With recent census data showing Chicago's population shrank for the third year in a row, a Mount Greenwood Republican running for the state House said during a recent interview that the cause isn't difficult to find.
"High cost of living, unemployment, violence, budget deficits and too much government," Herbert Hebein, who is running for the 35th District House seat, told the South Cook News.
Hebein said he also knows what to do to help keep families in Illinois. "Less government, spending, public safety, school vouchers, true balanced budget, lower taxes, moral and ethical values," he said.
Herbert Hebein
He added that his opponent, Rep. Frances Ann Hurley (D-Mount Greenwood), doesn't seem to know about any of that.
"My opponent failed to support lower taxes, less spending and less government," Hebein said.
"She does not support second amendment rights. With my opponent's legislation, we are losing our freedom."
And there are fewer Illinoisans to lose that freedom, if recent data figures are to be believed. About half of Illinois' largest cities have seen a reduction in population since 2010 and almost 80 percent saw a decline between July 2016 and July 2017, according to new U.S. Census Bureau data issued May 24. Illinois ranks only behind West Virginia in consecutive years of population decline, according to the newly released data.
Hurley, former aide to Chicago Aldermen Ginger Rugai and Matthew O'Shea, was first elected to the 35th District seat in 2012 and is seeking a fourth term this year. Hurley and Hebein ran unopposed in the Democrat and Republican primaries in March.
The 35th Illinios State House District is located entirely in Cook County and includes the city of Palos Heights, townships of Orland and Palos, and villages of Alsip, Chicago Ridge, Merrionette Park, Oak Lawn, Orland Hills, Orland Park, Palos Park, Tinley Park and Worth.
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