DIXON – Brad Fritts has announced his intention to seek the office of State Representative in the 74th District. The following is an announcement he made on the Dixon riverfront on Feb. 4.

“For 22 years, I have grown up, lived, and worked in Illinois. I have been to countless dinners and followed and worked behind some of the greatest politicians to ever hold office. In my whole lifetime however, I have never heard anyone say, “It sure is nice to live in Illinois.” Or “I love where I live.” The general population has lost hope. I have watched countless friends, family, and neighbors leave this state for lower taxes, better jobs, better schools, and better infrastructure. We are letting the inept career politicians of Springfield divide our families and push out the very people we care about the most. Not only that, but it is all being done with our own hard-earned tax money. The origin of this country did not stem from a population of people who let themselves be taxed without proper representation. We were born from a group of people that had a dream of self-representation, and literally gave their lives to make that dream happen. Now is the time to take back what is ours, and I will lead that charge.

“My name is Brad Fritts, and I am running for the Republican nomination for State Representative in the 74th District. I am running to be an advocate for the people of this district. Tom Demmer has battled the last 10 years, but the fight doesn’t stop with him. With your help and your vote, we will continue to build upon the work he started.

“We will fight to rebuild our infrastructure, so we have decent roads to drive on. We will fight to properly fund and manage funding well for our public school system so the best educated students in the world are from this state. We will fight for fiscal responsibility and a balanced budget. We will support our law enforcement who keep us safe and hold accountable the ones who violate that trust. We will fight for term limits to keep a consistent turnover of leadership and new ideas flowing through our statehouse. We will put an end to gerrymandering and force our politicians to represent us, not pick and choose who they want. We will institute programs to help our fellow man to overcome the chains of mental illness and addictions. We will work to reform our prison system to slow the rate of re-incarceration. We will investigate corruption and hold all accountable regardless of gender, race, financial or public status. It is time to make this state a home we are proud of and a home to brag about again.

“I realized this is an aggressive agenda. The journey will not be easy, and it will not happen overnight. However, this fight starts today by working to elect me as your next state representative. Springfield does not need any more seasoned politicians. The have plenty of those and the current state of our state is what we have to show for it. I am running because it is time to get young people in office who are beholden to no one except the people of this state. I intend to be elected by the people, to work for and serve only the people, every day of my term. That is my promise to each and every one of you. It’s time to take back Springfield, and it will be done, one vote at a time, using commonsense conservative leadership. This is what I bring to the table.”