December 9, 2011. Hutsonville, Ill. Roger Eddy (R-Hutsonville), the downstate Illinois Republican State Legislator and School Superintendent, has earned the ire of one of Illinois’ most effective anti-corruption PAC’s. In two press releases put out this week, For the Good of Illinois takes issue with State Rep. Eddy’s apparent double-dipping,his seemingly unconditional support of the state’s teachers unions and his continued fight against government transparency. More than anything, the anti-corruption PAC sums up their anger at Eddy by simply reminding voters that the State Rep. is gaming the system to the tune of $283,520 per year in taxpayer-funded paychecks. That’s more than any sitting Governor in the nation.
After the Illinois legislature came to the rescue of the state’s teachers unions in 2010 by defeating a bill in Springfield that would have increased the use of parental vouchers so parents could send their kids to whatever schools they desired, Roger Eddy and the state gained national attention. As reminded by For the Good of Illinois in their announcement, even the Wall Street Journal commented on the power of the teachers union in Illinois, capturing even the support of certain state Republicans.
The WSJ wrote last year, “In the 19th century, Illinois was the land of Lincoln. In the 20th century, it was the birthplace of Ronald Reagan. In the 21st, Illinois has given us a new breed of Republican: Roger Eddy.”
For the past 16 years, Roger Eddy has been the Hutsonville Superintendent of Schools. At the same time, for the past 8 years, Eddy has been the area’s elected State Representative. All told, Roger Eddy takes home $283,520 per year in taxpayer compensation. That’s pretty good for two part-time jobs.
Roger Eddy is a strange breed of Republican. This author likes to call them ‘Machine Republicans’ due to their support for and by the notorious Chicago Democratic Machine. Typical Republicans support school choice and oppose the tactics of teachers unions like the recently exposed practice of employing a union rep for one day as a teacher so that person can collect a six-figure teacher’s pension each year for the rest of their lives. With corrupt practices like that, many Illinois taxpayers have had enough of the teachers union.
Roger Eddy, the downstate Illinois Republican, takes the opposite stance. He opposes school vouchers and repeatedly supports and protects the Democratic-aligned teachers unions. It’s also reported that Eddy has been the recipient of $80,000 in union funding.
For the Good of Illinois reports that in 2007, Eddy was one of only two Illinois Republicans to vote in favor of an education tax increase. In April of this year, the school superintendent pushed for an additional tax increase locally to fund education once again. Rejecting his appeal, the voters killed the proposed tax hike with an overwhelming 89 percent of the vote. One month later, Eddy voted for Illinois’ HB1716, a bill that according to the reform PAC would, “severely curtail citizen access to public information.”
To show how out of step with the mainstream State Rep. Eddy is, the reform PAC compares his $283,520 annual taxpayer paycheck to a couple comparative incomes. A State Representative in Texas for example, only takes home $7,400 per year. More locally, the average yearly income of an entire household in Roger Eddy’s own Hutsonville, Illinois is only $32,500.
In the closing paragraph of their announcement, For the Good of Illinois urged the local Republican Party County Chairman to run against Roger Eddy for the GOP nomination to the Illinois General Assembly. In six days, the anti-corruption PAC helped gather 1,500 petition signatures to further that cause.
The powerful downstate Republican may not be publicly nervous, but he most definitely should be concerned for his political future. In the November election last year, special interests and the Democratic Party spent roughly $5 million to run against candidates backed by For the Good of Illinois. In the end, For the good of Illinois’ reform candidates won 3 of 4 races.
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