Will County Gazette

Veteran republican lawmaker Margo McDermed is convinced Springfield’s day of reckoning could be coming any day now.

“We’re almost to the point where democrats will have to face the fact we’re almost bankrupt,” McDermed told the Will County Gazette. “I think that tells you how desperate the situation is and I think voters told the governor what they think of his ongoing tax and spend strategy with the way they rejected his progressive tax proposal in November. Everybody knows Springfield needs to change.”

Even as she steps away, McDermed plans to still be part of the revolution. After six-years of serving as the face of the 37th District, she recently tendered her resignation earlier this month with a vow to remain active in the community.

For the state to move forward, McDermed said the primary goal has to continue to be showing House Speaker Mike Madigan the door sooner rather than later.

“I think the republicans are doing their best to try to get Illinois on good financial footing but republicans are the minority party and there’s a limit to what they can get done,” she said. “In all my years in the General Assembly, I’ve never understood what the democrats’ end game is. They keep passing bill after bill that requires money when they know there is no money. I don’t understand why they’ve persisted with all the deficit spending and Madigan has been leading the charge.”

McDermed said she's never felt the powers that be have dealt with issue of getting the state’s financial house in order in any real way.

“It’s a complicated issue and it’s not a popular topic, but if we’re ever going to get back on our feet we’ve got to deal with things like pension reform and the cost of state government first and foremost,” she said.

As for her own legacy, the 70-year-old McDermed said she walks away feeling as if she’s accomplished many of the things she set out to. Things like the capital bill she worked on that paved the way for work on Interstate 80 spanning much of Will County and the state’s tracking system for evidence related to a sexual assault.

“I could serve another ten years and not provide as much value to our citizens as that bill did,” McDermed said of the capital bill. “I guess you could say my decision to leave now has something to do with leaving on a high note.”