As he toured Naval Station Great Lakes, Neal Math and Science Academy, Zebra Technologies, AbbVie and the Ravinia Festival, U.S. Rep Brad Schneider, D-Highland Park, had company as he made his way around the 10th Congressional District Friday — U.S. Rep. Mike Carey, R-Ohio.
Talking to a group of students in the North Chicago Community High School work-study program, both congressmen offered some advice as they learned about the teenagers’ jobs and future plans.
With four of the five students planning on college, Carey offered thoughts from his own experience. As they talked, he searched on his phone to learn if what he did at community college before heading to Ohio State University might work for them at their schools.
“I was in ROTC,” Carey said. “It’s a good opportunity in college. It will pay for your college. You don’t have to go on active duty (in the) Army. You can stay in the National Guard. That’s what I did.”
Schneider and Carey visited a sampling of locations around Lake County Thursday through Saturday as part of a program sponsored by the Washington-based Bipartisan Policy Center devoted to helping Republicans and Democrats work together in crafting legislation.
Just as Carey spent time with Schneider around Lake County last week, over the weekend before Schneider joined Carey in his home 15th District in Columbus and parts of Western Ohio, learning some of the issues there.
John Richter, the director of the center’s Governing and Civics Project, joined the congressmen making their stops in North Chicago and elsewhere in the district. He said the more Democrats and Republicans get to know each other as people, the easier it becomes to work together.
“The better they get to know people across the aisle, the more they learn what they have in common,” Richter said. “This program gets them to know each other away from Washington, so it will be easier for them to learn to work together there.”
Both members of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Ways and Means, Schneider and Carey said they find ways to work together on tax legislation despite sharp divisions between their parties in a divisive time in the country.
Carey said he is committed to making the tax cuts signed by President Donald Trump in 2017 permanent. Part of the package is limited to $10,000, the amount people can deduct for state and local taxes (SALT).
With a large number of 10th District homeowners paying more than $10,000 in property taxes, Schneider is part of a bipartisan group consisting heavily of members from New York, Illinois, New Jersey and California to improve the situation for them.
“The bipartisan group I am working with is trying to find ways to make it happen,” Schneider said. “We’re not sure what will happen yet.”
For his part, Carey said some members of his party are unrelenting, while others recognize the amount deducted should be more than $10,000. He is working closely with four members of his party with whom he believes he can make headway.
“Some type of SALT reform is necessary,” he said. “The number-one issue is what we do about the $10,000 cap. We are looking at a $4.5 trillion tax cut, and a $1.5 trillion cut in spending.”
As North Chicago School District 187 Superintendent John Price welcomed Schneider and Cary to Neal, he told them about the five-story state-of-the-art middle school built with a $40 million gift from AbbVie. He stressed the importance of public education to the community.
“This is not just important to North Chicago,” Price said. “The commitment here shows the important role public education plays in the country as well.”
Schneider touted the value of the information he receives when he does town halls at middle schools, which he said he holds as frequently as possible. He said the students speak with a youthful honesty.
“Middle school kids’ brains are starting to grow,” Schneider said. “They ask questions that are really tough. They know what is happening around them, and are not afraid to ask.”
Getting a chance to see schools, factories both large and small and a world-famous music venue, Carey said he was highly impressed with the breadth of Naval Station Great Lakes. He spent 10 years in the Ohio National Guard, but never saw anything like the base in North Chicago.
“Great Lakes is pretty special,” Carey said. “You don’t realize how massive it is, and how important it is to the country.”