McHenry Times

Rep. Allen Skillicorn (R-Crystal Lake) wants to see more lawmakers cut in his own image when it comes to the issue of a state pension.

“You can’t solve problems when you’re on the take,” Skillicorn reflected in a recent press release. “I refused a pension and will not support or endorse candidates unwilling to pledge to do the same.”

Skillicorn said he can’t imagine the way Springfield now functions is what creators of the constitution had in mind when they put pen to paper.

“When I consider the vision our Nation’s Founders had of the ‘citizen legislator,’ I doubt that pensions would have ever come to mind,” he added in the release. “Considering that they pledged their lives, fortunes and sacred honor to the cause of forming our country, the morphing of the citizen legislator into the modern day professional politician with the power, pay, perks and a pension to boot, seems inconceivable.”

Skillicorn added history tells us that most “citizen legislators” held full-time non-political employment and only served in Congress on a part-time basis and for a relatively short period.

“While pay and perks were almost non-existent early on, circumstances changed after the Civil War ushering in the rise of the career politician, resulting in the mess we find ourselves in today--where the political class from DC to Springfield enrich themselves on the backs of struggling taxpayers,” he added. “It is time to take a stand and return the politician to the proper place of serving the people as a citizen legislator, no pension required.”