Lake County Gazette

Rod Drobinski, Republican candidate for the Illinois House of Representative for District 62, believes a recent incident involving two lawmakers caught playing video games on the House floor during discussions about pending education legislation is indicative of what's wrong with the state.

"The politicians in Springfield don't respect us,” Drobinski said. “They tell us they care and that they're trying to do something about the challenges our state faces, but it's all lip-service. We face the highest tax burden in the country and jobs are fleeing our state. These are serious problems and they demand serious leaders to solve them. I am going to Springfield to make sure Illinois is serving our families, not just the people in Springfield."

Reps. Mike Smiddy (D-District 71) and Katherine Cloonen (D-District 79) were caught on camera playing video games during a legislative session last month. 

Cloonen played Candy Crush while on the House floor. After she realized there were people watching in the gallery, she stopped playing the game. When questioned, she said that she has been solely focused on resolving the budget impasse. She showed no remorse for her actions.

“If playing Candy Crush during session is being ‘focused,’ God help us from whatever havoc Kate Cloonen will wreak on Illinois whenever she decides to put down her iPad,” Aaron DeGroot, spokesman for the Illinois Republican Party, said. “Illinois has gone nearly a full calendar-year without a budget. Our unpaid bill backlog is exploding, as is our unfunded pension liabilities. House Democrats like Kate Cloonen would rather play Mike Madigan’s ‘Game of Drones’ than pass a balanced budget. Legislators must act before it’s game over for Illinois.”

A few days earlier, Smiddy was also seen playing a video game on the House floor. When questioned, he replied that he already knew what would happen with the debated bill and didn’t need to pay attention. He also  refused to apologize.

“Smiddy seems to be blissfully unaware that Illinois has gone nearly a full calendar-year without a budget, has an exploding unpaid bill backlog and unfunded pension liability, among other financial woes,"  DeGroot said.  "Legislators like Smiddy must act before it’s game over for Illinois.”