SPRINGFIELD — As federal reforms encourage work, reduce fraud, and help ensure food assistance reaches the people who truly need it, Illinois politicians are spending taxpayer dollars trying to redefine who counts as "low income."

Instead of celebrating that fewer people are relying on government assistance, Springfield politicians approved funding to create an alternative low-income count designed to preserve government spending.

"Government should help people rise out of poverty, not change the definition of poverty to make government programs bigger," said Republican U.S. Senate candidate Don Tracy. "If more people are working and fewer benefits are being paid out incorrectly, that's a success not a crisis."

At the federal level, government reforms have included modest work requirements for able-bodied adults and stronger safeguards against waste and overpayments. Illinois Democrats opposed those common sense measures, just as they opposed policies like No Tax on Tips and No Tax on Overtime that reward hard work and help families get ahead.

"Lt. Governor Stratton and her allies always seem to be on the side of bigger government and greater dependency. When Washington says able-bodied adults should work, they object. When workers get a tax break for overtime or tips, Illinois opts out. And when fewer people need public assistance, their answer is to change the math.

We should be rewarding hard work, fighting fraud, and making it easier for families to succeed, not manipulating statistics to protect a failing political agenda."

"I've spent my career working with families and small businesses. I’m going to Washington to bring about common sense solutions that will lower the cost of living, reward work, and help more Illinoisans achieve self-sufficency rather than  lifelong dependence on government."

Don Tracy is available for phone, video, and in-studio interviews.

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