SE Illinois News

In some ways, Illinois state House candidate Paul Jacobs (R-Carbondale) thinks it’s fitting that he still doesn’t have a Democratic challenger in his bid for a seat in the 115th District.

“I just remind people of how, over the last few decades, no Democrat in this state, no matter what district they're from, has done much to help this state,” Jacobs told the SW Illinois News. “The way we’ve allowed pensions to grow out of control is really just destroying us.”

Jacobs is on record confirming that his run is at least partly fueled by all the craziness he sees coming out of Springfield. He said the way state lawmakers have handled the COVID-19 crisis has given him even more motivation.

“I think we’d be wise to follow the outline laid out about President Trump for restarting our economy,” Jacobs said. “In addition to that, I don’t understand why we haven’t done things like freeze unemployment rates for at least 12 months, and the same with the minimum wage. Things like that would give small business owners a better chance of surviving all of this.”

Jacobs said the time has come for Gov. J.B. Pritzker to let go of his dogged push for a progressive income tax.

“The people of Illinois are already forced to pay too much in taxes,” Jacobs said. “And this couldn’t be a worse time for trying to create any new taxes.”

Jacobs said many of the state’s struggles lead right to the doorstep of longtime House Speaker Mike Madigan, who he has vowed to work toward ousting from power once he is in Springfield. 

“He runs the state the way he wants, and that’s it,” Jacobs said. “He has a different opinion than many others when it comes to the need for reform in Springfield. The abuse we get from politicians that have been in Springfield for any extended period of time is really just striking.”

Finally, Jacobs said the time for Pritzker to seriously consider opening up at least parts of the state is now.

“We need to be taking all the safety measures and precautions, but the time has come,” he said. “I would love to hit the May 1 target date if we can get everything safely lined up. People are really getting cabin fever and I fear they’re going to get even more uncomfortable if they can’t get back to work and start to be able to take care of their families again.”