A longtime accountant and a former TV producer, both of whom have been involved in local politics, are vying to become the Republican nominee for the 66th House District.<\/p>\n
The candidates are Connie Cain of Gilberts and Arin Thrower of West Dundee. The winner of the June primary will go on to the November election and face state Rep. Suzanne Ness, D-Crystal Lake, who currently represents the district.<\/p>\n
The 66th House District, part of the newly drawn state legislative district map approved last year, includes parts of McHenry and Kane counties and runs for almost 20 miles from Crystal Lake to Elgin.<\/p>\n The new Illinois House District 66 includes parts of Algonquin, Carpentersville, Crystal Lake, East Dundee, West Dundee, Elgin and Sleepy Hollow. <\/span>(Provided by Illinois State Board of Elections)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n For Cain, who describes herself as a \u201cproud veteran\u201d after serving in the Army Reserves for eight years and a lifelong Illinois resident, the primary issue of concern is reducing the tax burden placed on Illinois residents by the state pension system.<\/p>\n She has been involved for the past five years with the Lincoln Lobby, an offshoot of the Illinois Policy Institute that focuses on ensuring accountability from elected officials on a range of issues, including economics and corruption, according to its Facebook page.<\/p>\n Thrower, who became the Dundee Township supervisor last year, said among her major concerns is eliminating excessive government spending and restoring checks and balances within state politics.<\/p>\n She also said her experience as supervisor gives her a head start in building connections and understanding local infrastructure needs that depend on state funding.<\/p>\n Both candidates cited economic concerns and the ability of Democrats to push through legislation unilaterally. They also pointed to the criminal justice legislation known as the Safe-T Act<\/a> and the law that allows minors to get an abortion without notifying their parents<\/a>, which each said they would work to repeal.<\/p>\n \u201cGirls as young as 11 need parental consent to get a tattoo or go to a tanning bed, but their parents won\u2019t find out if they get an abortion?\u201d Cain said. \u201cParents should not be left in the dark about their child\u2019s welfare.\u201d<\/p>\n Thrower said \u201ceveryone I\u2019ve spoken with feels this bill isn\u2019t right,\u201d noting that Ness voted for the measure.<\/p>\n Cain said she thinks unilateral decision-making also is to blame for problems with the current district maps and the state\u2019s pension system.<\/p>\n Thrower, who described the criminal justice legislation as \u201canti-police\u201d and \u201cpro-criminal,\u201d said Gov. JB Pritzker and Democrats in the statehouse are not respecting the principal of checks and balances.<\/p>\n \u201cOur governor has taken a go-alone approach since the pandemic, which does not work,\u201d Thrower said. \u201cDownstate, the community doesn\u2019t want to see one party taking control and making unilateral decisions. I think we have better outcomes when we collaborate.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.shawlocal.com\/resizer\/NT1DjrLmMxXLRNHC2nJ70d3630I=\/768x0\/filters:format(jpg):quality(70)\/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com\/shawmedia\/6XWUOAHZJJBCXMSO3L7LTHATD4.jpg\")
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