State House Candidates Talk Pension Reform, Jobs

Job creation and pension reform were the hot topics Monday night as the three Democrats vying for the 84th State House District seat debated the issues in Naperville.

The forum was sponsored by the Naperville Township Democrats, and the roughly 80 people in attendance at the Naperville Municipal Center were given the chance to meet the three candidates who will face off in the March 20 primary: Alex Arroyo, former head of the Aurora Township Democrats; Carole Cheney, attorney and vice president of the Naperville Township Democrats; and Stephanie Kifowit, 3rd Ward alderman in the city of Aurora.

The winner of this three-way race will battle Aurora Republican Pat Fee for the seat. The newly-drawn 84th District has no incumbent, and includes portions of Montgomery, Boulder Hill, Naperville, Oswego and Aurora. 

Candidates were each asked seven questions, and provided written answers. On Monday night, they were invited to elaborate on some of those answers, before taking questions from the audience.

Kifowit discussed the state budget, and the need, as she said, to reduce the deficit without raising taxes. She touted her experience in Aurora, where last year she took the time to go through the city’s $400 million budget line by line, and discovered more than $1 million in savings, she said.

The same should be done with the state budget, she said, reducing expenses such as air travel from Chicago to Springfield for legislators.

Cheney said one key to creating new jobs in the district would be manufacturing clusters, a way of organizing businesses geographically across communities so supply lines are shorter. Companies in these clusters, she said, are in a more competitive position, and the concept can be applied to everything from food production to green energy.

Arroyo said there should be a civil penalty for companies who, like Sears, receive tax breaks from the state, and then decide to move elsewhere. Kifowit, in her written response, said she would support a law that requires those companies to pay back the incentives and tax breaks given if they eliminate jobs or leave the state.

Arroyo also suggested the creation of business roundtables, to discuss the financial future of Illinois.

One audience member asked about pension reform, a heated topic in the state legislature. Pensions at the state level are underfunded by $81 billion, due to years of underpayment or non-payment from the state. Cheney said this is not a short-term problem, and solutions should focus on long-term stability.

Arroyo said the state must keep its promise to workers who paid into the pension system for years, and can do so with better fiscal management. And Kifowit said she would not support shifting those costs to local governments, but would rather see a comprehensive reform take place at the state level, to stop abuse of the system and pay workers what they have earned.

Early voting in the primary election begins on Monday, Feb. 27.