Seeing red in blue Illinois

URF's 8 in '08: House 56th District's GOP candidate Anita Forte-Scott

SCHAUMBURG -- There are two key reasons why Schaumburg Library President Anita Forte-Scott says she is challenging State Rep. Paul Froehlich (D-Schaumburg) on the November 2008 ballot:

1. The two-term House incumbent has not served his 56th District constituents well and
2. He betrayed longtime faithful Republican supporters when he joined the Democratic Party last year.

Those two reasons moved Forte-Scott to begin knocking on doors, talking to her neighbors about they think how Illinois is doing, and becoming more and more convinced the time was right to run for Froehlich's House seat.

"The people I talk to tell me they're most concerned about preserving the way of life they've worked so hard to achieve," Forte-Scott said. "With the downturn in the economy, people in the 56th are asking where has all the money gone they've paid in over the years? Why is the state spending more money than we have? What's Paul Froehlich been doing in Springfield for us?"

The people of the 56th are ready for change, Forte-Scott said.

"All I'm interested in doing is getting this seat back into Republican hands and back to the way it was when our state rep's door was open and accessible to everyone, as it was when [former State Rep.] Kay Wojcik was in office," Forte-Scott said.

"When Kay was this district's rep, you didn't have to go through red tape to get time with her, you didn't have to pay your way to get access. Jobs weren't threatened if you disagreed with Kay. That's not the way it is now."

Forte-Scott says she was among the many local Republicans who worked hard to get a Republican elected in their district and when Froehlich changed parties last year to join the Democratic House majority, she and many other GOPers decided they wouldn't take his decision lying down.

"I was visiting in Germany when I got the call about Froehlich changing parties," Forte-Scott said. "I said right away I was interested in running against him."

Froehlich was appointed to office by area Republicans in 2003 when Kay Wojcik resigned from her State House seat and moved to the Senate. The next election cycle, Froehlich ran and won as a Republican. In November 2008, he will face voters for the first time as a member of Madigan's House majority.

Challenges like taking on Froehlich are not intimidating to Forte-Scott, she said.

"The system of government we have in Springfield right now is broken. We have a chance to change things and sending someone new to represent this district is a good place to start," she said during an interview in her Schaumburg campaign office. "The more I talk to people about change, the more confident I am they'll reject Paul in November."

Forte-Scott and her husband Jeff's political interests stem back to when they started volunteering as election judges, early in their nineteen-year marriage.

"Even then we knew there was a shortage of people who got involved in politics because they were too busy, politics were too complicated or maybe something as simple as being afraid of civics, whatever it was, we decided we would get involved," she said.

The Scotts took their two young sons with them to vote and taught them by doing, she said. Their eighteen year old son is an election judge today.

When the kids began getting older, Scott and her husband started a private day care center which she now administers. Learning about state regulations and business requirements rekindled her interest in politics, so while building the daycare center business, Scott decided to run for the Schaumburg Public Library Board.

"Our kids had gone to the library while growing up, and it was a natural interest for me," she said. Scott handily won as that library board 2005 election's top vote getter. She now serves as the board's president.

"Working on the library board has prepared me for doing what I would do as a legislator, things such as setting budgets, figuring ways to meet that budget along with public policy and being accountable to voters," she said.

During her time in office, the Schaumburg Library System has expanded facilities and moved into a bigger main building. "And we've not raised taxes," she said proudly, although the library's revenue has increased with each Cook County reassessment. Schaumburg Library's budget is a little over $12 million annually.

Raising taxes is something about which she and the incumbent disagree, Scott said.

"Froehlich voted to double state income taxes on professionals who exceed $250 thousand each year. Why would anyone want to make more than $250 thousand if their income taxes would double? Why should people who make that kind of money be penalized for their success?" she asked.

Forte-Scott is one of eight 2008 state office candidates the conservative independent 74-year old United Republican Fund will focus on this election cycle.

In addition to providing crucial seed funding, the URF's President former State Senator Steve Rauschenberger has appealed on Scott's behalf to area Republicans and headed up a press conference joining Forte-Scott in calling for three days to assess the state budget before a vote is taken. In addition, the statewide PAC is encouraging their growing grassroots network to volunteer in the district.

"We're pleased with the intensity of this campaign, the interest in regaining the district for Republicans, and especially pleased that Anita is such a solid social and fiscal conservative," Rauschenberger said. "We look forward to working alongside Minority Leader Tom Cross to win back the 56th District for the Republicans in November."

Insiders project the 56th race may cost in excess of $300,000, much of which Froehlich is likely to get from House Speaker Mike Madigan. He has raked in several thousand from Chicago area teacher unions and a few construction-associated unions. Up until the last few elections, the district was solidly Republican. More recently voters have begun to lean more Democratic.

"We can't lose the suburbs to the Democrats," Rauschenberger said. "This race is crucial in preserving a Republican voice and Republican leadership in Cook County."

It is impossible for Republicans to win back the Republican majority in the Illinois House without Republicans winning swing collar counties and Cook County suburban districts, as well as other more conservative downstate districts.

The big prize will be who holds the district drawing keys in 2012. If Democrats continue to dominate Illinois politics through then, Republicans in the General Assembly expect their districts to be re-drawn to become more difficult for retention. That would solidify the state's Democratic domination until the next re-drawing in 2022.

That's down the road, insiders say, but who dominates districts like the 56th will call the shots for years to come. All that is a concern, but Scott says she's focused now on making the district discontented with their incumbent and offering them a viable alternative.

"My opponent has had a chance to change things for the people of this district. Instead of reaching out to the people, he's worked to protect his own interests and send more and more of our district's resources to Chicago Democrats," Scott said.

"I'm doing now what I intend to do as state rep: listen to the people, their concerns, their problems, and work with them to find solutions. Isn't that what the people elect us to do?"

The 56th District includes Cook County suburbs Schaumburg, Rolling Meadows, Hoffman Estates, Elk Grove Village, south to Roselle and Bloomingdale.

Forte-Scott's website is http://www.electanita.com/.

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