Chicago Tribune Endorses Greg Bedell

15th District: Rep. John D’Amico of Chicago stood firmly against his party’s push for an income tax hike in 2011. He argued then that the state hadn’t done enough to justify asking for more money. But now he’s wavering on whether to extend that tax hike past Jan. 1, when it will start to roll back. Note to D’Amico: Your party leaders have had three years to prepare for this. Instead, they spent the roughly $30 billion in extra revenue collected from the tax hike and failed to prepare for its expiration. Why aren’t you screaming about that? D’Amico has done yeoman’s work tightening laws on teen driving. But our endorsement goes to Republican Greg Bedell of Glenview, an attorney who would reduce the size of government, starting with programs at the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity that prop up corporations with taxpayer money. Bedell would reduce Medicaid costs, and wants the feds to give states more flexibility to experiment with reimbursement rates and health savings accounts. Bedell is open to a small increase in the state minimum wage. He is a strong supporter of expanded school choice, an option that could help thousands of Chicago children.