SE Illinois News

GOP Congressional candidate Paul Jacobs points to the findings of a new report that details Gov. J.B. Pritzker has made numerous hires from a so-called “clout list” supplied by House Speaker Mike Madigan as a prime example of everything that’s wrong in Springfield.

“After reading the WBEZ article on the hiring practices of J.B. Pritzker, we do have a tendency to question his independence from our Speaker Madigan,” Jacobs told the SE Illinois News. “There certainly was a collection of characters that seem to be getting jobs. It truly is business as usual for Illinois politics and running our state.”

According to WBEZ, as many as 35 people from the list in question have been hired during Pritzker’s first 18 months in office.

Jacobs, a Carbondale resident now bidding for the House seat in the 115th District, argues he considers such abuse of power the last thing that's needed in Springfield. 

“We have to have independence in our executive branch from our legislative branch,” he said. “This is a pretty good indication we do not have that at this point.”

Jacobs argues he sees just one way to change things.

“The only way is voting more conservative, fiscally responsible individuals to represent our districts,” he said. “Will we ever be able to get term limits, fix our pension problem or stay out of bankruptcy that the federal government is suggesting they may have states do? Will we ever get to the point that we spend what we take in and even keep a rainy day fund?”

Jacobs said he fears what could happen if that change doesn’t come about.

“If we continue to raise taxes and run more people out of the state, our very good economy will shrink,” he said. “I think that we do have a governor now that is not independent from our house speaker and is having a tendency to do what the speaker wants.”