Today!

PROMOTING ILLINOIS AGRICULTURE

Agriculture is vital to Illinois' economy and plays a major role in my "Destination Illinois" job creation program. I am the only candidate who has endorsed the "Vision for Illinois Agriculture and Smart Agenda" developed by leading experts like the Illinois Farm Bureau, University of Illinois' College of Agriculture, and prominent Illinois' agri-businesses like John Deere and Growmark.

At the Farm Progress Show, I called for an increased investment in the C-FAR agricultural research program at ISU, U of I, and other great universities after funding was slashed by Governor Quinn. It is a travesty that Illinois now ranks near the bottom in ag research. My Illinois Innovates program will create a cutting-edge Research & Development tax credit to help partner the private and public sectors at our world class universities...

Click here to read the full agriculture promotion plan

CREATING A "DESTINATION ECONOMY"

Kirk Dillard has a plan to make Illinois a Destination Economy to help attract and keep good-paying jobs. Illinois has lost more than 300,000 high-quality jobs since 2001–many of them to neighboring states with better economic climates. Kirk plans to reverse that through the most aggressive job-recruitment program in this state’s history that will involve both business and labor leaders. He’ll not only work to develop first-rate employer incentive programs, but also develop initiatives designed to address the “frictional” employer costs where other states beat us–like the cost of unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation.

Click here to read the full plan

Download "Kirk Dillard's Legislative Record"

LIVING WITHIN OUR MEANS

Illinois has a serious spending problem. Over the past seven years, state government spending has far out-paced revenue growth. The result? Illinois has become a deadbeat state...paying its bills late, laying off workers from important programs, and bouncing from one bizarre financial scheme to another to keep the state solvent.

Kirk Dillard will put an end to the run-away spending that Springfield has forced on taxpayers. As Chief of Staff for Governor Jim Edgar, Kirk helped implement budget-slashing efforts that paid off huge state debt and reduced the payment cycle to vendors to the lowest in modern state history. He understands that taxpayers have a right to expect government to live within its means–just as we do when times are tough.

BEST IN CLASS EDUCATION REFORMS

The fight to save our schools will be the most important one we face, and Kirk has an innovative plan to get the job done. His Best in Class school initiative will result in fewer mandated, non-essential classroom activities and more time for our kids to learn. To combat the “one size fits all” mentality of education bureaucrats, Kirk will implement a strategic pilot program to test innovative approaches throughout the state to learn what works in each area of Illinois from Rockford to Carbondale.

SETTING THE EXAMPLE ON ETHICS

Everyone is talking about ethics, but it was Kirk Dillard who was the chief sponsor of the first true ethics reform package in a quarter century. That's just one of the reasons that the Springfield State Journal-Register said that Senator Dillard is "one of the more honorable, affable and respected people in state government" Senator Dillard is the only candidate to pledge that he will shut down his campaign account when he is sworn-in as Governor. The state is in crisis and he will devote all of his time to governing, not fundraising.

Download "Kirk Dillard's Ethics Reform Plan"