North Cook News

State House District 53 Republican candidate Jack Vrett is calling out his opponent, incumbent State Rep. Mark Walker (D-Arlington Heights). 

The veteran clapped back at Walker's ad which called Vrett a “Real threatt.” 

“My opponent Mark Walker recently released some laughably outrageous attack ads - complete with spelling errors!” Vrett said in a video on Facebook. “I thought it best to share a rebuttal to his Foxx-Walker agenda with this video and help cut through the nonsense. We need to put partisanship aside and focus on common-sense, practical solutions for the many challenges that our great state is facing. We need to bring back a stronger Illinois for ourselves, and our future generations. Together we can give Illinois the fresh start it deserves!” 

Vrett discussed what he sees as his opponent’s missteps while in office. 

"Recently, my opponent, state Rep. Mark Walker, started airing attack ads against me on TV,”  Vrett said in the video. “But as you can see here, it ends with a bit of a spelling error, which is a great reminder that under Mark Walker's leadership, test scores are falling. In Illinois, literacy and reading comprehension is at its lowest level in more than 20 years. Of course, we can't expect Mark Walker to fact-check all of his attack ads, but he should at least spell-check it out. But all kidding aside, the issues in this election are serious and Mark Walker doesn't want to talk about the facts, because the fact is Mark Walker voted for the dangerous SAFE-T Act, a law that will make it nearly impossible for prosecutors and police to keep dangerous criminals off our streets and out of our neighborhoods."

Vrett, who served as a special assistant U.S. attorney after serving in Afghanistan, said that the government's primary role is to ensure public safety, which he thinks his opponent does not prioritize.

"And the fact is that Mark Walker endorsed Kim Foxx for reelection as our state's attorney, calling her the ‘national example of criminal justice reform,’” he said. “Now, under the Foxx-Walker agenda, we see that crime is out of control and only getting worse ... But worst of all, Mark Walker sponsored House Bill 3447, a radical law that lowers penalties for the possession of fentanyl so that less than three grams is just a misdemeanor. Now, three grams might not sound like much to many folks, but it contains thousands of doses and is strong enough to kill 1500 people. These are drug dealer quantities of this drug. It's outrageous that Walker would sponsor the bill, let alone vote for it. Now, unlike Mark Walker, I will vote to repeal the Safety Act. I will vote to recall Kim Fox as our state's attorney. I will vote to lower the gas tax and against tax hikes and against pay raises for legislators. I'll vote to crack down on violent crime, support our police, and keep drugs, guns and gangs out of our neighborhoods. And I'll fight against the retirement tax and work to implement term limits and ethics reform. Please support my effort at jackvrett.com and help me say no to the radical Fox Walker agenda.” Humorously, Vrett ends his Facebook video by adding a penciled-in “R” to change his opponent’s name to “Walkerr.”

Vrett said as a family man, he can relate how "Illinoisans are wrestling with rising costs of daily life."

"And the fact is that while we have all been struggling with out-of-control gas and grocery prices, Mark Walker voted to double the gas tax in 2019 and voted to give himself a pay raise funded by our tax dollars twice," he said.

The second-highest gas tax in the country is in Illinois after Walker voted to raise the state's gasoline tax. Illinois citizens pay 77.96 cents per gallon in gas taxes, which includes both state and federal taxes. Directly across the border to the west, Missouri has the second-lowest gas tax in the country. In comparison to Missouri, Illinois has gas rates that are 42 cents higher per gallon, according to Illinois Policy Institute.

Walker was likewise in favor of paying politicians more. He voted in favor of increasing legislator compensation by $2,700 for the 2023 budget. Following that increase, lawmakers will earn $73,345 in the upcoming year, ranking fourth among the state legislatures in terms of pay. In addition, they receive per diems of $151 for each day the legislature is in session as well as leadership stipends between $10,000 to $30,000 annually, Illinois Policy Institute reported.

In addition, Walker was in favor of legalizing heroin, fentanyl, and other harmful drugs. If the bill had passed, anyone in possession of fentanyl who had quantities sufficient to kill multiple people would not have been imprisoned. Fentanyl is 20 times more potent than heroin, and one gram is enough to cause the overdose deaths of 500 users, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency. 100 grams is sufficient to result in 100,000 overdose deaths. House Minority Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) questioned the attempt to lower the allowable for deadly drugs noting that “The Illinois Democratic Party has left DuPage values far behind." Durkin added that "House Bill 3447, a narcotics decriminalization bill, passed the House with 61 Democrat votes this spring but thankfully stalled in the Senate,” Prairie State Wire reported.

Kim Foxx, the state's Attorney for Cook County, has received backing from Walker. Foxx has been in charge of overseeing the implementation of regulations similar to those that will soon be statewide when provisions of the SAFE-T Act takes effect on Jan. 1. Cook County's crime rate drastically rose during her leadership. Chicago is experiencing an increase in shootings and other crimes, which are also having a growing impact on the nearby suburbs. Murder rates have increased to historic  levels in recent years, surpassing those in 1994. The number of burglaries, thefts, and motor thefts has increased so far in 2022, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.