Meet the Candidates: 75th District's David McAloon

BOURB0NNAIS -- Republican David McAloon is circulating petitions to run for state representative in a district that voted overwhelmingly for George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004, but which is currently represented by a Democrat.  The Bourbonnais resident says he's got more than double the signatures required to get on the February 5 2008 GOP primary ballot, and the more people he meets, the more he's certain they're ready for a change.

Having been active in Kankakee County’s conservative grassroots for more than ten years, McAloon says the people of the 75th State Rep district, which includes parts of Grundy, LaSalle, Iroquois, Will and Kankakee counties, are not being represented well by Careen Gordon, the district’s two-term incumbent.  McAloon is confident she can be beaten in 2008. 

“She says she’s pro-business and pro-Second Amendment, but her record doesn’t show that.  If she’s so pro-business, why doesn’t she work to roll back fees and if she’s for gun owners, why doesn’t she get a conceal-and-carry law on the books?” he said.   “And why isn’t she working to protect Illinois landowners from eminent domain?”

McAloon says Gordon votes with Chicago Democrats while trying to appear to people back home that she’s independent of Speaker Madigan’s strong grip.  According to the United Republican Fund’s year end voting record, Gordon voted with conservatives only 35 percent of the time. 

Gordon hasn’t had a strong challenge since 2004 when Morris Chief of Police Doug Hayse made the Democrats spend almost half a million dollars to elect the former prosecutor.  She won her first term by less than 1500 votes. 

“This is a 55/45 district, with 55 percent Republican,” McAloon, a Republican precinct committeeman, said.  “A strong conservative Republican can win back this seat.   Many of the 75th District's voters are Reagan Democrats.”

“The people of this district tell me they are concerned about taxes and bond issues.  They’re also concerned about loss of good-paying jobs,” he said.  “Look at how higher business fees ran good paying trucking jobs out of state.  That's what the Democrats gave us. We need to bring productive industries back into the area and we need to cut taxes.”

While that’s the common conservative cry, reducing taxes in a tense political and fiscal climate is a hard sell.  What about expanding gambling to increase revenue?

“Looking to gambling to fix revenue problems is like stepping into quicksand,” McAloon said.  “You step in, you sink and you gradually sink deeper and die.  That’s a pretty good analogy. . .”

McAloon said the state’s income tax should be reduced a half-percent and the business fees raised two years ago by the Democrats should be repealed.  “We also need to look at TIFF laws.  They are being abused and misused,” he said.

And there needs to be a state budget re-prioritization which invests more in roads and infrastructure instead of programs that are unnecessary, he said.

McAloon, his wife and two sons, are active in the community and attend church at Tinley Park’s Family Harvest Church where McAloon has been a television show producer for the last ten years.  Prior to Family Harvest, the Illinois State University graduate was an operations manager at Ameritech.

McAloon said he has been interested in politics since the 1984 Reagan campaign and became familiar with Kankakee County politics while working for candidates such as Al Salvi, Peter Fitzgerald and Patrick O’Malley.  During those campaigns, he said, he found out first hand how badly the far south suburbs needed to develop strong Republican organizations.

As a result, McAloon helped start Kankakee/Will County area conservative network Virtue PAC with Dr. Calvin Slot.  Virtue PAC coordinates social conservative groups with anti-tax and pro-Second Amendment efforts.   McAloon stepped down from Virtue PAC's chairmanship in 2005, just before his first bid for state rep. 

McAloon brushes aside his loss in 2006 to Jason Briscoe, who the House Republicans backed in the primary.   He’s confident this election will not be a repeat of last year’s. 

“The House Republicans said they will stay out of the race if there’s a primary this time,” McAloon said, who says he’s heard of one other person circulating petitions for the 75th GOP slot.

“I believe strongly in citizen legislators versus career politicians,” McAloon said.  “I’ve got mixed thoughts about term limits, but I do think people need to know their representatives and feel that if they’re not doing their jobs, they can throw them out.  With all the problems the Democrats have caused in Illinois, 2008 could be one of those years when voters just want to throw the bums out.”

It certainly makes sense for McAloon to hope for next year to be that kind of year.

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Contact David McAloon’s campaign at: http://www.friendsformcaloon.org.

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IR's "Meet the Candidates" series:

48th District's Dave Carlin

Comments

Dave is a hard working candidate,
Good luck.

[Will County Republican]

David is a Reagan Republican at a time when we need just that type of Republican to regain this District

[Dexter]

If he is a true Reagan Republican, lets hear him endorse Ron Paul. Otherwise, lets look for someone better. I like what I hear(he tells us) about his beliefs, but ,remember, we have been made the laughing-stock of politics since Bush promised "no nation building." The American people hate Bush. Check out the polls. The fastest rising Republican star is Ron Paul,who will raise Ten Million Dollars on one day-The Fifth of November. Watch and learn. Get on board if you are a patriot and a real Reagan Republican.

[PhilCollins]

I hope that David wins. He'll be a great legislator.

No Reagan Republican would endorse Rep. Paul. Paul doesn't want to defeat terrorists. Reagan attacked our enemies whenever he knew that he needed to do so, to protect our country.

I hate Bush because he's too liberal.

Mike Huckabee is rising as much as Ron Paul. In a few of this month's polls, Huckabee had 7%. Two months ago, he only had 2%.

[Grundy Republican]

David McAloon will be a great State Rep for Grundy & surrounding counties.

He is honest, hard-working, & a family man in the truest sense.

Unlike others who pretend to support the family & family values, David is the real deal!

Careen Gordon bows at Madigan's knee when told to. The Dems have screwed up this state & I aim to give control of the State House @ least, to the Republicans, & will work to that end.

Bye, bye Careen & your Chicago hoodlum pals.

Hello, David McAloon & true reform.

Impeach Blagojevich!

[Ed Jahn]

Civics 101 - All politics are local - People who are still looking for a national candidate to lead them to the promised land need to wake up - it is ALL about grassroots.
That's how companies are built, that's how states are built, that's how regions are built...
If you take shortcuts, you fail - period.