Martin McLaughlin, who has served as Barrington Hills’ village president since 2013, announced his candidacy for Illinois House Representative in the 52nd legislative district on Wednesday.

The seat currently is held by Rep. David McSweeney, who recently announced that he would not be running for another term in the House in 2020. Instead, the Barrington Hills Republican said he is eyeing a bid for Illinois Secretary of State or U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth’s seat.

McLaughlin commended McSweeney for doing an “outstanding job” of representing his constituents and calling attention to the excesses in Springfield taxes and spending. Had McSweeney decided to run for re-election, McLaughlin said he would not run this year.

During his two terms as village president, McLaughlin said in a release that the village has lowered spending, lowered its tax levy for five of the past six years, increased spending to its infrastructure and added to its cash reserves.

“These are all things that government bodies can and should be doing including the State of Illinois,” McLaughlin said in a release announcing his candidacy.

McLaughlin said he is a “numbers person” and, if elected, would focus on dealing with the state’s pension crisis – which no one seems to want to tackle head on – and lowering property tax bills that are driving citizens out of the state.

McLaughlin ran for Illinois Senate in 2016 but was defeated in the primary.

Article: https://www.nwherald.com/