SPRINGFIELD — Some northern Illinois residents have new representation in Springfield.
Republican Jeff Keicher has been sworn in to finish the term of former state Rep. Bob Pritchard in the 70th House district. Pritchard already had announced his retirement, set for the end of the current term, but left his seat early to join the Northern Illinois University board.
Keicher is a lifelong Illinois resident and a small business owner in DeKalb County. Originally from St. Charles, he lives with his wife and three children in Sycamore.
Keicher will appear on the ballot in November, running for a full term in office. He’s already heard plenty from voters, who he says are frustrated by the tax and regulatory environment in the state. Keicher first took interest in seeking office when he noticed a number of his customers moving out of Illinois.
“The No. 1 issue that folks are mentioning is the tax burden in Illinois,” Keicher said. “Property taxes, the income tax hike we recently took, increased fees on a number of things … taxes is by far the No. 1 issue out there.”
While taking time to praise Pritchard for his service to the community, Keicher said there are issues where the two men disagree, most prominently on last year’s vote to raise the state’s income tax rate, which Pritchard supported. Keicher said he would not have voted for the hike.

“I can’t see ever voting for a tax increase as a state representative,” Keicher said. “As I talk to groups of people, I ask ‘Who here feels Illinois efficiently and effectively spends your tax dollars?’ And I never see a hand go up. That’s one of the basic challenges.”
Keicher speaks of an Illinois government more accountable to the people. He has a desire to develop metrics to determine which departments are succeeding and achieving stated goals and which aren’t.
“Get rid of some of these dinosaur programs and ideas that are just a chain around our neck,” Keicher said. “We need to be able to confront reality. That’s something we’ve deferred far too long in this state.”
The city of DeKalb and Northern Illinois University is situated inside the 70th district. Keicher says the school appears to be recovering from the well-publicized resignation of its president last year, when Doug Baker stepped down following a state report that alleged improper spending during his tenure.
“It really has been heartening to see the folks in leadership now making all attempts to clear away past misdeeds and to do things with clarity of purpose, focus, and really making sure they’re looking with an eye on sustainability and turning that enrollment trend around,” Keicher said.
Mirroring many other state schools, NIU has seen its enrollment plummet in recent years, from more than 25,000 students in 2006 to about 17,000 in 2017. Keicher said finding a way to convince graduating high school student to stay inside the state is a key to turn the numbers in the other direction.
“There are really some hallmark departments and programs at NIU that make it an attractive place,” Keicher said. “It’s going to be [a process] of right-sizing the facilities and faculty to the demand of the students and making sure it’s economically feasible.”
While in Springfield, Keicher said he’ll be refusing pension and health insurance benefits from the state.
“Just because I stood up to say, ‘I want to help the people of Illinois,’ does not mean I should be taking a state taxpayer funded pension,” Keicher said. “In my opinion that’s not a good or effective use of taxpayer resources.”
The 70th House District covers parts of DeKalb, Boone, and Kane counties. Keicher is hopeful voters in the area will send him back for a full term in office in November.
“Illinois is in my veins,” Keicher said. “I am so optimistic about the future that Illinois has because of the opportunities we find around every corner. But, we need to address the issues. The optimism comes with a sense of realism that we need to focus and do our work and make sure the Illinois taxpayer is able to hold Illinois state government accountable for what we do.”