While he spends much of his time dealing with statewide issues, David Wirsing believes in making a difference for the community where he grew up.

Born in the old Sycamore Municipal Hospital and raised on a farm in Sycamore, the recently re-elected 70th District Representative said throughout much of his life, he never possessed any real interest in politics.

“My interest in seeking this office didn’t occur until about 1990,” Wirsing said. “But after my first trip to Washington, D.C., and visiting congressmen and senators and seeing how it worked, I said to my wife, ‘You know, I can do this.’ The seed was planted.”

First elected in 1992 as a Republican state representative of the 70th District, which includes DeKalb, Wirsing said past civic and community activities helped him gain confidence that as a representative, he could make an impact.

Daniel Kempton, chairman of NIU’s political science department, said Wirsing’s local ties have done nothing but help the community.

“He has a good grasp on agricultural and industrial issues within the area,” Kempton said. “He’s sensitive to the issues within the community and other issues regarding the university as well.”

Wirsing said his background in farming, including his current membership on the DeKalb County Farm Bureau, has been one of many beneficial aspects he brings to the extensively rural and agricultural 70th District.

He also spent the seven years preceding his first election as a member on the Sycamore School Board. Wirsing, a strong advocate for issues regarding school funding, has spent a good deal of his time making sure all levels of education receive proper funding, and that no particular level is neglected.

“I’ve done some traveling around the state to better understand and appreciate the universities,” Wirsing said. “I feel that my role over the past 10 years of supporting higher education is to make sure that if there are education cuts, higher education is cut no more than any other level.”

Locally, Wirsing said his greatest challenge is accommodating both the people who support growth and those who oppose it.

“I have a different set of challenges with those who want no growth and those people who strongly support farmland,” Wirsing said. “And on the other side, there are the people in the middle who say growth is healthy. So what is the approach to achieve the right amount of growth?”

Wirsing mentioned growth issues in relation to the recently failed District 428 school referendum. Wirsing said despite the drawbacks, the school board needs to continue its efforts to solve the overcrowding problems that have resulted from excessive growth.

“Management in the school board has to tighten its belt and not lessen the value of education within the district,” Wirsing said. “But the Illinois legislature needs to get its act together, and find a better way to fund these schools without further devastation to the system.”

Wirsing said these efforts and many others are what keep him going each day, and he doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon.

“I couldn’t stand on the sidelines and watch the train go by,” Wirsing said. “I had to get on the train.”