The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Kennedy, Arrington By JOHN A. KENNEDY My campaign theme for the State Senate is "Vote with Judgment." In availing this space to candidates, the Hollister Newspapers perform a vital public service to help voters make their best choice Nov. 8. Indeed, there is a choice. As a businessman, engineer, and economist, I'm aware of problems existing and compounding in our district and the state. I also know our current Senate voice speaks first for its party, second for its downstate party power center, and last for our own area's interests. I believe politics have their place, but not at the expense of our area's representation. That is why I am a candidate for the Senate. In Springfield as a member of the House, I saw the 74th General Assembly in action. It had great failings that affected each of us. Here are typical examples: Reapportionment: The "one man--one vote" decision gives suburban areas stronger voice in state government, long dominated by rural and urban interests. To halt the trend to federalism, our subu»ban area needed this fair representation. Yet the Senate in April passed a resolution to deny us such fair reapportionment. Home rule: Local municipalities should govern themselves. They cannot do this witho out adequate revenue sources. Illinois' municipalities requested help from the legislature to provide a half-cent sales tax to raise urgently needed funds. Evanston's City Council wired for support. The House passed the bills, which were then taken as political hostage in the Senate and killed the last day of the session. Conflict of interest: Illinois would have conflict-of-interest legislation now if not for the Senate. The House passed an excellent first step toward disclosure of interest. My opponent mutilated it with amendments and it was killed by the Senate in the dying hours of the session. Recording legislative debate: Strangely, our legislature has no recording of debate. I joined in a House bill to record all debates. Aside from establishing views of individual legislators, this bill would have given an efficient system for further and future study of proposed and passed legislation. It was killed in the Senate June 29. Registration and ghost voters: No county except Cook has reregistered its voters since World War II. I introduced a bill to require all counties to reregister and eliminate ghost voters. It was killed in the Senate June 28. r A Q g Vie in 1st Dist. Race Democrat Says Politics Have Their Place, But Not at Expense of Local Representative General services tax: Illinois needs new sources of revenue. I proposed a general-service tax which would tax general-service firms in the state for the privilege and protection of doing business in Illinois. It was a natural and progressive extension of our present tax system. It was killed in the Senate without a hearing. If passed, it could have prevented a state income tax for five to seven years. H Auditor-general budget cut: The auditor general post-audits all state agencies. W. Russell Arrington's Senate passed a bill slicing the auditor general's requested budget. It meant six state agencies would not be audited. How soon they forget the Hodge scandal! Fortunately, the House restored the cut and all agencies will be audited. Education vs. Gas Tax Fund: The "cookie jar" system of specia funds has for years tied up millions of our tax monies. The last session gave us an opportunity to move gasoline tax revenues to education channels. At last, these revenues which we in this area pay in excess of benefits would be applied to the common good. It was killed in the Senate June 30. What did the 74th Assembly do for the people of Illinois? Many excellent and needed bills o Rep. John A. Kennedy were proposed only to be ignored. It points up a recurring theme: political manipulation has made our legislature a springboard for its ambitious members, rather than a body to create better government for the people. This must be changed. Power blocks have too long controlled the state. The suburban constituent has too long been an uninformed pawn of rural and urban interests. We are impressed by the publicity an official receives; but do we examine at what expense he receives that fame? There is no more classic example of "special interest" than the incident of the state's death-payment ceiling. The present archaic law limits to $30,000 what can be paid for a death by wrongful act in Illinois. We are one of 12 states left where it is cheaper to kill than to cripple or injure. Rep. Harold Katz introduced a bill to raise that ceiling. Properly, (Continued on page 46) GOP Veteran Bases Hope for Re-election On Record, Leadership in Assembly Session By W. RUSSELL ARRINGTON My service in the Illinois State Legislature has covered a period of 22 years, both in the House of Representatives for 10 years and in the Illinois Senate for the past 12 years. Never have the legislators in our General Assembly been asked to face and solve so many difficult and diverse issues as were presented to the last session, which ended in mid-1965. The principal accomplishments of the 74th session of the Illinois Legislature are discussed in the following paragraphs. They cover the issues that are of direct and continuing concern to constituents of the 1st district. Aid to Education: Under Republican leadership we raised the level of state support to local schools from $252 to $330 per pupil. This support for local education could have been sustained at an even higher level of $354 per pupil, as recommended by the Illinois School Problems Commission, and I supported this higher.figure. Our opponents, however, forced the $330 compromise figure. Incidentally, my opponent in November, John Kennedy, voted against the higher aid level for local schools. Balancing the Budget: By detailed scrutiny and review of the governor's budget, we were able to eliminate the need for an additional $200 million of new state taxes requested by the governor. At the same time, by eliminating duplicating expenditures and wasteful activities, we were still able to fund fully all expenditures for such essential state activities as public health, public safety, mental health, public welfare, public roads, and education. My present opponent, on the other hand, voted for all of the governor's bills to raise state sales taxes, motor-fuel taxes, and many other taxes. He co-sponsored a bill for an unlimited graduated income tax for Illinois, completely contrary to the spirit of the revenue article amendment which will be submitted to the voters Nov. 8. He even introduced a bill to levy a discriminatory 3½ percent tax on the services of all doctors, dentists, lawyers, and others who provide necessary services to our citizens. The wisdom of Republican fiscal policy has been amply justified. Not only has the state met all of its greatly increased expenditures promptly and fully, but the state o In the State Senate race in the new 1st District, incumbent W. Russell Arrington of Evanston is being challenged by Rep. John A. Kennedy of Winnetka. Sen. Arrington served as the Senate president protempore and majority leader in the last session of the General Assembly. He is the senior member of the Arrington and Healy law firm and is executive vice-president of the Combined Insurance Company of America. Rep. Kennedy was elected as a blue-ribbon candidate in the 1964 at-large election. He is founder and president of James Electronics Inc. To clarify the issues in the contest for the four-year Senate term, the Hollister Newspapers have invited the candidates to explain their programs on this page. treasury now has on hand the highest cash balances in the last 15 years. Increasing Governmental Efficiency: On the opening day of the last session, I introduced a comprehensive series of ethics bills designed to regulate the conduct of legislators, state officials, and those who deal with state government. The Democratic opposition in the House not only killed these ethics bills, but made a mockery of this important and vital issue. 1 have been chairman of the Legislative Audit Commission since its foundation in 1957. This commission not only has recaptured for the state's general revenues over $2 million but also has instituted over 2,500 improvements in state government operations. Attack on Organized Crime: Much still remains to be done in this area. However, we were able to pass 10 of the most A 0 important anticrime syndicate bills during the last session, including "juice" loans and the use of antitrust powers against hoodlumcontrolled business. Incidentally, my opponent voted against a Republican bill requiring public listing of the real owners and financial beneficiaries of retail liquor license holders. I was a principal sponsor of the Police Training Act, which was signed into law and which has provided local police forces throughout Illinois with additional training in more modern methods of police protection. EJ# Building a Better Illinois: Looking to the future, we passed an historic Junior College Bill, which will go far to help provide every deserving young person with an opportunity to go to college at a minimum expense. We also paved the way for a greatly expanded compensatory education (Continued on page 46) October 20, 1966 Sen. W. Russell Arrington 44