For the last two years, Illinois voters have continually been denied clear answers from Mike Frerichs on a host of issues, led by his comments supporting taxing retirement income. Frerichs’ continual ducking and hiding from any challenge to his policies and statements have been made clear by ignoring Treasurer Candidate Tom Demmer’s invitation for a series of public debates between the two candidates.  

Returning back to October of 2020, nearly four months after commenting in support of a retirement tax, Treasurer Frerichs announced and then proceeded to abruptly cancel a press conference on the topic. Unfortunately, his record of impeding voters’ request for more transparency doesn’t end there. 

Fast forward to 2022 and Treasurer Frerichs continues to ignore an invitation from State Representative Tom Demmer to participate in a series of public debates to discuss the retirement tax and other issues pertinent to state fiscal policy. 

The people of Illinois deserve a leader who will stand up for Illinois families, protect their hard-earned savings, and refuse to run away when challenged to produce facts on their record. Treasurer Frerichs owes nothing less to every resident of Illinois than the opportunity to hear an open and honest exchange of ideas before the November 8 election. 

“While Frerichs ducks, deflects, and dodges, Tom Demmer has been fully transparent about his agenda to safeguard taxpayer dollars and serve as a fiscal watchdog, not a tax-and-spend Pritzker lapdog. Meanwhile, Treasurer Frerichs has repeatedly ignored opportunities to face the voters and explain his past support for taxing retirement income. Voters of Illinois deserve the opportunity to hear open, honest, and transparent debates,” said Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy. 

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