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Sunday, October 18, 2009 9:26 PM CDT
Proft puts his familiar voice to work in running for Ill. governor
By ROB STROUD, Staff Writer
rstroud@jg-tc.com
MATTOON — Many radio listeners have gotten to know Dan Proft’s voice in recent years through his work as a conservative political commentator for WLS-AM 890 in Chicago.
Since Proft began campaigning throughout Illinois in June as a Republican candidate for governor, they have been getting to associate a face with that voice.
Proft, a Wheaton native who founded and runs a public affairs firm, said on Friday during a visit to Mattoon that these radio listeners know that he has not just recently made up a platform for his campaign.
“These are positions I have been talking about for a long time,” Proft said.
The centerpiece slogan of Proft’s campaign has been, “Illinois isn’t broken. It’s fixed.” He has said Illinois is run by a government system designed to benefit the politically powerful. He has taken aim at top Democrats as well as Republicans he thinks have failed to present an alternative governing vision.
In particular, Proft said pension systems associated with public education, public transportation and Medicaid have created “dependent and dependable” voting blocs for politicians.
“Pension is a ticking time bomb,” Proft said, citing figures that he says show Illinois has a $90-billion unfunded pension liability.
If elected governor, Proft said he would keep the state’s promises to current state pension beneficiaries because these workers relied on those promises.
However, Proft said he would make reforms going forward so the state can manage its pension obligations without imposing additional tax burdens. These reforms include raising the retirement age, tying cost of living increases to the actual inflation rate, and prohibiting workers from collecting multiple public pensions, excluding military pensions.
For Illinois to grow economically, Proft said the state needs to put a cap on state spending and cut taxes that drive away residents and businesses. He has proposed cutting the income tax rate by 50 percent, cutting the corporate tax rate by 50 percent, and eliminating the estate tax.
Proft said economic growth is essential to improving the state’s revenue in the long run. He said the state can bring in additional revenue in the short term by selling the lottery system, which has failed as a school funding source, according to Proft, and by using its $8.8 billion in federal stimulus money.
The stimulus money is money from the states that is sent back to the states by the federal government, Proft said. If elected governor, Proft said he would seek waivers from the federal government so Illinois can use its stimulus funds without restriction.
For more information, go online to www.proft2010.com.
Contact Rob Stroud at rstroud@jg-tc.com or 238-6861.
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