David Ratowitz, the Illinois 5th U.S. District Republican candidate, has announced a "small business listening tour" to kick off in March.
Illinois District 5 U.S. House candidate David Ratowitz today announced that his campaign will undertake a three-month “Small Business Listening Tour.” The initiative, slated to kick off in early March, will involve an extended series of individual consultations with area entrepreneurs, culminating in a proposed economic recovery plan that aims to bolster the disenfranchised small business sector.
“Meetings with 5th District voters during the Primary season certainly revealed deep discontent with the federal government’s stimulus efforts and other top-down programming,” Ratowitz explained. “This listening tour will be about pinpointing the specific concerns of local small business owners – those who create 80 percent of new jobs – and identifying real, tangible economic repairs and policy solutions.
“A ‘jobless recovery’ is not only oxymoronic; it is unacceptable.”
Unemployment in Cook County now exceeds 10 percent, while recessionary job losses and payroll declines nationwide approximate those of the Depression era. Following more than $46 million in debt-generated stimulus spending in Congressional District 5 between October and December 2009, a mere 292.5 jobs were created, according to federal Recovery.gov tracking figures. The majority of all stimulus-subsidized jobs are in the public sector.
According to the National Federation of Independent Businesses February Small Business Economic Trends Report, “Optimism has clearly stalled in spite of the improvements in the economy in the second half of 2009. Small business owners entered 2010 the same way they left 2009 – depressed.”
“Advocacy groups like the NFIB are sounding the clarion call.” Ratowitz noted. “It is imperative that I personally meet with small business owners across the 5th District to gain a first-hand account of the current local business climate. I look forward to it.”
District 5 entrepreneurs interested in participating in the Ratowitz for Congress Small Business Listening Tour are invited and encouraged to contact the campaign at 773-897-5800 or 815-472-4159.
Small business owner, Army veteran and conservative activist David Ratowitz is the Republican challenger for Illinois Congressional District 5 representative. The Ratowitz for Congress campaign platform advocates a limited federal government, low taxes, fiscal discipline and accountability, free markets and individual liberty. Learn more at www.ratowitzforcongress.com.
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I didn’t realize this was a partisan blog. If it is, don’t call it news.
Drew,
Rest assured, Lake Effect News is non-partisan. I will run a release and/or do a story on all political candidates running for office, and I plan to cover all or as many political candidates up until the November election. Unlike other news sites, blogs and even the major Chicago dailies, who think there is only one political party in the city, county and state — the Democratic Party — it is for this very reason that I chose to run Mr. Ratowitz’s press release. LEN will attempt to give fair and equal coverage to all candidates regardless of their political party. From the tone of your comment, you must think I should be covering only Democratic candidates. Unfortunately, Word Press is highly overrated as an open forum but I am stuck with it. I don’t care for Google because I don’t want readers clicking on to the next blog and landing on a Viagra site. If you search through my pitiful archives, you will find stories on Democrats as well as Republicans. Send me a valid email address and I will send you links if you wish.