Property tax reform and education are issues both state Rep. Joyce Mason, D-Gurnee, and her Republican opponent in the Nov. 5 election, James Creighton Mitchell, Jr., of Lindenhurst, consider of the utmost importance, but their views on how best to deal with them are vastly different.

Mason, 55, is seeking her fourth term representing the 61st State House District. She said finding ways to reduce property taxes — a local form of gathering revenue — while using state funds to support schools could reduce the need for school districts to use real estate taxes as much.

“Property tax relief is always a top issue,” she said. “Property taxes are the very giant monster in the room. This is something in Illinois that has to be tackled.”

Mitchell, 81. has held a number of elected offices, but none since 2013. He said property tax relief is part of his remedy for making the state more fiscally responsible. Limiting how much home rule communities can increase real estate taxes is a potential remedy.

“We have to cut property taxes and cut spending,” he said. “We’re spending too much on migrants, and not enough on veterans who are homeless.”

Voters in Illinois’ 61st House Legislative District will decide whether Mitchell or Mason will represent them in the Illinois General Assembly when they cast their ballots in the Nov. 5 general election.

Chair of the House Child Care Accessibility & Early Childhood Education Committee, Mason said she is consolidating issues handled by the Illinois State Board of Education, the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Department of Children and Family Services under one roof.

“Now all this will be handled by one agency,” she said. “It will make things easier for teachers and save money.”

While Mason is helping to consolidate early childhood education under one new agency, Mitchel said he wants to see education more localized with parents having a greater say where their child goes to school.

“We need school choice and more parental control,” he said. “If a child is going to an underperforming school, parents should be able to send them somewhere else. We need a bigger charter school system.”

Currently retired after being a water treatment plant operator for Highland Park, Mitchell served as a West Deerfield Township trustee from 1981 to 1984, as a member of the Lake County Board from 1984 to 1986, and again from 1989 to 1990. He was also a member of the Lake County Regional Board of Education from 2002 to 2013.

“No one else wanted to run,” Mitchell said of his decision to seek a seat in the state legislature. “I didn’t want the seat to go uncontested.”

Before joining the legislature — it is now a full-time job for Mason — she said she was an educator teaching at the graduate level at the Keller School of Management. She also keeps her substitute teaching license active so she can go into the classroom if the situation arises.

Since being elected, Mason said she is most proud of the amendment she was able to add to the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, which became law in 2021. Her effort provided $15 million annually to compensate the city of Zion for the losses its residents incurred because of the closure of the nuclear power plant there.

“It helps make up for the loss of the nuclear power plant,” she said. “The owners of the property pay property taxes like it was vacant land. The nuclear waste is still there.”

James Creighton Mitchell, Jr. (Photo courtesy of James Creighton Mitchell, Jr.)Banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines across Illinois more than a year ago was an achievement toward curbing gun violence, she said, adding more work is needed. Universal background checks are a must, she said.

“Reducing sales tax on gun safety devices like trigger locks is a good idea,” Mason said. “We need to make sure we emphasize safe gun storage.”

Though he is against gun violence, Mitchell said he is a strong believer in the Second Amendment of the Constitution, which protects the right to “keep and bear arms.”

“We have to make sure we protect the good guys, and have effective controls in place for criminals,” he said

When it comes to women’s reproductive health and abortion rights, Mitchell said he is firmly pro-life. He sees little difference between abortion and killing someone who is already born.

“It’s murder when people want to kill something that’s living,” he said. “Abortion is included. It is my belief.”

Saying she is 100% pro-choice, Mason believes women should be free to make decisions about their reproductive health as they see fit. She is proud of the way Illinois got rid of laws which may have been a problem before the Dodds decision was made by the Supreme Court in 2022.

“Illinois has been an island for women’s reproductive health,” she said. “We have made sure what has happened in other states will never happen here, and we fully protect people seeking care here.”

Early voting and voting by mail are already underway. People can cast their ballots at the Lake County Courthouse and Administration Center between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays through Oct. 18. Early voting expands to 17 other locations across the county on Oct. 21.

The district includes all or part of Gurnee, Zion, Winthrop Harbor, Beach Park, Old Mill Creek, Antioch, Wadsworth, Waukegan, Lindenhurst, Gages Lake and Grayslake.

Originally Published: October 8, 2024 at 8:46 a.m.