To the Editor:
On March 17 Rep. Jay Hoffman voted yes for Illinois House Resolution 569. The resolution was titled, "Heath Care Reform Adopted," and was written to provide Illinois politicians a way to show their support for President Obama's health care plan for America. Jay Hoffman cast his vote in support of the President's health care plan. There should have been real bipartisan support for Obama health care. CNN polling over the weekend revealed the following:
The bottom line is that President Obama's health care approach is not what people want or believe in; nor do they trust the federal government to administer it in the right way. Citizens in Illinois have the same lack of public trust in state government.
The facts in Illinois are that Medicaid payments increased 65 percent over the past five years; there currently is an unemployment rate of 12.6 percent in this area; there is insufficient funding by politicians for education to keep our schools running, or to retain enough teachers to educate students. We also have the worst funded public pension system in the nation. Furthermore, Illinois engages in a pattern of creating benefits and entitlement coverage and continually increasing the spending obligations for the people of Illinois. And the state continues its practice of making late payments on its bills.
Supporting the Obama health care bill will cost $1 trillion. The state of Illinois is broke and close to bankruptcy. Irresponsible behavior by state politicians, such as Jay Hoffman, makes matters worse. Our state representatives need to practice financial responsibility. Hoffman owes it to the people of the 112th District and the citizens of Illinois.
Dwight Kay
Candidate for State Representative
112th District