Will County Gazette

Rep. Margo McDermed (R-Mokena) says her former colleague, Jeanne Ives, could not be leaving Springfield at a worse time for taxpayers concerned about the direction of the state.

“Jeanne Ives is all about policy and spent more time than any other member of Congress researching bills,” McDermed told the Will County Gazette of Ives, a Republican from Wheaton, whose Springfield swan song came this week after representing the 42nd District for six years. “When she leaves, there will no one else to fill that gap.”

Ives, who gave up her seat to run against Gov. Bruce Rauner in the Republican primary, marked her departure by penning a letter to her many backers, thanking them for their support and warning them about the tough terrain that she says still lies ahead.

Rep. Margo McDermed

Her manifesto touched on everything from the state’s growing pension crisis to its sputtering economy and runaway property tax rates, all factors that Ives says have heavily factored into the state’s dwindling population.

“We are one of only three states to lose population every year for the last 5 years,” Ives wrote. “Last year we lost a record 45,116 residents according to U.S. Census data, even as every one of our neighboring states gained population. When I took office we were the 5th most populous state. Now we are 6th, behind Pennsylvania.”

McDermed mused that is characteristic of Ives to have the most pertinent information right at her fingertips.

“She always read bills from the point of view of protecting taxpayers,” she said. “If it was going to negatively impact taxpayers she was against. If we had more fiscal watchdogs like her, we wouldn’t be in this position now of high and rising taxes.”

While Ives argues that all the taxation has gotten the state nowhere, McDermed says she fears the course may be set for more of the same.

“If we believe all the (Gov.-elect J.B.) Pritzker camp’s promises, taxpayers should expect to pay a 9 to 10 percent income tax rate,” she said. ”We will have to wait and see what happens, but you just know that’s something Jeanne Ives wouldn’t just sit around and stand for.”