Letter: Rep. Meier Has Represented Southern Illinois Very Well

Rep. Charlie Meier has represented Southern Illinois very well. He spent many hours (and is still following up on the situation) dealing with the Quinn Administration to save Murray Center in Centralia, IL. In fact new residents are now able to enter the facility.
My husband (Albert, 83) and I (Rose Ann 75) have a 53 year old son, Mark, who has Downs Syndrome. Albert has many serious health issues and I have several. We knew that the time had come to find a CILA (group Home). Mark was denied state funding for some very silly reasons. I contacted Charlie and he said that he would help us in way that we needed. When Mark’s Case Coordinator appealed the second denial, she mentioned that I had contacted Rep. Charlie Meier. Two days later the State fully funded Mark to enter a CILA and to work at the Community Link Day Program in Breese. Charlie called me and talked at length about legislators in Springfield forgetting the people South of them. He also said that no one asked him about Mark. Just the mention of his name carried a lot of weight. He is well known in Springfield. We need to continue to send Charlie back to Springfield as our Representative. He has common sense and knows how to fight for our district needs.
With the March 20, 2018 Primary Election getting closer each day, we need to counter Charlie’s opponent’s statement. “Meier crossed over to support Mike Madigan to raise our taxes by 32%. Those are not conservative values. We have Democrats to do that for us; we don’t need Republicans in office to vote for higher taxes.”
The real story: Yes, Charlie did vote “YES” on the original tax hike sent to the Senate.
As Charlie states, “I voted in favor of the original bill in order to give the Governor and newly elected Senate Republican Leader the leverage to negotiate a budget with reforms. I was hoping for a compromise that would have led to getting back on the right track. A compromise was not reached and the income tax hike ended up being vetoed by Governor Rauner. The Democrat majority led by Mike Madigan voted to override the Governor’s veto – resulting in a 32% permanent income tax hike. I stood with the Governor’s veto by voting “N” No.”
The only thing Charlie’s opponent is running on is the 32% tax increase. Charlie’s heart is with his constituents that know him well. He works for everyone and is only a phone call away. Remember Rep. Charlie Meier on March 20, 2018.

Rose Ann and Albert Kujawa,

Nashville

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