Steve Reick Reflects on the Election, “Free Ride” Over for Jack Franks

This is posted on Republican State Rep. candidate Steve Reick’s web site:

Open Letter on the Election

I want to take the time to thank those people who supported me in my race for the Illinois House.

First and foremost, my wife Deb and my children deserve the greatest thanks. From the moment I brought up the subject of running, they have been my most fervent supporters. To them I owe everything, and I intend to spend the rest of my life thanking them.

Next in line are those who stepped up to help me. Specifically:

  • Jack Schaffer. I’ve known Jack for 30 years and I have the utmost respect for him. He warned me early on what I was up against, but I ran anyway and he was with me throughout.
  • Mike Tryon. Mike went to the mat for me, and had I won, I’d have been proud to serve with him. I wish him well in his role in leadership and hope that with a new governor at the helm, he can work to bring better days to our unhappy State.
  • The folks at McHenry County Right to Life. As I mentioned many times, politics doesn’t lead, it follows. Your fight is in the trenches, changing hearts and minds, and you’re winning. Continue that fight and the day will come when legislation will follow.
  • I also owe a debt of thanks to those who volunteered in the precincts for me. We few, we happy few. I’ll not name you all, for fear of leaving someone out. However, if I choose to run again, I’ll know who my friends are, and I’ll be far ahead of where I was when I started this race.
  • I especially thank those who listened to my message and placed their confidence in me with their votes. We came up short, but in many ways we did not. Starting from a dead stop, with no name recognition and very little in the way of organized support, we significantly cut the margin from what it was in 2010. For that, I’m grateful.

Finally, to Jack Franks I offer my congratulations. The sacrifice that you and your family make in the name of public service is deserving of our respect, and you have mine. While I wish the outcome had been different, I wish you well.

However, my well-wishes come with an injunction. Over the next two years, there are going to be a lot of tough roll call votes as Governor Rauner tries to repair the wreckage that is Illinois.

I want you to know that your actions in Springfield are going to undergo a lot more scrutiny than they have in the past.

The free ride is over.

I’m particularly interested in seeing what you do about the following:

  • Given the documented unpopularity of Michael Madigan in this district, you can keep faith with your constituents by voting for another person as Speaker in January or by abstaining. Since it appears that Madigan will hold his exact veto-proof majority, you have the opportunity to prove your independence with that one vote.
  • Your stand on property taxes is insufficient. Unless property taxes are calculated as a percentage of fair market value, whether the value of the property goes up or down, then people don’t own their homes, they’re merely renting them from the government. The people of this district cannot afford to let government eat steak while they’re stuck eating cat food in order to pay their tax bills.
  • Given the role you played in creating the current condition of Illinois’ pension system, you have an obligation to make things right. Bruce Rauner ran on a platform that included moving all state employees to a defined-contribution retirement system. You could again show your independence by signing on as a co-sponsor of H.B. 3303, which does just that.
  • Education funding is front and center now with the fight over S.B. 16, which you say you oppose in its current form. The time has come to give every family a voucher for their children’s education, allowing them to attend whatever school parents determine is best suited for the child. We must stop calculating the cost of educating a child and then giving control of that money to school districts. This has led to the crisis we have here in this District with the announcement of the imminent closing of SEDOM. A funding formula that grants parents freedom to choose, with adequate provision for the developmentally disabled, might work to keep SEDOM open, even at this late date. Unless you do whatever you can to cut through the nonsense that is S.B. 16 and any other funding mechanism that doesn’t give total control to parents, you’re not doing everything you can to fix education funding in Illinois. You can start by co-sponsoring Mike Tryon’s H.B. 6315, which addresses the issue of unfunded mandates in our schools.

I’m already being asked if I’ll run again in 2016. I don’t know. If there’s a better candidate out there, then I urge him or her to run. They’ll have my support. If I decide to run again, it will be because the issues that motivated me to run in 2014 are issues that remain unaddressed in 2016. I’m not going to let those issues fade away.


Comments

Steve Reick Reflects on the Election, “Free Ride” Over for Jack Franks — 2 Comments

  1. Thanks Steve, for stepping up and pointing things out like they are.

    This State needs the truth to be told!

    We will be watching for you.

  2. Thank you so much for running for this position Steve.

    It would have been a breath of fresh air having you in Springfield.

    You’d never hold up your finger to see which way the political winds were blowing because you are a principled man that would have upheld your oath of office and adhered to the Constitution of the State of Illinois as your sworn duty.

    I also know that back door deals would never have been made with you.

    So again I thank you and your family for their support.

    The unborn children will have to wait yet another 2 years to have a voice in Springfield.

    God bless you.

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