Libertarian candidates make campaign stop at Mt. Vernon Fall Festival

Published 10/02/2017 10:15 PM Updated 10/02/2017 11:54 PM MT. VERNON (Heartland Newsfeed) — Three candidates running for the Libertarian Party of Illinois‘ nomination for Illinois offices in March made an appearance this past weekend at Mt. Vernon’s Fall Festival. Claire Ball, a corporate accountant for U.S. Cellular from Addison, is running for state comptroller against Democrat Susana Mendoza, who will be seeking a full term in 2018. Ball was a candidate for comptroller in the 2016 special election to serve the remaining two years of a term which ends in January 2019. The vacancy was created with the death of Judy Baar Topinka, who was elected to a sixth term in 2014 and passed away a month after the election. Jerome “Jerry” Stermer was appointed by outgoing Democratic governor Pat Quinn for the remaining 25 days of the Quinn administration and would be replaced with Leslie Munger following Gov. Bruce Rauner’s inauguration as interim comptroller. Due to election laws, a special election was scheduled for November 2016 to fill the remainder of the term. Ball said Illinoisans have a right to know how state politicians are spending their tax dollars. “I want to tie back budgets to actual results. Right now we don’t see that,” Ball said. “We get the budgets at the beginning of the year and at the end of the year, when they get around to it, they get the results out. There’s no comparison. You can’t really see how the politicians have been with spending our tax dollars.” Ball added that Illinois needs someone who is more focused on the job, rather than the politics surrounding the office. Upon nomination and a successful ballot access drive, Ball will face off against the winner of the March primaries. Mendoza is currently unchallenged for the Democratic primary and the Republican primary does not currently have any candidates at press time. Steve Dutner, who is seeking the nomination for Secretary of State, was also in attendance. Dutner, who hails from Elgin, is an an activist for the Fox Valley Libertarian Party, vice chairman of the DuPage Libertarians and serves as the activism director for the Libertarian Party of Illinois. Dutner stated that it’s his goal to keep the government out of people’s private business and plans to do that, in part, by privatizing the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles. “One of the things I’m running on is to privatize the DMV to make things a little more private for consumers who have to utilize the secretary of state’s office or the DMV,” said Dutner. Dutner added that privatization and keeping government out of people’s everyday lives is the main message of the Libertarian Party. Upon nomination and a successful ballot access drive, Dutner will face off against the winner of the March primaries. Current Democratic Secretary of State Jesse White is running for a sixth term, following initial decisions to retire in August 2015. Senator Mike Hastings is a potential challenger and has been circulating petitions to run for the nomination, but announced that he would not run against White. Hastings also has been circulating petitions to run for Attorney General. In the Republican nomination race, J.C. Griffin, an Iraqi War veteran, has considered running for the nomination, but nothing is known at press time regarding campaign status. Also in attendance was Matthew C. Scaro, who is one of three current hopefuls for the gubernatorial nomination. Scaro is a Chicago resident who runs a marketing and advertising business, Dividend Marketing. “I felt it was important to show support to my southern Illinois constituency,” Scaro stated in his release. “At the festival, I spoke with some locals and asked for their thoughts about our state affairs, with many showing displeasure with their representation in Springfield, the higher individual and corporate income taxes and our incumbent governor. Who can blame them?” Gov. Bruce Rauner has been facing blowback from Republican legislators, like state representatives Allen Skillicorn and Jeanne Ives and state senator Dan McConchie, regarding recent signings of legislation, such as  making Illinois a sanctuary state and approving extensions for taxpayer-funded abortions. “I want people to know there is hope for change and encourage them to consider voting Libertarian, as we are truly the only party representing the people and are the party of maximum freedom and minimum government,” Scaro added. Scaro continued that the political winds are changing, as people are ready for change and for a Libertarian governor. Scaro is running on a multi-issue platform, which includes lowering taxes across the board for individuals, small business owners and corporations, reducing burdensome regulations, calls for truly balanced budgets without resorting to tax hikes and the implementation of term limits, legalizing marijuana and implementing constitutional open carry. “I believe marijuana legalization should be on the forefront of everyone’s mind, especially in southern Illinois, not for social or moral implications, but rather for economic implications,” Scaro continues. “The United States imported over $5 billion in industrial hemp from Canada, but I want those dollars in the pockets of Illinois farmers instead of relying on a country whose climate is detrimental for hemp cultivation. In Mt. Vernon, a hemp crop could be grown and harvested twice a year and bring forth twice the yield as the single planting and harvest season in Canada.” Scaro gave props to the City of Mt. Vernon for hosting a wonderful festival and the South Central Libertarians chapter for their support.