Eleventh Congressional District candidate Tonia Khouri has plenty to say about helping her constituents enjoy productive lives in Illinois, especially with regard to job opportunities, tax relief and free market health care.
“The middle class and the working poor are being crushed by the rising costs on everything from health care and housing to consumer goods,” the Republican hopeful said. “The non-recovery has made it very difficult for many to find and keep sustainable employment. Government needs to limit its intrusiveness so as to allow the free market to empower both employers and employees.”
Khouri explained that she serves as the chairman of Economic Development on the DuPage County Board and continues to fight for Illinois taxpayers and their best interest at every opportunity.
As chairman of Economic Development, Khouri took part in the creation of the Metro West Manufacturing Workforce Collaboration, an initiative dedicated to connecting the unemployed and underemployed in western Cook County, DuPage County, and Fox River towns in Kane and Kendall counties with quality jobs that provide livable wages.
“Through the use of public-private partnerships, candidates are provided with free training for skilled manufacturing jobs that need to be filled in DuPage County and surrounding areas,” she said.
Since taking office, Khouri explained that she has opposed all tax increases and voted against increasing the salaries of county elected officials.
Furthermore, when she heard that Springfield wanted to levy an 11 percent income tax on small business, she decided to again stand up and take action. She led the effort to pass a resolution opposing the proposed tax. The bill never came to the floor in Springfield.
Recently Khouri explained that the number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits has held at steady, historically low levels, which is the latest sign the labor market may be stabilizing.
With such information, Khouri has found the opportunity to stress the importance of promoting the livelihood of all Illinois citizens.
“Jobs equals opportunity,” she said. “Sixty-two percent of net new jobs are created by small businesses. I've seen firsthand how these opportunities change lives and improve the quality of life for everyone.”
Khouri pointed to her own experiences with small business ownership.
“I am a small business owner,” she said. “My husband and I started out home service company 12 years ago with literally one man and one truck. We now have over 22,000 customers in the Chicagoland area.”
Based on her own hard work and successes, Khouri said she wants to help others succeed as well.
“We need to get government out of way and allow American ingenuity in the marketplace to put Americans back to work again,” she said.
Khouri also explained that it is important to support the nation’s job creators, and support free market insurance to create less burden on small businesses.
She said the state’s recent shutdown of its three-year-old Land of Lincoln Health co-op is a good example of how lives are made more complicated in Illinois.
Now that only seven of the 23 co-ops are still in operation, Khouri said she is frustrated with the current health care system and how it affects her constituents.
“This is an example of how poor legislation can have long-term effects on Americans and their livelihoods,” Khouri said. “[My opponent] Bill Foster's irresponsible vote on Obamacare didn't have the foresight of what so many others warned us about. Bigger government decreases competition, which leads to higher premiums, less choices, and loss of coverage.”
Khouri stressed her motivations for making it to Congress, and her focus is in the people and their success.
“Small businesses are the backbone for robust economies here in our local communities,” she said. “I look forward to going to Washington and standing up for employees and employers. There’s no other country on this planet that gives us more opportunity to succeed than this great nation. I’m going to Washington to make sure it stays that way.”
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