27-Sep-18 – The Republican candidate for United States Representative in Illinois’ 5th congressional district is ready for the swimsuit competition, making his pitch in a series of YouTube videos from places such as Splash Country Water Park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

Tom Hanson, a River North resident, has produced eight videos, locations of which include his condominium on East Erie Street, Field Museum, LEGOLAND Discovery Center in Schaumburg, a horse farm in Tennessee, and a toy horse festival in Kentucky.

He is running against incumbent Mike Quigley to represent a district that covers parts of Cook and DuPage counties.

At the Dollywood water park in eastern Tennessee, Hanson credits tax cuts for that area’s financial success. “With gas prices going up, because the economy’s getting stronger and interest rates increasing, the tax cuts will help us through this time where it’s going to be harder to buy a house, it’s going to be harder to fill your car gas tank,” says Hanson (left) in the video. “Tax cuts are good for America.” Hanson has been a commercial real estate broker for more than 30 years. He lives at 2 East Erie, a 254-unit condominium.

He says he is against “high taxes, crime, and corruption.”

“The high tax states are having tough times,” he says. “We are in a vacuum while the rest of the country is enjoying prosperity.”

Hanson says high taxes are one of the reasons people are moving out of Illinois, “like rats jumping off the ship.”

“Everyone is losing sleep about the high taxes, crime, and corruption. Everyone is getting worried Illinois and Chicago will go bust.”

Hanson predicts victory ‘by a landslide’

On March 20, Hanson got more than 18,000 votes in the Republican primary election, while Quigley received 63,000 votes from Democrat voters. Nonetheless, Hanson predicts “the 5th District will experience a Supernatural Miracle” and he will win “by a landslide.”

“Everyone is worried about higher taxes, corruption in Illinois. They want me, someone from ‘The Outside,’ to go to Washington and clean up the mess. I’m going to shake it up.”

At a candidate forum on March 10 at Davis Theater in Lincoln Square, Quigley warned of “very interesting times” ahead, bordering on a “constitutional crisis.” Without going into detail, the House Intelligence Committee member described the upcoming elections as “the political equivalent of 9/11.”

If re-elected, Quigley said he will “battle President Trump and those who hate like him” as well as deal with everyday issues like mass transit and the homeless. He said he expects to become chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, which doles out funding.

“Illinois has the worst roads and some of the worst bridges anywhere in the U.S. and I can’t wait to work with the mayor of Chicago to deal with these issues as chairman of appropriations,” said Quigley (right).