South West Illinois News

Voters are growing more aware of the politics in Illinois, according to Mayor Dale Fowler of Harrisburg, who has been campaigning for a seat in the senate.

He knows that because his team has been visiting parades and speaking to the people. 

“Our team is growing and doing a lot of door to door visits,” Fowler said. “Seems like everyone (is concerned) with a lot of similar issues. Voters are pretty smart. They are more concerned now than probably ever. It seems like everybody is more involved and more aware and more concerned about the political climate now more than ever.”

Many of them are aware of House Speaker Michael Madigan canceling  a number of General Assembly session in June. Fowler said it is embarrassing that leaders aren’t doing their best to resolve the problems Illinois faces. 

“It’s embarrassing that they are just saying ‘nothing is going to be done so why should we meet?’ ” he said. “Well, if you don’t meet, that is exactly right: nothing is going to be done. It’s a double edge sword there. Until there are some people that stand up and go camp out on the doorsteps, it’s going to be prolonged, isn’t it?”

Such a prolonged battle has caused Illinois’ unemployment numbers to fluctuate. The recently released rate showed signs of instability. It also showed a shrinking workforce, signifying that people are leaving. 

This has been an all-too-common occurrence for the mayor.

“So when they leave, we lose those numbers, don’t we?” Fowler said. “You know what I have noticed especially when I am going door to door? I have had many people that have said ‘we’re thinking about leaving, we can’t afford to live here anymore. We’re thinking about selling our house but we don’t know if we are able to sell our house because houses aren’t selling.’ Nice homes aren’t selling because of the price of property taxes.” 

He has spoken to many residents who are prepared or know someone who is preparing to leave the state.

"Yesterday, walking in Williamson County, I had some people say that ‘our neighbors across the street, they are getting ready to move out of Illinois.’ I spoke to a lady who said her cousin was getting ready to move,” the mayor recounted. “This was just one little neighborhood that we’re hearing this from. You magnify that throughout the state…I mean, the numbers are showing that people are leaving at a rapid rate.”

If the people leave, then the state loses its tax base, Fowler noted. This loss of that tax base affects everything.

“If we don’t have people — that’s our tax bases, isn’t it? That’s our tax base,” Fowler said. “Pertaining to education, I’ve spoke about this before, when people pack up and move their families, not only are we losing their sales taxes on what they spend but we continue to lose more education funding, don’t we? Every time a school district loses a student, what happens? They lose funding for that student.”

Schools don’t know how long they’ll survive and higher education faces the same dilemma. Fowler claimed that students are forgoing enrollment in Illinois for better prospects out of state. Illinois, in totality, is losing both residential students and out-of-state students, the mayor insisted.

Women are also affected by this budget impasse, disproportionately so. A recent report showed that many of the programs and services that served women have been greatly affected by this record budget crisis. This put many women in a precarious situation. 

Fowler has seen the affect of this during his campaign.

“I’ve talked to a gentleman yesterday (who said) that his wife has actually had to go to a part-time job,” he recounted. “Fortunately, her employer has kind of worked with them, but she left her full-time job to go part time because they have an autistic child. So now they can’t get the services they need in Illinois so they have to go to Missouri and take their child for care. So now they have this additional expense upon themselves to have to leave the state of Illinois for the service. There has to be thousands upon thousand of cases such as this.” 

The mayor asserted that this problem goes beyond people exiting the state or education. Families and the most vulnerable are being affected.

“It's just saddening because when you are in public service, you’re a public servant, such as I am, in so many different ways — not only through being a mayor and running for state senate but also my charitable organization,” Fowler said. “That’s another thing…with my nonprofit, even though we are primarily a clothes for kids program, I am starting to get phone calls asking ‘do you know where we can go to get this service?’ or ‘can you help us here?’ ” 

The mayor said he is disheartened by the amount of people calling his organization or his office for help. There are incredible charities that do great work, but they can only do so much, the mayor said.

“There’s a need out there that is not being met,” Fowler said. “So many people are just trying to get by, put bread on the tables and pay their bills, and then they find out that they have to go to St. Louis now or somewhere in Missouri or Indiana for care that they can no longer get in Illinois. What kind of a financial burden does that put on people? You can only imagine.” 

Whatever happens, the mayor said he is humbled by the voters. He said he is humbled when they acknowledge why he is doing what he is setting out to do.

“I’m humbled by the fact that when we are knocking on doors and people are home (that) many of them do want to talk,” Fowler said. “So many people ask me ‘what can I do?’ And the main thing I say is that I can be a voice. I’m going in for the right reason.”

While the mayor doesn’t know all the answers, he said he believes he can be the voice for the voters amid a chorus of predators. 

“Do I know all the answers? No, but I can sure possibly be a missing piece that helps put this emergency puzzle back together,” Fowler said. “It’s not going to be easy, but I’m willing to throw myself there with the tigers and piranhas, and try to fight my way through it. Hopefully I won’t be chewed up.”