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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Naperville’s Pulse in Springfield – Advice from my Father

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In reflecting on the loss of my father on May 17, 2015, I found myself contemplating a couple of very good pieces of advice he had given to me while growing up, and how the General Assembly may be able to actually solve some of the serious challenges our state faces if my colleagues on the other side of the aisle would only heed his wise counsel.

My father taught me at a young age that to achieve a goal or to solve a problem you need to “plan your work, and then work your plan.” That bit of guidance helped me in school. It helped me in my quest to obtain my Commercial Pilot’s License, and to implement sound financial and budgeting practices for the City of Naperville when I served on the City Council.

The Democrats who control the Illinois House of Representatives, however, don’t seem to have a plan to get our state out of the financial mess they created. On their watch, we continue to careen from one crisis to another while they pass budget after budget that is billions of dollars out of balance, and insist that we need yet another tax increase to pay for it. It was no surprise when last week Democrats proposed a $1 billion per year tax increase on families and job creators in Illinois, and this week introduced in the House their own budget that is $4 billion out of balance—again.

My father also was fond of stressing that “God gave us two ears but only one mouth for a reason.” That reason, of course, is to encourage us to stop talking past one another, and to instead listen and work together—another concept that has so far been lost on the majority party in Springfield.

In recent weeks House Democrats abandoned the bi-partisan, bi-cameral working groups set up by Governor Rauner on the budget, workers’ compensation reform and other crucial issues we need to address in favor of playing partisan political games involving one-sided hearings and a series of sham votes on bills they sponsor, but vote against.

Governor Rauner came to the Capitol this spring with a plan to get Illinois back on track. He listened to lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and negotiated in good faith. We’re down to the final days of our scheduled spring legislative session, but it’s not too late to work together on real solutions…if Mike Madigan will only heed my father’s advice.

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Grant Wehrli
Grant Wehrli
Grant Wehrli is a lifelong Naperville Resident and former Representative in the Illinois House of Representatives and Naperville City Councilman.

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