Lake County Gazette

Gov. Bruce Rauner's State of the State speech on Wednesday put forth some exciting proposals that would positively impact Lake County, Rod Drobinski, the Republican candidate who is vying for the legislative seat for District 62 in the Illinois House of Representatives, told the Lake County Gazette. 

“Out of everything he talked about, the two things I think would have the greatest impact are his proposal to bring property tax relief to the district … and education reform,” Drobinski said.

“When I talk to voters at their doors, everyone is being overburdened by the property tax burden here in the state and it is causing people to move away,” Drobinski, a prosecutor in the Lake County state’s attorney office, said. “So I was excited to hear the governor’s ideas about bringing property tax relief to workers here in Illinois.”

At the same time, Rauner’s educational reform ideas are “really, really important to the people of my district,” Drobinski told the Lake County Gazette.

“Education is key,” he said. “I think his proposals will give parents more choices for educating their children and I think that is what everybody wants.”

In fact, if state lawmakers could quickly get these issues pushed through both legislative bodies following state elections this year, Drobinski thinks “the voters in my district will be more satisfied with the direction of the state.”

Drobinski, who is running on a platform to reform Illinois and make it a great place to live, work and build a better life, also thinks the state must become more competitive with other states in attracting new businesses to bring in more jobs.

“When it comes to the type of bureaucracy we have, we need to chop down the level of red tape Illinois has compared to other states around us to make it easier for businesses to come here,” he said.

When a business wants to relocate to Wisconsin, for example, the state has made it easier for a company to do so by minimizing various hurdles, Drobinski said.

“But here in Illinois, it seems like everything we have in our system makes it more difficult for businesses and jobs to come here,” he said, pointing to the taxes and "regulatory schemes" that end up de-incentivizing companies from staying and growing.

It’s also “been really disheartening” for Lake County voters and other residents across the state that a budget has yet to come to fruition, Drobinski said.

“The fact we don’t have a budget yet is really hurting Illinois families already, and it will continue to hurt Illinois families unless they come together and start finding common ground,” he said. “I think the governor is trying, but … it takes two to tango."

District 62 incumbent Sam Yingling, a Democrat, did not respond to a request for comment.