Democratic candidates Denika McMillen and Janet Yang Rohr each discussed what she would bring to the Illinois House if elected in the 41st District during a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of Naperville.
The winner in the March 17 primary will challenge Republican Grant Wehrli in the November general election. Wehrli is unopposed in the primary.
McMillen, 42, a resident of Naperville since 2016, works as social worker with DSM Counseling and Multicultural Counseling Associates. She is married and the mother of three children.
McMillen has been involved with the Diversity Advisory Committee for Naperville School District 203, Indivisible Naperville, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, Lisle Township Democrats Organization, and Naper Pride, she said.
Yang Rohr, 39, is director of global data at investment data and research firm Morningstar. A Naperville native and Naperville North High School graduate, Yang Rohr is married and the mother three children.
She has served on the Naperville District 203 School Board since 2017 and has previously been involved in the district’s finance, business partnerships and diversity committees and the Naperville Education Foundation’s board of trustees, she said.
The following are the candidate’s responses to some of the questions raised by the league and audience members at the forum.
School funding
McMillen said because education funding is based heavily on property taxes, it is not fair for everyone around the state.
“In Naperville we’re lucky,” but elsewhere there are deficits, she said, and “I think that’s why we keep seeing issues in Chicago, and probably even down state.”
McMillen said Illinois should be more involved in making sure kids get a fair amount of money across the board.
Yang Rohr said the evidence-based funding formula approved several year ago was “a piece of legislation that was very important to start moving the needle” in shifting funding of public schools from the local level toward the state level.
She said Indian Prairie School District 204 has benefited from evidence-based funding. “They actually started getting more money from the state last year, and so that is a good thing,” Yang Rohr said.
Fair Tax Amendment
Yang Rohr supports a graduated income tax structure instead of a flat rate. She said it’s a good way to start funding education at the state level rather than placing the burden at the local level.
“When I go knocking door to door, that’s one of the first things that people really talk to me about. They need relief from these property taxes,” Yang Rohr said. “I think the graduated income tax is one of the ways that we can start providing some relief.”
McMillen said she also supports the Fair Tax Amendment because she sees it as means for the state to develop a balanced budget.
“I feel like this is a step in the right direction to make sure that we actually had an increase in revenue in our state,” McMillen said. “Is it going to fix everything? No, but something has to change for us to actually move forward.”
Voters in November will decide whether to amend the Illinois Constitution to allow for a graduated tax system.
Attracting, retaining businesses
McMillen said she’d like to see more tax breaks for companies that are looking to start a business in Illinois.
“We have a lot of people here to work,” McMillen said, and in order to keep them in the state, Illinois needs businesses that are up and coming and more sustainable. “You will help people stay in Illinois as well as draw people to Illinois,” she said.
Yang Rohr suggested long- and short-term solutions.
In the long term, she said the focus needs to be placed on higher education and vocational schools.
“We need to make sure that that businesses have a strong labor force to draw upon with skilled workers that know … the skills of tomorrow that can fuel their businesses today,” Yang Rohr said.
In the short term, she said, the state needs to make Illinois a place where it’s easier to do business by implementing such things as reduced registration fees for small and midsize businesses.
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