Metro East Sun

Doug Jameson feels his career job tells him everything he needs to know about what should most concern him in Springfield.

“First up, we’ve got to do something about taxes,” Jameson, a Belleville Republican running for the seat held by Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Swansea) in the 113th District, told the Metro East Sun. “I’m a Realtor by trade, and I see all the people leaving Illinois every day and it’s not about to stop anytime soon unless we get new legislative leadership.”

Jameson said taxes have become such a major problem for the state freezing them alone won’t do much to slow the damage, not to mention stop the constant flow of out-migration.

“We can’t afford to just concentrate on freezing taxes,” he said. “To simply do so would be freezing them at some of the highest rates in the country. We’ve got to get them lowered first and we need to start cutting now.”

Jameson said corruption in government also stands as one of the state’s biggest issues and he’s convinced longtime House Speaker and Democratic Party chairman Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) simply has too much power for just one person.

"The change has to start with the removal of Madigan,” he said. “Firing Madigan would allow us to work on restoring financial accountability across the state and provide us with a path to govern where we finally stop hurting our citizens.”

In the end, Jameson said he believes “pocketbook issues” will be the determining factor come Election Day on March 20.

“State government is growing faster than incomes in Illinois,” he said. “The quality of life here is not what it is in some other places where the taxes are much lower. We’ve got to get that turned around and I’m getting a lot of positive feedback from voters on some of the ideas I’ve been expressing.”

The 113th House District includes all or parts of Belleville, Swansea, Fairview Heights, Washington Park, Fairmont City, Caseyville, Madison and Granite City.