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  Skinner, Jr., Cal
CANDIDATE DETAILS
AffiliationLibertarian  
<-  1997-01-01  
 
NameCal Skinner, Jr.
Address
Crystal Lake, Illinois , United States
Emailinfo@skinner4governor.org
Website [Link]
Born January 01, 1942 (82 years)
ContributorRP
Last ModifedBarack O-blame-a
Jan 05, 2012 12:19am
Tags
InfoCal Skinner is the Libertarian Party candidate for Governor. He earned a master's degree in Public Administration from the University of Michigan and economics degree from Ohio's Oberlin College. He served eight years in the Illinois General Assembly in the 1970's and another eight in the 1990's.

Skinner moved with his family to Crystal Lake when he was 15, having previously lived in Easton, Maryland, where he was born in 1942, and in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Middletown, New York. While in high school, he earned the Eagle Scout Award. He graduated from Crystal Lake Community High School in 1960. In 1964, he graduated with an economics major from Oberlin College where he was active in the Young Republicans and chairman of the Republican Mock Convention, and did graduate work in public administration at the University of Michigan for the next year. Prior to completing his degree, Skinner passed the highest entry civil service commission examination and went to work for the U.S. Bureau of the Budget (now the Office of Management & Budget) in Washington, D. C. (He turned down a job offer from IRS).

When his father, who ran a very close but unsuccessful campaign for McHenry County Auditor in 1964, encouraged him to run for County Treasurer in 1966, the 23-year-old took up the challenge and won by 72 out of about 13,000 votes in a three-way race. Skinner began his service in elective public office as the youngest Treasurer in McHenry County history. It was there that Skinner earned his reputation as a "tax fighter". For the first time, county funds were fully invested by competitive bid. Property taxes were distributed much faster to local schools than had been the case previously. Skinner also initiated computerization of the Treasurer's Office, led the fight for fair real estate assessments, representing over-assessed homeowners in appeals to the State Property Tax Appeal Board where he proved the new homeowner's assessments were about 40% too high. $500 refunds were common. He earned the designation Certified Illinois Assessing Officer. In coordination with other County Treasurers, Skinner led the fight to abolish the hated Personal Property Tax, thus fulfilling a 1996 campaign pledge for which he was ridiculed at the time. Skinner also conducted a cost/benefit study of Governor Richard Ogilvie's 1969 income tax and discovered that individuals in McHenry County would be forced to pay $12.5-$14 million in new taxes, while only $3.5-$4 million would be returned in State Aid to Education and additional sales tax revenue sharing for municipalities and county government.

In 1972, Skinner was elected to the first of four terms as State Representative for McHenry County. He beat two incumbents in the process. His five-county district comprised McHenry County, went as far west as Rockford, farther south than Elgin in Kane County, and northern DeKalb County. He specialized in real estate tax reform, improving the assessment appeal process, and authorized increases in "circuit breaker" tax relief for senior citizens and the disabled. In 1974, Skinner led the fight against the CTA's extraction of money from the suburbs and subsequently the fight against the 5% RTA gas tax. Skinner passed the first non-game wildlife income tax check-off bill and was in the forefront of saving the Middle Fork River.

After serving in Springfield for eight years, Skinner made a run for Congress in 1980 and for State Comptroller in 1982. He jokes that he received his inoculation against Potomac Fever when he ran against incumbent Republican Robert McClory and lost, carrying McHenry County, but losing the Lake and Kane County portions of the district. He taught state and local government at Harper and Rockford Colleges and advised the Speaker of the House on transportation matters. Two years later, he passed up a chance to run for an open seat in the Illinois House for the distinction of being the Republican candidate who lost to State Comptroller Roland Burris. The message he took across the state was that Adlai Stevenson III was more likely to raise Illinois' income tax than was Jim Thompson. Boy, was he wrong. Utilizing his educational background in public administration, Skinner then headed up employee benefits for state government. In this job, he became a nationally recognized and published expert in hospital utilization review, demonstrating that unnecessary hospital care could be cut from over 10% to well under 5%. He also initiated tax sheltering for state employee' medical and child care expenses. He also was an in-house management consultant for the Department of Central Management Services, making suggestions to improve efficiency in state government that were not accepted. He also assisted State Rep. Penny Pullen (R-Park Ridge) in her work on President Ronald Reagan's AIDS Commission in 1987-88 and in her "public protection" AIDS legislation in the late 1980's and early 1990's, as well as assisting conservative Republican state representatives and senators.

In "remission," as he puts it, for twelve years, Skinner returned to public office on a "Tax Fighter for State Rep" theme in 1992, besting two Republican primary opponents and an aggressive general election opponent.

Skinner married the former Michele Giangrasso in 1990. Since his retirement from the General Assembly in 2001, he has been running after Michele's and his 4-year-old adopted son Steven. Skinner has a daughter, Alexandra, born Feb. 6, 1982 to a former marriage. The family is active in the Crystal Lake United Methodist Church and the Northern Illinois Emmaus Community. Unlike most involved in politics, Skinner is not much of a "joiner." He was a charter member of both the Woodstock Rotary Club and the Crystal Lake Breakfast Kiwanis Club and remains a multi-decade member of the McHenry County Defenders.


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RACES
  11/05/2002 IL Governor Lost 2.09% (-50.11%)
  03/21/2000 IL State House 064 - R Primary Lost 43.14% (-9.62%)
  11/03/1998 IL State House 064 Won 54.57% (+9.14%)
  03/17/1998 IL State House 064 - R Primary Won 51.42% (+2.84%)
  11/05/1996 IL State House 064 Won 67.76% (+35.51%)
  11/08/1994 IL State House 064 Won 100.00% (+100.00%)
  11/03/1992 IL State House 064 Won 59.26% (+18.51%)
  11/02/1982 IL Comptroller Lost 33.50% (-30.93%)
  03/18/1980 IL District 13-R Primary Lost 39.80% (-20.40%)
  11/07/1978 IL State House 033 Won 44.64% (+15.33%)
  11/02/1976 IL State House 033 Won 34.38% (+8.10%)
  11/05/1974 IL State House 033 Won 31.42% (+0.00%)
  11/07/1972 IL State House 033 Won 32.26% (+2.77%)
  11/08/1966 McHenry County, IL Treasurer Won 67.69% (+35.39%)
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