Democrat Officially Kicks-off Campaign for the 18th Congressional District of Illinois

Washington, IL; Springfield, IL – August 24, 2009 – Democrat Carl Ray officially kicked off his campaign for Illinois’ 18th Congressional District today at events in his hometown of Washington, Ill., and in Springfield, Ill. The 18th Congressional District seat is currently held by Republican U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock.

In remarks at the events, Ray promised that restoring the middle class would be his top priority in Congress. Ray emphasized the need for comprehensive and affordable medical care for all Americans. The issue of health care is a personal one for Ray. A few years ago, his wife had two illnesses that
strained the family’s finances. Then he learned his 18-month-old son was autistic. Treatments were available, but they had to start right away:

“So we were faced with a choice. Already on financial thin ice, we could risk financial ruin and start treatment, or we could have a son who may never speak. Of course, we did what any parent would do and moved ahead with treatment, resolving to find a way to pay for it. But the funny thing about health care is you never know how much it’s going to cost until after you’ve received treatment, and when the bills started to come in, it was overwhelming. We were bankrupted by it.

“But despite all the pain and humiliation that went with our financial meltdown, if you asked me if I would do it again, I’d say, ‘In a heartbeat!’ Because thanks to the therapy and medical treatment he received, our son now attends mainstream 3rd grade classes, where he’s a straight-A student and was named student of the quarter last year. I often joke that we used to pray that he’d speak one day, we must’ve prayed too hard because now he never stops. He talks about dinosaurs and the solar system and on and on.

“So I would do it again, but the point is that no one should have to. If there’s anyone around who can appreciate the need for comprehensive health care reform, it’s me.”

Ray also says that, during the time his son was being treated, he saw another child who could not afford additional therapy that seemed to fall further behind:

“I often think of how unfair it is for this to happen to a child, an innocent, someone whose only sin is being born into a family of modest means.

“Earlier this year, there was a program that came up for a vote in Congress to provide health insurance for kids whose parents couldn’t afford medical coverage – the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP. The vote was to renew coverage for seven million children and expand the program
to cover another four million. When that program came up, I thought of that little boy and the countless others like him in our country. And when Aaron Schock voted against the bill, I knew he had to go.”

Ray also criticized Schock for having missed 32 votes during his first six months in office, placing him in the bottom quarter of attendance:

“The House of Representatives only meets three days a week, and yet he’s missed anywhere from one vote to every vote on nineteen different dates.

“Now, just a few months ago, a lot of folks where I work got laid off. Good people, good friends with lots of years of service. It was painful to see and scary, too, since I didn’t know if I’d lose my job.

“So the idea that, in these economic times, our congressman, who has a guaranteed job for the next two years, a job that pays him over $169,000 a year of our money, has great health benefits, retirement, and other perks,
and he can’t show up to do his job? That is unacceptable!

“And even when he’s present, he’s not there for us! He supported the TARP bailout for Wall Street during the last election, but opposed the stimulus for Main Street when he got in. On the one hand, he supports allowing overseas tax havens for corporations and is against limiting the salaries and bonuses of executives at bailed out companies, yet, on the other hand, he’s opposed bills that would help working women, families losing their homes, and the unemployed.”

Ray went on to lay out what would be his five guiding beliefs as a U.S. Representative:

1. If you work 40 hours a week, you should be able to earn a living.
2. The street you live on should always be kept clean and safe.
3. Your children should be able to go to a good school and get a solid
education.
4. When you or someone in your family gets sick, you should be able to
see the doctor of your choice.
5. When you reach retirement age, you should be able to live with
dignity.

Ray served in the U.S. Air Force and is a veteran of the Gulf War. In peacetime, he was based at RAF Lakenheath UK where he worked as an avionics technician for F-111F strike bombers and was named the Maintenance Person of the 3rd Air Force (which, at the time encompassed all of Europe). He was also selected for the Base Honor Guard and was nominated for Base Honor Guard Member of the Year. In Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Ray supervised a team of twelve to twenty-four airmen. He received decorations, awards, and early promotions while serving.

In civilian life, Ray has worked in strategic planning and technology with Union Pacific Railroad, has been a software consultant, has led process improvement teams, and performed capacity and capital planning for the U.S. Operations Division at Caterpillar.

“I’ve worked with people from all walks of life and led groups in both civilian and military life, peacetime and wartime”, Ray says.

Ray graduated with Highest Distinction in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and went on to earn an MBA at Illinois, as well.

Ray has been married for fourteen years to his wife Kristin, and they have
two children. They live in Washington, Ill.

www.wallaceforillinois.com

Following a disturbing trend of blatant disregard for the American electoral process; we learned Tuesday morning that RNC Chairman, Michael Steele, chose to insert himself into the Illinois primary by endorsing Mark Kirk for US Senate. While regrettable, we now add the RNC to an ever-growing list of those including the Illinois GOP, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) and others, who have already decided for political expediency over principles.

I believe I speak for many Illinoisans when I say that we are tired of “pay to play” or what is sometimes referred to as the “Chicago way”. We are not looking for so-called “leaders” from the Republican Party to decide who will represent us as our next senator—or any other elected official, for that matter. This is not Soviet Russia. The rank and file citizens of Illinois, and of this great nation, have a right to a real primary where the people, not politicians, chose who represents them. We believe, the next US Senator should be voted of the people, by the people, and for the people—and not simply the result of a quorum of bureaucrats who’s most compelling criterion is a candidate’s bank account or the lure of personal gain.

Decisions based on money and/or clout is what has gotten our State in the mess we’re in now. Or, have we so soon forgotten Ryan, Blagojevich, and Burris? The list goes on ad infinitum.

Clearly, Republican leadership has not learned its lesson. In response, to our fight against arguably the most liberal President and Congress in our nation’s history—they’ve picked the most liberal Congressman from IL to represent our Party’s conservative values. In effect, they’re not only endorsed one of eight Republicans who voted for cap and trade; but themselves are contributing to the erosion of the planks of the Republican Party platform, both state and national. Mark Kirk, for all practical purpose, is a Republican in Name Only (RINO).

But here’s some news for Republican Party leadership. The Illinois GOP rank and file is assembling itself with voters who are adamant about principles; and who are sick and tired of the “Chicago way” of doing things. This Senate race in Illinois will be a defining moment for the future of our party, both national and statewide. Undoubtedly, the RNC, IL GOP and the NRSC will find themselves on the wrong side of history from an angry voter’s movement determined to change the course of the Party—and the future of our nation.

Compounding the problem, our nation’s infrastructure is in desperate need of improvements.  According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, only 42 percent of our roads are in “good” condition, 13.1 percent of our bridges are structurally deficient and 13.6 percent of our highways are obsolete. 

Our crumbling infrastructure costs lives from traffic deaths that could be avoided with safer, more modern design and capacity.  Inadequate infrastructure also wastes time and money in traffic jams.  The financial cost of this waste is estimated to be $78 billion per year.

Our new President is correct in saying we must take action to stimulate the economy by investing in our infrastructure and I agree it is time for action.

This investment in our infrastructure, however, must be targeted, timely and responsible.  

Unfortunately, the plan put forth by the House Leadership fails to meet these goals.  While their proposal is billed as a transportation and infrastructure investment package, in actuality less than eight percent will be put towards improving our roads, runways, rail lines and rivers.   This amount of funding simply will not create the amount of jobs promised by President Obama.

Congress must act, but more importantly we have to get that action right.   Congress has a chance now to stem the loss of jobs and savings. We cannot blow this opportunity to jump start the economy with a wasteful bill that will put our nation more deeply into debt and is so poorly designed that it will not create jobs.

The devil is in the details of the stimulus bill and I for one intend to examine the particulars to make sure money is wisely spent on projects that will generate economic growth.  A bad bill that fails to target the funds to infrastructure projects that will create economic growth is worse than no bill at all.

The Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, on which I serve, proposed a $90 billion investment in infrastructure, which would create or sustain 2.7 million jobs of the 3.5 million the new President has requested be created through stimulus.  Unfortunately, the proposed stimulus does not include this bipartisan proposal submitted by the Democratic Chairman and Ranking Republican Member of my Committee.

One way to ensure failure of this package is if Congressional leaders try to ram it through without allowing input from both sides of the aisle.

The current stimulus proposal includes $200 million for grass planting on the National Mall and $224 million presumed to go to build a new sewer treatment plant in Mexico.  Instead of these misguided priorities, I believe we should use the stimulus funding to make real investments, such as improving Corridor 67, Veterans Drive in Pekin or Technology Boulevard in East Peoria.  These projects would create jobs and stimulate economic growth throughout the region. 

In addition creating jobs, any stimulus package should provide tax relief for working families. House Republicans have proposed reducing the lowest individual tax rates from 15 percent to 10 percent and from 10 percent to 5 percent. As a result every taxpaying-family in America will see an immediate increase in their income with an average benefit of $500 in tax relief from the drop in the 10 percent bracket and $1,200 for the drop in the 15 percent bracket. A married couple filing jointly could save up to $3,200 a year in taxes.

Tax incentives to work, produce and create jobs have proven to be the most efficient catalyst for expanding the economy and therefore should not be left out of the stimulus package.

Also, we must provide better assistance to those struggling to find work during these times of high unemployment.  Incredibly, the Federal Government actually imposes income taxes on an individual receiving unemployment benefits. House Republicans propose to make unemployment benefits tax free so that those individuals between jobs can focus on providing for their families.

The bottom line is, the proposed stimulus can be enhanced to meet the vision of President Obama.  I pledge to work with him and with other members of Congress to ensure your taxpayer dollars are being spent in a targeted, timely and responsible fashion.

While the decision over whether or not to use taxpayer money to bailout our financial markets was controversial, one thing everyone can agree on is the need for oversight and transparency of these funds. For that very reason, I worked in a bipartisan fashion to pass an amendment establishing a user-friendly website where the American people can quickly and accurately see where their money is going.

I hope that an online database will provide a helpful tool in establishing more oversight, more transparency and more control over the flow of these taxpayer dollars. In essence, my amendment would create a “Google” for these bailout funds.

This website will clearly display who is using the money, for what purposes and how the dollars will ultimately cycle back into the pockets of Americans. This website will be easily searchable and contain information on both specific payments and the aggregate amounts received by each receiving entity. This amendment is about accurate accounting, openness, fair government, transparency and hopefully one day balancing our nation’s budget.

Currently, the Treasury department provides limited balance sheets listing complex purchases on their website. The target audience of this website is those applying for bailout funds, not those who are looking to see how their money is spent.

Well the majority of Americans are not high-powered New York City investment bankers and while they have not been part of this problem, they are being asked to foot the bill. It’s my belief they have the right to know where their money is going, for what program it is being used, and how it will benefit them in the long run. This is the essential reason for my amendment.

As the federal government continues its efforts to stabilize the market, funds will begin to cross over multiple government agencies to the point where anyone wanting to track the flow of money would have to visit multiple websites with a mouse in one hand and calculator in the other.

A person shouldn’t need to be a forensic accountant to decipher where their tax dollars are being spent.

Taxpayers deserve no less than complete transparency. I’ve continually advocated using internet resources to provide up-to-date information to the American people. As a State Representative, I sponsored legislation ultimately signed into law which placed information online regarding what academic credits were transferable from one college to the next. This information has helped thousands of Illinois students, colleges and universities save an enormous amount of time and expense.

The bottom line is, while you can’t put a price on good government, American’s certainly have the right to see what price they’re paying to bailout our economy.

(Washington, DC) Congressman Aaron Schock today expressed relief that the Illinois House of Representatives voted to impeach Governor Rod Blagojevich and issued the following statement:

The vote of my former colleagues in the House today is the first step toward ending the nightmare that Rod Blagojevich is for the State of Illinois.

The next step is a trial in the Senate. Of course it is easier for the House to vote for charges of impeachment and another matter altogether for the Senate to consider the merits of those charges

However, the systematic corruption of this Governor has been clear for any objective person for several years now. Having reviewed the House charges and with the nearly unanimous vote of the House, I see absolutely no reason for a supermajority of the Senate to not follow through and remove this cancer from Illinois’ government.

Long before the astonishing transcripts of wiretaps by the U.S. Attorney’s office were released it was clear to all who followed Illinois government that we had the equivalent of an organized crime ring systematically shaking down people who dealt with Illinois government for personal and political gain. It was racketeering pure and simple.

That is why as far back as 2005, it was reported in newspaper headlines that I called Rod Blagojevich the most corrupt Governor in Illinois’ history—and that was despite ex-Governor George Ryan being in prison at the time.

As someone who just left the Illinois General Assembly this week to serve in the U.S. Congress, I regret not having been able to cast a vote for impeaching Governor Blagojevich myself but I am beyond gratified that Joan Krupa was able to do so in my place.

Again, with my first-hand knowledge of Illinois government, I can say that while removing Rod Blagojevich from Illinois government will be a huge step in the right direction regarding both the corruption and dysfunction that has become the norm in the Statehouse, it will not solve those problems in and of itself. There is still more work to be done on both fronts by both Illinois’ public officials and by vigilance of the people of Illinois to not get worn down or cynical that the system cannot be changed. Nothing less than an honest, transparent and effective government should be tolerated or settled for by the people of Illinois.

I am proud of what my former colleagues did today in their historic action to overwhelming vote for impeachment charges of Rod Blagojevich.