ENDORSEMENT: Tonia Jane Khouri for Illinois House in the 49th District

Republican Tonia Jane Khouri makes a good point about a proposed graduated state income tax, which she opposes but almost all Democrats favor. It would require at least several years to enact, she says, given the need to rewrite the Illinois Constitution first, and the state can’t wait that long.

Given the speed with which Illinois’ debts and pension obligations continue to grow, Khouri told us, the Legislature has to “move the state forward” right now.

We support a graduated income tax, but Khouri is right that it would be no panacea. And we respect her advocacy for immediate and creative ways to reduce overall spending. She would, for example, work to make it easier for hundreds of public pension funds to reduce costs by being jointly administered.

Khouri is a member of the DuPage County Board, which has done a commendable job of cutting costs. She also operates a landscaping and home remodeling business.

We endorse Khouri over Democrat Karina Villa, a school social worker and member of the West Chicago Elementary District 33 school board. We hope Villa will run for state office again, but right now she’s a little green.

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SUN-TIMES 2018 ILLINOIS VOTING GUIDE

Ahead of the historic 2018 elections, the Sun-Times is teaming up weekly with the Better Government Association, in print and online, to fact-check the truthfulness of the candidates. You can find all of the PolitiFact Illinois stories we’ve reported together here.

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