Dan Caulkins thinks Illinois Democrats moving to re-elect House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) as chairman of the state Democratic Party should effectively serve as an endorsement for the re-election of Gov. Bruce Rauner.
“Rauner is the only person left to stand up to Madigan,” Caulkins told the Chambana Sun. “Democrat (gubernatorial candidate) J.B Pritzker is totally aligned with (Madigan) and gives him even more of a license to do more of what he’s doing. Hopefully, voters will figure out Pritzker is not the best choice for the state and we need to send more Republicans to Springfield.”
Caulkins, a Decatur Republican, is running against Democrat Jennifer McMillin for the seat being vacated by Rep. Bill Mitchell (R-Forsyth) in the 101st District.
Caulkins said he was recently moved to speak out after Democratic lawmakers overwhelmingly voted to re-elect the 76-year-old Madigan as state chairman of the Democratic Party.
Madigan’s re-election came about despite a still-simmering sexual harassment and abuse scandal that has dogged his office, including spurring the ouster of two of his campaign associates and triggering cries for him to step down over his handling of the situation.
There also is his ongoing feud with Rauner over each man’s drastically different vision for the state.
“The team of Madigan and Pritzker is in no way good for the state,” Caulkins added. “The progressive tax idea they’ve both been pushing is an example of that. It will send more people out of the state and cost us even more jobs. If you send Democrats back to Springfield, you are voting for higher taxes, more infringement and less good government.”
In the end, Caulkins said Democrats simply seem to be out of touch when it comes to connecting with the needs of state voters.
“It doesn’t seem to be the will of Democrats to recognize the problems of the state,” he said. “That they refuse to acknowledge all the damage Mike Madigan has done to this state further highlights how much Republican voters need to come out for our candidates.”
The 101st House District includes parts of Champaign, McLean, Dewitt, Macon and Piatt counties.
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