Jeff Keicher of Sycamore, a Republican candidate in the 70th House District, will not accept a taxpayer-funded pension if elected to the General Assembly, he said in a release.
The small-business owner says he decided to run for office to help balance the budget and stop reckless spending.
“We must learn to live within our means without asking taxpayers for more of their hard-earned money, especially when it comes to lavish benefits for part time work,” Keicher said.
Keicher is running for the seat being vacated by Rep. Robert Pritchard (R-Hinckley) in the 70th District that covers parts of DeKalb, Boone and Kane counties.
"I cannot ask hard working taxpayers in Illinois to pay for a pension or provide health care for part-time work in the Legislature," Keicher said. "Public service is honorable but it should not be used to enrich a person's pocketbook.”
According to the release, the General Assembly Retirement System is part of Illinois’ five pension systems that have more than $130 billion in unfunded pension liability.
"I also support legislation eliminating pension and health care benefits for all state legislators," Keicher said. "I'm happy to do my part by declining a pension and health care but we should eliminate these perks for all lawmakers. We need to change the mindset in the Illinois General Assembly back to citizen legislators leading by example.
“Career politicians have gotten us where we are today, I think we can all agree things should be done differently," he added.
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