Rick Laib | Contributed photo
Rick Laib | Contributed photo
Republican Congressional candidate Rick Laib sees himself running not just against his opponent, but against the Springfield way.
Facing Rep. Bill Foster (D-Illinois) in the 11th District, Laib recently received a stark remainder of that with the release of a new University of Illinois at Chicago study that found Illinois taxpayers are now forced to pay some $556 million in annual corruption costs.
“It would be entirely unfair and implausible to suggest that all of Springfield lawmakers are corrupt,” Laib told the Will County Gazette. “What this suggests, then, when Illinois is regarded as one of the most corrupt states in the nation is that a culture of corruption does exist and a path to effectively reporting it does not.”
Over the last two decades, researchers also found the state’s corruption price-tag easily tops $10 billion, or around $830 per resident.
This year alone, at least four state lawmakers have been indicted on corruption charges, adding to the state’s long and sordid political history that includes four governors having been sentenced to prison over the last five decades. And then there's longtime House Speaker Mike Madigan, who finds himself cast as a central figure in the ongoing federal probe involving utility giant ComEd and a pay-for-play scheme.
“Putting an end to corruption would be possible only if we are content to putting an end to opportunity...which we are not,” Laib added. “But when it comes to matters of fiscal responsibility we see yet another benefit of having a balanced budget. When a budget is balanced, every dollar is accounted for.”
Going forward, Laib has a bit of advice for voters in terms of bringing about the kind of change many of them insist they now want to see.
“What Illinois residents need to ask when evaluating future candidates is if voters believe that the price tag of corruption will naturally be lowered,” he said. “If the price tag isn't lowered, and doesn't stay the same, are voters content that nothing is done resulting in a price tag that is incrementally raised?”
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