Lake County Gazette

State Rep. Martin McLaughlin (R-Barrington Hills) frets his first year in Springfield was far from what he expected.

"It was kind of strange based on the fact that we were separated,” McLaughlin told SoundCloud.com. “The ability to get together with state reps and senators live, or the fact that we couldn’t do that, I think, impacted communications that should have taken place between both sides. It really hampered collegial, cooperative collaborative discussion and boy do we need that here. So I think it was harmful in that regard."

McLaughlin worries things may get worse before they get better based on the disastrous way he thinks Democrats have handled the job of map redistricting.

“The official 2020 decennial counts released by the U.S. Census Bureau last week confirm that the Democrats’ redistricting plan violates the U.S. Constitution and federal law, as well as comparable provisions of the Illinois Constitution,” he posted on Facebook.

McLaughlin has also warned taxpayers not be fooled by developments like the long cash-strapped state’s first credit rating upgrade in nearly two decades.

“Illinois politicians claiming our credit rating trend is a sign we are being fiscally responsible is sad and pathetic,” McLaughlin posted on Facebook. “The federal bailout of Illinois enhanced our ability to temporarily pay obligations with our own money sent to Washington, borrowed from the Chinese, and charged on a credit card to our children and grandchildren. Without structural changes to our spending habits and addressing of our long term unsustainable liabilities, we will be right back where we were, hanging by our fingernails just above insolvency for our once-great state.”

McLaughlin has also joined Republican lawmakers calling for ethics reform. In addition to longtime House Speaker Mike Madigan recently being forced to walk away from power after being implicated in a federal corruption probe involving ComEd, at least seven current or former state legislators, three Chicago aldermen and a Cook County commissioner have all recently been ensnared in criminal investigations.

"We have to hold elected officials to the highest ethical standards to get our state on a better path forward,” McLaughlin said in another post to Facebook. “Illinois needs robust ethics reform to end public corruption and earn back the trust of our residents. It is a shame that the dozens and dozens of House Republican ethics proposals filed this year were again thrown out by the House Democrats.”

Lawmakers in Springfield recently passed an ethics bill that prohibits constitutional officeholders from immediately becoming employed as lobbyists once their terms are over. Still, McLaughlin argues the measure stops far short from touching on what it needs to.

“One day I hope to see real ethics reforms implemented for the people of Illinois," he said.