This is one in a series of stories looking at contested races in the Aurora area in the Nov. 5 general election.
The race for state representative in the 70th District is between challenger Randi Olson, a Democrat, and Republican incumbent Jeff Keicher.
The general election is set for Nov. 5.
Olson, 60, of Cortland, currently is a town trustee and is running for the first time for state representative.
Voters are concerned about property taxes, women’s rights and the current political situation regarding the national election, along with gun safety, Olson said.
“With property taxes, the average voter doesn’t understand property taxes and so they are just complaining they are too high,” Olson said. “They are too high and would like to see them reduced, but the only way the state can help with that is to reduce school taxes and the way we fund them. The state needs to find new ways to do that.”
Regarding women’s rights, Olson said women “are concerned about the right to abortion and IVF.”
As far as the current national election, Olson said constituents are also worried “about a nationwide ban on abortion and what Illinois can do about it.”
Gun safety, Olson said, relates “to school shootings and what we can still do.”
If elected, Olson said she would like to work on early childhood education, defense for juveniles when arrested and getting an amendment to protect abortion.
“I want to work on early childhood education – I have a long background in that,” she said.
Olson noted the creation of the new Illinois Department of Early Childhood “and I worry that the state might do it wrong. So I’d just like to be there to help all I can in getting that done correctly and anything else I can do to help parents with early education.”
Keicher, 51, of Sycamore, is seeking his fourth term in the General Assembly and says the top three issues in the district include property taxes, inflation and concerns about things currently going on regarding politics in general.
“Property taxes – people are worried about the part schools are taking – school funding – and the level of dollars that the schools have,” Keicher said. “One of the issues we have to look at is back in the late ’90s, the state funded over 50% of the local school budgets and just a couple of years ago it was 27%. They’ve cut away half the aid from the state and we need to get back to that.”
Inflation, Keicher said, “is about government living within its means as people are forced to do the same.”
“It’s centered around the impact of the dollar since it doesn’t go as far. You shouldn’t ask to give more,” he said.
The current political climate, Keicher argues, often involves people talking about switching party alliances after being longtime Republicans or Democrats “and people not falling back in their own lines” because they are disenchanted with both parties.
If re-elected, Keicher said he wants to work on a number of projects he is currently focusing on which includes “a waste hauler bill.”
“I haven’t been able to get exactly what we wanted to get passed this year – a bill that improves the fines and accountability for waste haulers going from transfer stations to the dump in those waste hauling trailers and having plastic blow out of the top of them,” he said. “There is an opportunity to move to a tube waste hauler where that wouldn’t be a problem.”
A driver’s license bill is also on tap, Keicher said, “House Bill 4133. It doesn’t do exactly what I need it to do.”
“It’s for senior drivers and it removes the required behind-the-wheel exam for senior drivers. I’d like to do a step two to have a set of triggers for the behind-the-wheel exam and that would be a physical or mental condition that could affect the safe operation of a motor vehicle,” Keicher said. “Tickets or accidents before your renewal, that puts you in a pool for a written or physical exam at any age.”
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
