Politics & Government
Kirk Dillard: Why I'm the Right Choice for Illinois Governor
The Hinsdale Republican and former chief of staff under Jim Edgar says he'll make another run at the GOP nomination for governor in the 2014 election.
By Rick Nagel
Kirk Dillard wants to be governor of Illinois and says he's best suited to fix a broken state economy and represent a suburban point of view.
During an interview Monday, June 17, at Colonial Cafe in St. Charles, Dillard said he would formally announce his candidacy on July 15. But in the meantime, he's traveling the area, meeting with political and business leaders and getting his ducks in a row for a second run at the GOP nomination.
In 2010, Dillard entered the race late in the game—just five months before the primary—and lost by 193 votes to downstate Sen. Bill Brady on a ticket split by a handful of GOP hopefuls from the suburbs. Those included Dillard, former Attorney General Jim Ryan, former DuPage County Board Chairman Bob Schillerstrom, former state Republican Party chairman Andy McKenna and political commentator Dan Proft, among others.
This time around, Dillard is starting more than a year before the election and making an argument that he's the clear frontrunner in 2014.
The former chief of staff under Jim Edgar and present Hinsdale state senator says he's running to "rebuild Illinois' economy" and "force the state of Illinois to live within its means."
When Dillard worked for Edgar, "we (the state of Illinois) paid our bills within 17 days," he said. "I know how to run the administration. I know how to work with Democrats to move us forward, and I have the only written plan to make Illinios a destination economy."
“It’s time we had a governor who understands suburban needs, including school funding, the transportation nightmare my wife goes through when she’s in her minivan, the devastating floods we’ve recently experienced and the school-aid formula,” Dillard said.
Since Chicago democrats took control of state government, Dillard said, funding has shifted dramatically toward Chicago public schools. Meanwhile, the state has raised income taxes, downgraded its bond rating 12 times and attempted to move much of the state pension burden onto local school districts.
Kirk Dillard wants to be governor of Illinois and says he's best suited to fix a broken state economy and represent a suburban point of view.
During an interview Monday, June 17, at Colonial Cafe in St. Charles, Dillard said he would formally announce his candidacy on July 15. But in the meantime, he's traveling the area, meeting with political and business leaders and getting his ducks in a row for a second run at the GOP nomination.
In 2010, Dillard entered the race late in the game—just five months before the primary—and lost by 193 votes to downstate Sen. Bill Brady on a ticket split by a handful of GOP hopefuls from the suburbs. Those included Dillard, former Attorney General Jim Ryan, former DuPage County Board Chairman Bob Schillerstrom, former state Republican Party chairman Andy McKenna and political commentator Dan Proft, among others.
This time around, Dillard is starting more than a year before the election and making an argument that he's the clear frontrunner in 2014.
The former chief of staff under Jim Edgar and present Hinsdale state senator says he's running to "rebuild Illinois' economy" and "force the state of Illinois to live within its means."
When Dillard worked for Edgar, "we (the state of Illinois) paid our bills within 17 days," he said. "I know how to run the administration. I know how to work with Democrats to move us forward, and I have the only written plan to make Illinios a destination economy."
“It’s time we had a governor who understands suburban needs, including school funding, the transportation nightmare my wife goes through when she’s in her minivan, the devastating floods we’ve recently experienced and the school-aid formula,” Dillard said.
Since Chicago democrats took control of state government, Dillard said, funding has shifted dramatically toward Chicago public schools. Meanwhile, the state has raised income taxes, downgraded its bond rating 12 times and attempted to move much of the state pension burden onto local school districts.
“I am opposed to shifting the pension burden onto real estate taxpayers, since our property taxes are already too high," he said. "Without major mandate relief, we should never accept those changes.”
Dillard says he's the right choice for Geneva, Batavia and St. Charles because he lives in the suburbs and represents suburban interests.
But he also emphasized that he believes he can unite the city, the suburbs and the downstate community, because he's lived in Chicago and in downstate Ekhart. He finished "a strong second" to Brady in downstate voting, and he promised Monday that he would reside in the Governor's Mansion in Springfield, something Gov. Pat Quinn and Gov. Rod Blagojevich did not do.
"The capital of Illinois is not Chicago, it’s Springfield," he said. "It’s where the governor must be to ride roughshod over a state government that will spend you into oblivion."
On this day, he was meeting with state Sen. Karen McConnaughay and Kane County Board Chairman Chris Lauzen, two Republicans who have had, to put it mildly, some disagreements in the past. But the ability to listen and to find common ground is one of the reasons Dillard believes he's the right person at the right time to represent the Republican Party in the race for Illinois governor.
“It’s not enough to elect a Republican governor,” he said. “It has to be a Republican who can work with a Democratic legislature. ... I can get a Democratic legislature to do things other Republicans can’t.”
But he also emphasized that he believes he can unite the city, the suburbs and the downstate community, because he's lived in Chicago and in downstate Ekhart. He finished "a strong second" to Brady in downstate voting, and he promised Monday that he would reside in the Governor's Mansion in Springfield, something Gov. Pat Quinn and Gov. Rod Blagojevich did not do.
"The capital of Illinois is not Chicago, it’s Springfield," he said. "It’s where the governor must be to ride roughshod over a state government that will spend you into oblivion."
On this day, he was meeting with state Sen. Karen McConnaughay and Kane County Board Chairman Chris Lauzen, two Republicans who have had, to put it mildly, some disagreements in the past. But the ability to listen and to find common ground is one of the reasons Dillard believes he's the right person at the right time to represent the Republican Party in the race for Illinois governor.
“It’s not enough to elect a Republican governor,” he said. “It has to be a Republican who can work with a Democratic legislature. ... I can get a Democratic legislature to do things other Republicans can’t.”
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