thumbtack survey seems to corroborate Lasonde’s claims about the state’s business climate. In the survey, reported by the Illinois Policy Institute, some 7,500 Illinois entrepreneurs and small-business owners gave the state a failing grade when it comes to the economic environment.

Lasonde said all Illinois taxpayers, not just businesses, are feeling the pressure of current legislative policies.

“Last summer, my opponent and the legislature voted to increase taxes a whopping 32 percent, the highest income tax ever in state history,” she said. “Last year alone, 100,000 people moved out of Illinois. Since my opponent went to Springfield, over 600,000 people have fled Illinois.”

If elected, Lasonde said she would not only refuse a state-funded pension, but would also restrict her tenure to two terms. On top of that, she said she would “reduce government fees, regulations and mandates on small-business owners.”

The Illinois state Senate’s 9th District covers Cook County, the Chicago metro area and the city of Evanston.