Fiscal responsibility and tax relief are priorities for candidates in the 96th Illinois House legislative district.

Prescott Paulin and Lisa Smith Roth are seeking the GOP nomination for the June 28 primary race.

The 96th district covers downtown and eastern Springfield, Bolivia, Mount Auburn and central Decatur. 

Incumbent Rep. Sue Scherer, D-Decatur, is uncontested for the Democratic primary nomination. She will face the Republican nominee in the Nov. 8 general election. 

More:Springfield council will get a look at new maps that could change wards for 2023 election

Fiscal responsibility for Paulin means standing up for a new kind of tax revenue.

He wants to help introduce legislation for an interconnected economy which he says will attract businesses to the state.

“There’s a new type of corporation in Wyoming called the DAO (Decentralized autonomous organization) corporation, it’s kind of like an NFT. An NFT can be used like a membership card and like at Costco or Sam’s Club, it’s a piece of ownership that benefits the company. What that would incentivize the state to do if we were to open that kind of corporation is attract new tax revenue and If we do it right we can get billions of dollars that will offset the tax burden or the individual taxpayer,” Paulin said.

“My belief is that if we can be near what Wyoming is doing and be the second state in the U.S and not the 49th or 50th then Illinois will have that first advantage.”

Paulin said he should be elected to lead Illinois to that advantage because he has a history of shaping community-driven policy. 

He said it’s important to elect someone from a younger generation who knows technology and can communicate, relay, and write policy around it. 

“I’ve experienced listening to people and ensuring they’re represented across the spectrum. I listen to all sides and ensure there’s not a hidden agenda on my part and that we’re actually building things based on the moves of our neighbors," Paulin said.

Tax relief is Smith’s No. 1 priority. She wants to lower taxes and decrease regulations for businesses to increase economic growth within the state. 

“If we can bring taxes down we can bring more jobs into the state and people will have more money in their pockets. The income for our state will go up,” Smith said. “It sounds like you shouldn’t have better income with less taxes but you do get better income because everyone spends more money and stays happy. That’s why it’s one of my central pieces so we can save Illinois and bring back our jobs.”

In addition to bringing back jobs, developing a school-choice program is on the list of Smith’s priorities. 

According to EdChoice, School-Choice allows public education funds to follow students to the schools or services that best fit their needs — whether that’s to a public school, private school, charter school, home school or any other learning environment families choose.

As a mother of 10 children, Smith said she’s concerned about the current education system. She said people should have a choice in what kind of education their tax dollars are paying for. 

“Lots of families are not happy with the critical race programs being taught in our school systems nor the sex education down to the kindergarten age. Families are not happy about that and they shouldn’t be happy about that and  if they don’t like it they should be able to switch their kids to a different school,” Smith said. “It doesn’t matter what income you are, you’re paying your taxes. You should be able to choose which schools you want your kids to go to, the school that’s best for them.” 

In the Illinois House 108th District, GOP Rep. Wayne Rosenthal is uncontested in the primary to represent the newly drawn district. There is no Democrat candidate seeking nomination in the district.  

In the Illinois Senate, there are no contested primary races in the 44th or 48th districts.

Sen. Sally Turner, R-Beason, is the candidate in the 44th district that includes Clinton, Lincoln, Mount Pulaski and Monticello. There is no Democrat seeking the primary nomination.

Downtown Springfield and Decatur are connected by the 48th district which is the area that Sen. Doris Turner, D-Springfield, currently represents. Turner will face off against uncontested GOP nominee Sandy Hamilton in the November general election.