Michelle Smith, Republican candidate for Illinois Senate to represent Plainfield, Crest Hill, Shorewood and other parts of Will County, recently protested the Illinois Supreme Court’s decision to strike map redistricting from the state’s election ballot.
“Today’s ruling is yet another win for [House Speaker] Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) and political insiders like Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant,” Smith said. “Even though hundreds of thousands of voters signed petitions to get independent redistricting on the ballot, Madigan and his allies sued to stop Illinoisans from having their say.”
Smith, challenging incumbent state Sen. Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant (D-Plainfield) in November, wants to diminish the power held by Springfield’s “career” politicians; facilitate state government reform by enforcing term limits; create a legitimately balanced budget, and overcome obstacles preventing entrepreneurial success in Illinois.
“Our political system is broken, and we need term limits and fair legislative maps to break the cycle of corruption in Springfield,” Smith said. “As your next State Senator, I will fight to pass these reforms so we can get state government working for us again.”
Smith and her husband have been small business owners in Illinois since 1990. She recently received an endorsement from Illinois’ largest small business advocacy group, the Illinois branch of the National Federation of Independent Businesses Political Action Committee.
“[The] ruling removing redistricting reform from the November ballot was another blow to democracy delivered by political insiders….,” the candidate said. “They will always put their interests and those of their allies ahead of the people of Illinois.”
The mother of four has chalked up much previous decision-making experience. Smith has served as president of the Plainfield District 202 School Board, Illinois’ fifth-largest school district, since 1990, and has accomplished budget consolidation and successful union negotiation, working on behalf of over 3,000 employees.
Smith reasserted her commitment to serving as an independent representative via a recent Facebook post.
“I am committed to serving as your independent representative in Springfield," the post said. "We can't continue to elect legislators who refuse to buck their party leaders and expect our legislature to produce the bipartisan solutions that can create jobs and fix our broken government. We need to work together to fix Illinois' problems!”
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