Skinner4Governor.org

Libertarian Tendencies in Skinner's Public Service

It sounds like science fiction...but you'd better believe it. Cal Skinner is a rarity in Illinois politics, a politician who speaks his mind, and who thinks that individual rights and limited government are more important than pork and pats on the back.

Skinner's voting record and activism in Illinois politics has long reflected his libertarian leanings. Here are a few of the issues on which Skinner fought for – and sometimes paid the price for — the small-government position, both as a state legislator and during his many additional years of public service.

Fighting Mandatory Motorcycle Helmet Laws

When Cal Skinner was the Republican Spokesman of the Motor Vehicles Committee in 1977, heled the fight against re-imposing the mandatory motorcycle helmet law. the Illniois Supreme Court had held the previous law unconstitutional. Sought by the n Governor Jim Thompson's Illinois Department of Transportation and Democratic Party Secretary of State Alan Dixon, it was sponsored by Democratic Party Leader Gerald Shea, the first Mayor Daley's man on the House floor.

Skinner killed the bill in committee, with the help of many members of ABATE. Contrary to what can happen now, in the 1970's any member could propose an amendment to a bill on the House floor and it had to be voted upon before the bill could be passed. Then, a House member did not have to get the permission of House Speaker Mike Madigan first-as one does now. Skinner assigned his intern to search the House Calendar every day for all amendments being proposed to any bill concerning motor vehicles. Skinner figured if he knew an amendment was coming, he could rally House opponents of mandatory motorcycle helmet laws to kill any subsequent attempt. ABATE didn't let its guard down either. ABATE held a rally on the weekend before July 4th. The legislature was still in session, and members were quite impressed that the large parking lot southeast of the Capitol was literally filled with motorcycles.

Privacy of Government Records

In an attempt to woo senior citizen votes, Republican Governor Richard Ogilvie proposed and passed legislation to establish the circuit breaker property tax relief program. As a result, many seniors filled out applications for benefit checks. Democrat Governor Dan Walker, his successor, was trying to build pressure for some program and seized upon this list of senior citizens. He made a mailing to them. A senior citizen complained to Representative Skinner and that language was inserted into state law to make the list of circuit breaker recipients confidential. No longer could anyone use these government records for political purposes.

Alternative Medicine Treatments

Skinner supported two bills in the late 1970's to allow treatments not favored by the medical establishment. One introduced by then Rep. Don Totten (R-Schaumburg), would have legalized laetrile, an apricot derivative used to treat cancer in Mexico. Totten argued that people should not have to leave the country to obtain the treatment of their choice. A second was proposed by the only optometrist in the General Assembly, Rep. Joe Ebbesen (R-DeKalb). Ebbesen presented evidence that marijuana was efficacious in treating glaucoma. Skinner voted for both bills.

Governor Edgar's State Income Tax Hike

Republican Governor Jim Edgar proposed raising the state income tax 25%. The day he did so, Skinner told the Chicago Sun-Times, "It's dead on arrival." In the closed-door Republican House caucus the next day, he handed out a sample piece of direct mail he had developed, that could be sent to constituents of anyone who voted for the income tax hike. The "hit piece" was so powerful that one of the freshman legislators stood at the door to collect all the copies Skinner had distributed so that wouldn't fall into hostile hands. This Edgar income tax hike did not pass.

Governor Thompson's Income Tax Hike

After running unsuccessfully for State Comptroller on the Republican ticket in 1982, Skinner's "consolation prize" was being appointed manager of the Bureau of Benefits for the Department of Central Management Services. He put a bumper sticker on the back window of his 1977 Honda Civic indicating he opposed income taxes. His car was the only one in the state employees' parking lot that had an anti-income tax bumper sticker.

On the way into work the day after Thompson proposed raising the income tax rate on individuals from 2½% to 3½%, Skinner heard a Thompson spokesman say that the Governor was proposing a "one percent income tax increase." Skinner was enraged at the deception. (An increase of one percentage point divided by the 2½% base would result in a forty percent income tax hike!)

Skinner went to his friend Rep. Bernie Pedersen's office and told him abou the use of this "Big Lie" techinique. (Perfected by Hitler's propaganda minister Goebels, what became to be known as the "Big Lie" technique merely requires false information to be repeated again and again until the public thinks it is the truth. It was used by Hitler to demonize Jews.) Skinner and Pedersen agreed that Thompson's propagandists should not be allowed to get away with this false characterization of the extent of Thompson's income tax hike.

When the time came for his fifteen-minute morning break, Skinner went down to Rep. Pedersen's office and wrote a press release informing the media that the proposed income tax hike was a forty percent hike, not a one percent hike. The next day the media began reporting the truth about how large Thompson's tax hike proposal was.

Skinner at the time was a management consultant for the Department of Central Management Services. There was a special line item in the budget for the job. That line item did not appear in the next budget!

Election 2002 Web Archive Collection

Election 2002 Web Archive Collection