Rob Meister is the Republican challenger for state representative of the 103rd district. 

Funding for higher education: 

Meister believes the main obstacle in the path of affordable education in Illinois is an inefficient General Assembly. 

“If Illinois was running itself properly and we could get rid of a lot of the waste and corruption that happens in the state, every state school would be fully funded and therefore can run much more efficiently at a lower cost for students. That’s one of the key reasons I’m trying to win this election,” Meister said. 

For the Champaign-Urbana community, he believes the University is “one of our biggest driving economic forces. As long as the government gives the University the short end of the stick, the longer it’s going to take for people in this area to get back on track with our economy.”

Plan to bring more jobs to Illinois: 

Meister also believes government corruption and inefficiency are the primary job-killers in Illinois, stating that if those two issues are solved many businesses would stay in Illinois and hire workers. 

“If I’m giving money to the government, and it’s going to funding education, taking care of our poor and giving people a leg up who need it, there would be no problem with businesses staying here,” Meister said. “The problem is that Illinois doesn’t do that. Illinois has continued to increase its regulations, taxes and fees, and we’re not getting the bang for our buck.” 

Illinois Environmental issues: 

Meister believes businesses that litter and dump waste care about the environment, but that state government doesn’t do enough to make proper waste disposal cost-effective. 

“Instead of using promotions and incentives and supporting people that are going green, we’re just going out punishing and penalizing those who don’t,” Meister said. “If we showed more financial stability and responsibility, one of the first things businesses would do is start to spend more money on being more environmentally friendly, but also on providing more to their employees.”

Healthcare: 

“In Illinois we pay three times more for prescription refills when it comes to healthcare and Medicare than any surrounding state. As a business owner, I really want to provide my people with a healthcare plan, but in doing so in Illinois, I know I’m going to be paying three times more for half the care,” he said. 

Meister believes the situation would be much better if the system was more efficient in Illinois.