McHenry Times

The Chicago Tribune has endorsed East Dundee Village Trustee Allen Skillicorn in his run for the Republican nomination for state representative in District 66. 

The soon-to-be-vacant seat now held by retiring Republican state Rep. Mike Tryon of Crystal Lake has four candidates vying in the GOP primary -  Skillicorn, Lakewood Trustee Paul Serwatka, West Dundee Trustee Dan Wilbrandt and McHenry County Board Member Carolyn Schofield of Crystal Lake.

After weighing the admirable qualities in some of the Republican candidates, the Chicago Tribune settled on Skillicorn.

“But in this race, our nod goes to Skillicorn, a marketing professional who is the most outspoken about the need to blow up the status quo in Springfield,” the newspaper wrote. “Locally, he led the charge to freeze the property tax levy and has been a cheerleader of (Gov. Bruce) Rauner's agenda. We'd like to see Skillicorn make his own mark. We're confident he will. Skillicorn is endorsed.”

The newspaper noted that although Schofield has the most government experience, it found it disappointing that she voted against a bill that would have “allowed for more consolidation of county services, saving taxpayers' money.”

The newspaper said Wilbrandt has proven to be an independent thinker who isn’t afraid to vote against the board majority in his village and added that he “has been tight with the purse strings.”

Last week, Skillicorn was endorsed by former state Sen. Chris Lauzen, who is the current Kane County Board chairman. Tax Accountability, the political action arm of Taxpayers United of America, has also endorsed Skillicorn, and a January Compass Consulting poll showed him leading the Republican race by 15 points.

He was elected East Dundee village trustee in 2011 and his effort to keep property taxes from rising ultimately dropped village property taxes per home.

Skillicorn grew up in Crystal Lake and Algonquin, and graduated from Dundee Crown High School. He resides in East Dundee with his family and is the marketing director for a local electronics manufacturer. Skillicorn currently serves as vice chair for the Kane County Republican Party, and believes in greater government accountability and lower taxes.