Lake County Gazette

A recent poll conducted by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University found that nearly half of registered Illinois voters polled wanted to leave the state. Of those who expressed their desire to leave, 27 percent cited taxes as the determining factor.

Mike Amrozowicz, Republican candidate for the District 31 state Senate seat, said the results reflect the current situation in which the state finds itself.

“First of all, the fact that almost half of all registered voters want to leave Illinois is an indictment of the Madigan Machine and the status quo politicians who have been running this state into the ground.” Amrozowicz told the Lake County Gazette. “Illinois already has the worst out-migration in the nation, and judging by this poll, many more people plan to leave.”

Mike Amrozowicz | Contributed photo

Illinois purportedly has one of the highest property taxes in the nation, and more tax initiatives are in the pipeline, including one by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel that seeks to tax plastic bags. Amrozowicz said all of these taxes have yet to yield any results for the state.

“It isn't a surprise that taxes are the number one reason people are leaving,” Amrozowicz  said. “Illinois has the second-highest property taxes in the nation, and here in Lake County, we have among the highest taxes in the state of Illinois. Worse, citizens aren't getting value for their tax dollars. Too much of our spending is lost to waste and inefficiency.”

Among those polled in the survey, a startling 84 percent of voters said Illinois is heading in the wrong direction. Amrozowicz has spoken extensively in the past about the troubled path on which the state walks and said the best way to change its course is through vital reforms.

“That starts with property-tax relief," Amrozowicz said. "We need to rework the way we fund schools, lift state mandates on local governments, and provide local voters more options to reduce costs. By tackling these root causes of our expensive and duplicative local government, we can afford to cut property taxes.”

Springfield politicians are driving people out of their homes, Amrozowicz said.

“I will fight to stop it,” Amrozowicz said.

Amrozowicz's fight for the voters and for the state has not fallen on deaf ears. Many groups have given their support to the candidate, including the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, the Associated Builders and Contractors, and the Illinois Manufacturers Association.

Amrozowicz also recently received the endorsement of a war hero.

“I am proud to announce that I have been endorsed by local Medal of Honor recipient Allen Lynch for State Senate in the 31st District,” Amrozowicz said. “Lynch was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic action in Vietnam and has since dedicated his life to serving veterans. As a 21-year veteran of the U.S. Navy, Allen's support means the world to me.”

Lynch, who was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1970 for his service in Vietnam, is a local hero who has been actively involved in both caring for veterans and advancing veterans issues legislatively. Lynch is president of the Allen J. Lynch Medal of Honor Veterans Foundation and assistant superintendent of the Lake County Veterans Assistance Commission.

"Being a veteran, having served your country, having done all the things where it's a life-and-death situation on board ship is not like living at home or running a little office...I think that gives a special edge to a veteran,” Lynch said in a press release. “We understand what it's like to lead. We understand what it's like to sacrifice, and I think a lot of our current politicians don't get that. They're there for themselves."