Will County Gazette

Republican candidate for the 97th Illinois House District Michelle Smith is worried about the rising cost of living across Illinois.

Smith, who will face Democrat Harry Benton in the race for the Illinois 97th House seat, is running on a campaign to advocate for taxpayers noting that taxes and fees should be cut, according to Ballotpedia.

"Families deserve REAL RELIEF from high taxes and fees, which made it harder to make ends meet under record inflation," Smith stated on Facebook.

Illinoisans are paying $522 more for the same grocery items over last year. Home food prices rose 12.2% from June 2021 to June 2022. Meat, poultry, fish and eggs cost $115 more this year, and cereals and bakery products cost $75 more this year than last, Illinois Policy reported. Fruits and vegetables were up $59, non-alcoholic beverages were up $58 and dairy was up $54. This rise in costs outweighs the savings from Gov. J.B. Pritzker's suspension of the 1% grocery tax, which he has forced grocers to advertise. The suspension will save shoppers $50 based on late July prices. 

However, Illinois is one of only 13 states to tax groceries in the first place. The economic woes are not going away anytime soon as the nation faces a trade-off between high inflation and low unemployment. To make matters worse, public sector unions are pushing a constitutional amendment that would cement their power in the state constitution and increase the average property tax bill by $2,100 in order to pay for their demands.

Smith was appointed Plainfield Township clerk in 2019 and was elected to it in 2021. She owns a construction management company, BSPI Inc., specializing in repairing, rebuilding, renovating and restoring commercial buildings. Smith runs the company along with her husband Brian. She has also served on the Board of Education for Plainfield District 202 for eight years and was the president from 2015-2017. 

"Michelle cares for her community and remains troubled by the direction Springfield politicians continue to take our state, pushing extreme policies over tackling Illinois’ greatest challenges such as rising crime rates, lowering education standards and endless attempts to increase taxes," her campaign website reads.

If elected, Smith vows to limit government spending and create a business-friendly climate in Illinois. She will also support law enforcement and opposes efforts to defund the police and policies putting criminals back onto the streets. Finally, she pledges to be an advocate for parents regarding education and wants to get politics out of the classroom.

Smith previously ran for State Senate in the 49th District in 2016, but she lost to Democrat Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant. In that campaign, Smith ran on pension reform, reducing property taxes, opposing a bailout to Chicago Public Schools, growing the Illinois economy and term limits for politicians.