East Central Reporter

Chris Miller can finally exhale.

After two days of fasting and prayer, the Oakland farmer scored a convincing win over Democrat Shirley Bell in the 110th House District race.

Miller bagged 23,884 votes to Bell's 12,641, punching his ticket for Springfield, where he plans to act as a system of checks and balances on newly elected Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

“I know if he does the things that he’s said he plans to with raising taxes, it will be a disaster for the state,” Miller told the East Central Reporter. “With Illinois being in the financial straits that it is, there’s no way you can raise taxes on people again.”

Throughout his campaign, Miller made an issue of the state’s runaway tax system, and how it was serving as the impetus for the state’s rising out-migration.

“We’ve got to do something about it,” he said. “Right now, it literally has a stranglehold over people.”

On Tuesday, Miller captured at least 60 percent of the vote in every county, signaling to him that his campaign message resonates with voters of the district.

“My message was simple and was about creating more of a business-friendly environment,” he said. “The hot-button issues were not to vote for (House Speaker Mike) Madigan, getting term limits on the ballot and addressing the tax problem. I plan to keep my promise on all those fronts.”

Miller said having to watch Gov. Bruce Rauner go down to Democrat J.B. Pritzker wasn’t easy.

“It’s a sad day for Illinois that Rauner lost,” he said, “If you’re someone that wants to see reform happen, where do you go from here when you’re looking at a leadership team of Madigan and Pritzker?”

The 110th House District includes Clark, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, Edgar and Lawrence counties.