Mike Pence op-ed: Trump White House phenomenally successful

When I visit Chicagoland Friday, I will deliver an important message to the hardworking men and women of Illinois, on behalf of President Donald Trump: Our agenda is delivering results for the Land of Lincoln and we're just getting started.

Simply look at the historic tax cuts that our president signed last December. With the strong support and leadership of all of Illinois' Republicans in the Congress, we enacted the largest tax cuts and reform in American history, and it's already putting more money into the pockets of Illinois families.

Under our tax cuts, the first $24,000 of income for a married couple is now 100 percent income-tax free, nearly double what it was before. We also doubled the child tax credit to $2,000. And we cut out the core of Obamacare by eliminating the failed individual mandate tax, so you're no longer forced to buy unaffordable, government-mandated health insurance.

All told, the typical family of four in the Chicago area will save nearly $3,000 of their hard-earned money every year, and in many communities, the savings will be even higher. The truth is that you know how to spend your paycheck better than any bureaucrat in Washington, D.C., ever could.

We also cut taxes on job creators of all sizes, and already, businesses across the state and around the nation have responded.

Take the case of Atlas Tool and Die, a manufacturing company in Lyons. That great American success story used its tax-cut savings to give bonuses to its workers and increase the company's matching contributions to employee retirement savings plans. Nationwide, more than 6 million Americans -- including at least 55,000 Illinoisans -- have benefitted from our tax cuts in the form of pay raises, better benefits and cash bonuses.

But this is just the beginning. As the economy continues to grow in the years ahead, we estimate that annual wages for Illinois workers will rise by as much as $4,500.

These tax cuts would not have been possible without Illinois' strong Republican leaders in our nation's capital, including Congressman Peter Roskam, who played a critical role in drafting the tax-cut legislation as the chairman of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Tax Policy.

But it's not just our tax cuts. This president has signed more laws rolling back federal red tape than any president in history. Our administration has eliminated 22 federal regulations for every new rule put on the books, and we've unleashed affordable American energy to power our factories, farms and homes.

In this White House, we're also fighting tirelessly to break down trade barriers in foreign countries, so Illinois farmers and manufacturers have new opportunities to expand and export, and we're standing up to predatory practices from countries like China. We're working with Congress to enact a multiyear farm bill that will give our farmers, ranchers and producers the long-term certainty they need to prosper and thrive.

The results of our agenda have been extraordinary.

Since our election, businesses across the nation have created nearly 3.7 million new jobs. Since our inauguration, Illinois job creators have added more than 74,000 new jobs, including nearly 22,000 new manufacturing jobs and Illinois' unemployment rate has decreased by nearly a fifth.

There's still more work to do, and you can be assured that we will continue to keep our promises to Illinois.

President Trump made that clear once again on Monday when he nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh to be the next justice on the Supreme Court.

Like all the principled jurists appointed by our president, Judge Kavanaugh will uphold the God-given liberties enshrined in the Constitution of the United States.

Under President Trump, the forgotten men and women of America are forgotten no more. In the days ahead, with the continued support of the good people of Illinois, we'll finish what we've started, and we will Make America Great Again.