On Tuesday, Nov. 4, Illinois politics could change forever, should voters decide to cast ballots for Bruce Rauner. As a student, you are one step away from “real life,” and should thus care about how well your state is doing.

Issues like taxes, corruption, jobs, spending, pensions, education and crime will all be things that impact your daily life, and when it comes to combatting those problems, Rauner is the man for the job.

His campaign is largely about increasing jobs throughout the state, lowering taxes, improving education, and setting term limits on politicians.

Bruce wants to create more job opportunities for the people of Illinois because the unemployment rate is the lowest in the Midwest and incomes have fallen.

It’s no secret that jobs have lacked in Illinois and I’m sure you know someone or someone’s parents that has been affected by that fact.

Taxes have gone up 67% under Pat Quinn. Rauner wants to freeze that and bring the rate down from 5% to 3%. One plan to do this would be through pension reform. 1 out of every 3 tax dollars goes to pensions.

This is something that Rauner wants to eliminate through reform that is put into a 401k format.  This will allow lower taxes to be implemented while sustaining a good retirement plan.

Education has been cut by $600 million. How do we expect our future to carry on efficiently if Illinois can’t have a good education system? Everything starts from the bottom up. Rauner understands the value of a good education and will put funding back into it.

Rauner also wants to put term limits on career politicians. I can’t count how many times I have heard someone say, “I’m just not going to vote, all politicians are corrupt anyways.”

With the adoption of term limits, it is a lot harder for someone to build an empire under themselves if they only have two terms to do their job.

Yes, Rauner is a very rich man. He accomplished a dream that any student at Eastern has of working hard and attaining success.

He worked his way through college and became a venture capitalist. Success shouldn’t be something to criticize; it should be something to aspire for.

If Rauner is elected, he said he would move into Springfield that day, while Quinn thinks Chicago is all the matters in Illinois.

When it comes down to it, do you really like where Illinois is right now? Why would you, as a citizen, ever settle to be one of the worst states in the country? Strive for the best, strive for change, and strive for an easier life. Shake up Springfield. Bring Back Illinois.

Vote Bruce Rauner.

-Timmy Pawula,

Senior communication studies major