Lake County Gazette

November looms large, and state Senate candidate Mike Amrozowicz is gearing up for the busy season to come, having recently held a fundraiser that he said had a good turnout.

“We had one fundraiser," Amrozowicz told the Lake County Gazette. "An event at (state) Comptroller Leslie Munger’s house. She and her husband, John, threw me a little event, and it was really great. It was attended by at least 90 people… . It was a really nice event.”

Among the honored guests was state Sen. Christine Radogno (R-Dist. 41), whom Amrozowicz said brought the day's pleasant, sunny weather. While the fundraiser was a success, the business owner and Republican hopeful said the event was not about him, but rather about the values his campaign represents. Amrozowicz, who is running for the District 31 seat, said he is just a pack mule for those values.

Mike Amrozowicz | Contributed photo

A value Amrozowicz preaches is the kitchen-table hard-work mentality. Work until it is done. Amrozowicz said this attitude is absent in Springfield, most notably when Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Dist. 22) canceled a number of planned House sessions last month, despite the state still not having a balanced budget. 

“I mean, who can do that?” Amrozowicz said. “Just think about this. You’re at work. You have a report that’s due on June 1, and a week later, on June 8, your boss says, “Hey, you’re a week late on your report” and you say I’m going to need to go home and think about it.”

Amrozowicz echoes a previous discussion in which he set up a scenario about an employee and irresponsible spending. It’s the lax approach that irks Amrozowicz, who believes he is not alone in his frustration.

“It’s multi-layered like we talked about last week," Amrozowicz said. "If our income is $3,000 and (there's) $7,000 in bills, and we look to our boss and say, ‘Give me a pay raise because I’m irresponsible with my money,' boom! There is one reason to get fired. Now it’s the same boss, and you’re telling him, ‘I’m a week late on my report,’ and he comes to reprimand you like the taxpayers are reprimanding Madigan, (asking him) to come forth to negotiate. He (Madigan) won’t. He’s a week late, and he says, ‘Well, you know what? I heard you, but I’m going home.’ What kind of boss would put up with it? The people of our district are fed up with it, and they just feel it’s time for these people (lawmakers) to get fired.”

Programs are in jeopardy because of the budget impasse. Several important and vital social services depend heavily on state funding, and many of them, including rape-crisis centers and programs to help at-risk youths, are uncertain of their future. Many of them are already cutting hours, jobs or programs offered. Amrozowicz attributes this to the capital’s inability to focus on the hard work.

“In Illinois, we have to fund these programs that are absolutely vital, especially the schools, and cut where we don’t need the money,” Amrozowicz said. “Make sensible cuts. Just keep coming back and presenting a new proposal, and just keep working on it. No recess. Get to work. That’s what you’re getting paid for.”

Get the work done. Use elbow grease. Work until an executable plan is achieved. Do not leave until that is done, Amrozowicz insists.

“Really, it all comes down to getting there and get to work," Amrozowicz said. "Roll up your sleeves. Don’t leave the room until the job is done. Just like that guy or girl at work who says the report isn’t done. The boss says, ‘Hey, get in the room, get your people together, and don’t come out until you have a plan that could be executed. And don’t come out of the room until you’re done.’ If the plan is bad or you can’t execute it, you go back into the room.”

Bad planning has led to the current state of Illinois. The aftermath was evident when Moody's Investors Service cut Illinois' credit rating by one notch to Baa2. This ranking is two notches above junk-level status.

Amrozowicz compares the state’s bad credit rating with an individual’s low FICO score.

“Just like with the homeowner, the person at the kitchen table, if their FICO scores go down to the 500s, they’re probably going to have a difficult time borrowing, and any money they can borrow is going to be at a (high) interest rate,” Amrozowicz said. “And that is where we are in Illinois ... because we have this horrible bond rating."

The Republican hopeful said this is a systemic issue and that changes need to be made at the very core.

“It’s systemic," Amrozowicz said. "It’s almost like in a big circle. You can’t have a good bond rating unless you are balancing your budget and you are eliminating your deficits. We can’t do that by having Michael Madigan and (state Senate President) John Cullerton (D-Dist. 6) telling everyone it’s time for recess.”

There would be no recess for Amrozowicz, who promises voters that he would stay in the room until solutions are found.

“I’m going to be like the entire Republican caucus in saying, ‘No, let’s get together and solve this thing,’" Amrozowicz said. "I’ll put myself out there...willing to stay in that room to get this thing done. The voters are angry, and they have good reason to be. We have to offer them viable solutions”