Kane County Reporter

Dan Ugaste’s warning to voters headed to the polls Tuesday is that as bad as things are in Springfield, they could get worse if voters don’t seize the moment.

“We’ve got to find a way to get our fiscal house and all our finances in order,” Ugaste told the Kane County Reporter. “So many people are leaving the state in frustration right now, and many others are considering it. People are tired of being beaten up, and we’re facing a really significant population decline if we don’t change course really fast.”

Ugaste, a Geneva Republican running to replace retiring Rep. Steve Andersson (R-Geneva) in the 65th District, warns that will only have more of a domino effect.

Dan Ugaste

“You want and need growth in people and business to fuel the upward mobility of the state,” he said. “Without either, you lose economic strength and even the number of elected representatives you have for the state. With a smaller overall population, all the debt load we have as a state results in an even greater tax burden for individuals and businesses to the point that everything will just come to implode.”

Ugaste deemed this a critical election for Illinois and added he thinks that a growing number of voters feel the same way.

“People understand it, sense it and even seem to know the stakes are high,” he said. “For others, it’s been bad for so long they’ve come to fear there might not be any way to fix things.”

Ugaste said that’s where he and other committed politicians who share his vision come in.

“I’m willing to make all the tough decisions and do all the necessary things we have to in order to get this state back on the right track,” he said.

The 65th House District includes Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles, Pingree Grove, Hampshire and Huntley.