SE Illinois News

Republican House hopeful Darren Bailey believes that too many Springfield lawmakers have the wrong mindset when it comes to generating revenue and spending.

“When I talk to Democrats trying to reach out, their mindset is always we have to keep taxing,” Bailey told the SE Illinois News. “Most people don’t live like that. What you don’t have, you don’t spend. We have to cut taxes, and we can’t do that if we're always raising them and coming up with more frivolous ways to spend other people’s money.”

The Chicago Sun-Times recently reported Springfield has given $420 million in state tax breaks to television and film production companies over the last decade as part of a plan to attract a larger share of that market to Illinois.

Cynthia Given

Collectively, more than 1,800 television and film companies have taken advantage of the taxpayer-funded incentives, though what they did to earn them is unclear because lawmakers have never audited the companies’ records, the Sun-Times states.

“It’s just business as usual and it’s been that way for so long it’s almost as if the people in Springfield really don’t want to fix the problem,” said Bailey, running against Democrat Cynthia Given in the 109th District. “Maybe they’re receiving something in return that has some of them hell-bent on not making the changes we all know we need.”

Federal prosecutors recently indicted Chicago Teamsters boss John T. Coli for allegedly extorting $325,000 from Cinespace Chicago Film Studios co-founder Alex Pissios. Coli threatened to stage work stoppages at the West Side studio where productions like “Chicago Fire” and “Empire” are filmed, the Deadline Hollywood website states.

Coli and Pissios’ relationship spans several years, and Coli introduced Pissios to several of the Democratic lawmakers who approved the $31 million in grants and tax breaks used to get Cinespace up and running.

The scandal should have never had the chance to happen, Bailey said.

“We need to be striving to help families out in this state,” he said. “Any money for tax breaks should be put toward a lower tax rate so that we can attract more people back here. We need to be putting families first, and I believe the key to that is putting a new group of legislators in charge in Springfield. The message that people want change is loud and clear. I can’t imagine anyone new going to Springfield with the mindset we’re going to continue doing things the way they’ve always been doing them.”

The 109th House District includes Clay, Edwards, Effingham, Jasper, Lawrence, Richland, Wabash, Wayne and White counties.