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Rep. Sid Mathias Wishes Senator Kirk
a Speedy Recovery
January 23, 2012
“Today, our thoughts and prayers are with Senator Kirk and his family. I was shocked and saddened by the news about his stroke this morning, but knowing Mark; his strength and courage with help him get well fast. My wife Rita and I join together with the residents of the 53rd district in wishing the Senator a speedy recovery.”
MATHIAS ANNOUNCES BID FOR REELECTION
Sid is running for reelection in the 59th Legislative District
Buffalo Grove… State Representative and former Mayor of Buffalo Grove Sid Mathias (R, Buffalo Grove) is announcing his intention to run for re-election to the 59th Representative District citing his longstanding reputation for finding solutions in Springfield accompanied by a strong need to maintain the fiscally conservative momentum created this past Spring.
“People are desperate for leadership right now, pragmatic leadership willing to work together to find solutions,” said Mathias. “As a full time legislator, I have a proven track record for not only protecting taxpayers, but also cutting through the bureaucratic clutter to bring real ideas forward,” he added.
Throughout his career, Mathias has used his background in law and local government to carve out a place in Springfield, focusing on local transit, mental health, municipal and legal issues. He currently serves as Minority Spokesperson on the Cities and Villages and Mass Transit committees. He also sits on the Judiciary Civil Law, State Government Administration and Tollway Oversight committees.
As a consistent taxpayer advocate, Mathias took the lead, immediately proposing the first legislative to roll-back the Cook County sales tax (HB715, 96th GA) on the heals of the massive sales tax hike. His legislation helped drive the discussion and pushed Democrats into finding a solution.
With an eye on public safety, Mathias successfully sponsored several pieces of legislation aimed at enhancing the public safety of children by cracking down on internet solicitation (HB3283), requiring parental controls by internet providers (HB3289) and by allowing schools to expel student for gross disobedience and bullying via the internet (HB3281).
Understanding job creation is perhaps the most important step to recovery, Mathias successfully guided a measure through the house this past spring aimed at workforce development. The measure, HB2927, sought to create job growth by providing business incentives to hire additional workers by fully leveraging the federal funds provided by both the Emergency Employment Development Act as the 21st Century Workforce Development Fund.
In addition to his work on statewide issues, Mathias has also consistently engaged in local problems, including the ongoing need to expand Route 53 and the continued expansion of commuter rail service. As Mayor of Buffalo Grove, he was a leading force in bringing commuter rail service to Buffalo Grove and beyond, and served as Chair of the North Central Metra Service Mayoral Task force, eventually leading to the Buffalo Grove station bearing his name. And as recently as last month, Mathias was named and ex-officio member of the Illinois Route 53 Blue Ribbon Advisory Council. The Council is charged with bringing a regional consensus on whether to move forward with the Lake County Corridor expansion
“This will be a tough election. However, I am not only looking forward to reconnecting with many of my former constituents, but also continuing to challenge those in Springfield who can’t seem to stop spending,” stated Mathias. “There is an urgent need to continue the positive momentum towards fiscal conservatism that was created last spring, and I am up for this challenge”
The tough election Mathias is referring to ultimately stems from the recent redistricting process in which Mathias was “redrawn” into an entirely new legislative district that will contain over 95% new territory for the veteran lawmaker. Ironically, this is not a new situation for Mathias, who found himself with the same choice ten years ago when the same legislative Democrats who crafted this map drew him out of his old district.
As the longtime mayor of Buffalo Grove, Mathias was elected to the Legislature in 1998. He is a graduate from Roosevelt University and the DePaul University College of Law and is a semi-retired attorney. His wife, Rita, is a retired teacher from School District #102 and they have two married sons; Elliot, a graduate of Northwestern University and Scott, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin. He and Rita have six grandchildren. |
