SCHAUMBURG -- Voters in the northern Cook County state rep district should know that the "sucking sound from the east" they're hearing these days are hard-earned tax dollars leaving their 56th House District and heading straight into Chicago Democrats' pockets, former State Senator Steve Rauschenberger said today.
Much of the angst Rauschenberger and GOP candidate Anita Forte-Scott expressed was pointed to State Rep. Paul Froehlich, who was first elected state rep as a Republican, but who changed parties last year.
"This district's state rep has become a Cook County Democrat. When he did, he became as responsible for our high taxes and misspent money just as much as the other Chicago Democrats, including [Cook County Board President] Todd Stroger, [House Speaker] Mike Madigan, [Senate President] Emil Jones and the Governor himself," Rauschenberger said today outside Forte-Scott's Schaumburg campaign office.
Rauschenberger, who led Senate budget negotiations for Republicans while serving 14 years as state senator, joined Forte-Scott to call for a 3-day waiting period for the public and lawmakers to review the state budget's final version before voting on it.
"We get at least 30 days to look at our Schaumburg Public Library's annual budget," Forte-Scott, who serves as president of Schaumburg Library board said. "Three days is a place to start in requiring some time for lawmakers and taxpayers to review the final state budget before sending it to the governor."
Forte-Scott blames Rep. Froehlich for not standing up for the voters in his district against the Democrats' behind-closed-doors budget negotiations.
"Rep. Froehlich has abandoned the call he made for years for more transparency in government just as he abandoned the people of his district who put him into office when he left the Republican Party last year," Forte-Scott said. "The people of this district want to know how their tax dollars are being spent, and now my opponent is hiding being the shroud with the Democrats."
Forte-Scott called on the voters of her district to tell their state rep that becoming a part of the Cook County corruption is not acceptable for the voters of their district.
Rauschenberger agreed with Forte-Scott, saying, "If Paul Froehlich wanted to become a Democrat, he should have resigned from his state rep seat and be elected as a Democrat rather than be elected as a Republican and steal that seat from the people who worked for him to get elected."
Forte-Scott is one of eight candidates the United Republican Fund will be supporting in the November election. Rauschenberger has served as the group's president for the last two years.
