Lake County Gazette

Mike Amrozowicz ran a tough campaign against incumbent state Sen. Melinda Bush in District 31, but ultimately lost by a close 54 percent to 46 percent margin with Bush.

Amrozowicz, while disheartened with the loss, believed his campaign had a good run. However, he expressed some harsh critiques about the state, especially toward House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) and Senate Leader John Cullerton (D-Chicago).

“The thing is, we have an entire state -- I think they are almost delusional,” Amrozowicz told Lake County Gazette. “And it’s not just my race. We have the Madigan-Cullerton machine that just runs the state, and we allow them to keep winning because they have such power and money that the power of the incumbency is incredibly difficult to overcome.”

Amrozowicz continues to push for change despite losing state senate race | Courtesy of Shutterstock

Amrozowicz, a Navy vet and former business owner, asserted that the problems Illinois faces fall strictly on the controlling leadership.

“They own these massive deficits that we have,” he said. “They own the loss of jobs here in Illinois. They own the fact that people are leaving Illinois at the rate of one person every five minutes. They own the massive job loss; the massive amount of companies leaving. They own the zero manufacturing job growth over the last 18 years.”

It is voters’ responsibility to make change, Amrozowicz stated. Regardless of the loss, he does not regret the experience.

“I met some of the most phenomenal people,” he said. “Volunteers, interns and staff … good, decent, principled folks who wanted to see a positive change for the good of everyone. That said, it’s an experience I can never replace.”

While the experience was irreplaceable, Amrozowicz asserted that he is still fearful for the state.

“Well, it doesn’t look good,” he said. “I’m not sure we are going to be able to punch our way out of this deficit spending. I’m not sure we are going to be able to attract any new businesses in order to cut down our deficit by having increased revenue growth. We have a state legislature that is pretty hostile to small businesses.”

Amrozowicz is also frustrated with his party, believing it to be rudderless in terms of values, principles and how to market the need for change. He concluded that he still has a need to be part of change in Illinois.