Illinois Valley Times

Jerry Long, the Republican candidate for the District 76 state House seat, recently compared the Illinois economy to a broken mushroom.

Lee reached out to voters via social media to explain his position.

"The cap of the mushroom represents our state government, while the stem represents our state economy," Long said. "For far too long, our state government has continued to get bigger and bigger, growing the cap of the mushroom, while our politicians put pressure on the economy (the stem) with more regulations and higher taxes and fees."

Illinois has lacked a full budget for more than a year due to a budget impasse in the Assembly. The House passed an unbalanced budget in June, which the Senate voted down. The Senate also presented a budget bill that did not pass in the House.

The stopgap budget passed in late June is a temporary solution that funds education and a few other essential services to keep the government running through the November election. State Comptroller Leslie Geissler Munger warned legislators last month that the backlog of $8.2 billion in unpaid bills will continue to grow unless they pass a full budget that addresses expenditures and the bill backlog when the legislature reconvenes in November. If the necessary structural and spending reforms are not addressed, the state's unpaid-bill backlog is expected to balloon to $14 billion by next summer.

Long went on to discuss the slender stem of the mushroom – the economy – and the shrinking tax base. More regulations and higher taxes and fees on businesses and families put additional pressure on Illinois' economy. The unfriendly business climate drives large employers and jobs out of the state. Small businesses cut staff or close. Without jobs, families are forced to make difficult economic choices, which has led to downsizing or relocating to other states where the job market has recovered since the Great Recession of 2007-09.

Long warned that without a sturdy stem to support the cap, the mushroom will collapse. Similarly, without a thriving private sector, the public sector also suffers. Layoffs of public employees and educators result when the tax base shrinks, exacerbating the state's budget woes.

While Gov. Bruce Rauner and Republican legislators and candidates continued to press for reforms to reduce the state's bills, House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) proposed reinstating the temporary 2011-14 state income tax and making it permanent. The current personal income tax rate of 3.75 percent would rise to 5 percent, and the corporate income tax would rise from 4.8 percent to 7 percent. Long's opponent, state Rep. Andy Skoog (D-Peru), supported Madigan's proposal to increase taxes.

Instead of raising taxes, Long promotes job creation, including improving the welfare-to-work rates of families on public assistance. With more people working and paying smaller amounts of taxes, combined with reforms that reduce the size of the government and budget, Long believes the Illinois economy can become more business- and family-friendly.

Transparency is essential to Long's economic plan. Long said the government needs transparency from Springfield down to the smallest township to expose waste and fraud. Once revealed, this fat can be cut from the budget to reduce the strain on state and local economies. Long considers transparency an integral part of his campaign.

Long also proposed a Bipartisan Regulatory Review Board to review and revise or eliminate outdated regulations that hinder business growth. By reducing barriers to business, Illinois can encourage the growth of existing businesses and attract new businesses and startups.

"I believe Illinois needs to hang out a sign that says 'open for business,' instead of one that says 'going out of business,'" Long said.