As grocery prices hit a 30-year high, the Governor’s tax increases would hit families yet again by cutting the standard deduction. His plan would also go after small and large job creators, leaving Illinoisans earning less, paying more for goods and services, or both.
On Wednesday, Governor JB Pritzker delivered his annual combined Budget Address and State of the State Address and proposed a billion dollars in tax increases to fund the growing price tag of the migrant/illegal immigrant crisis that he invited. I think it is wrong to raise taxes on Illinois families and businesses to pay for nearly free healthcare and other wraparound services for noncitizens and will fight vehemently against them.
Since taking office, Pritzker has increased spending on noncitizen programs from just a few million dollars per year to roughly a billion dollars per year, by offering services from free housing to free healthcare. Increasing taxes by a billion dollars to pay for just about that same amount in spending on noncitizens is a clear display of the Governor’s misplaced priorities.
Overall, the Governor’s budget would set a new record as the largest in state history. Pritzker called for an additional $2 billion in spending with a total budget price tag of nearly $53 billion. If he is able to pass his plan, he will have grown state spending by 30% in just six years in office. It is important to note that while the Governor touted a balanced proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2025, his budget hinges on the passage of legislation implementing the $1 billion in new tax increases. None of those bills have made their way through the legislative process yet and I will be a vocal NO vote if and when they do.
Members of the Illinois Senate Republican Caucus have long advocated for eliminating the state’s sales tax on groceries. While Pritzker claimed to support the idea in the speech, there are two big differences between his approach and the Senate Republican approach. His would lead to a $250 million reduction in state funding that is delivered to municipalities through the Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF), and ours would eliminate the grocery tax and backfill the amount of money municipalities would lose, eliminating the possibility that local governments would need to raise taxes to recover those funds.
I am committed to fighting Governor Pritzker’s proposed tax hikes and providing real relief to the citizens of the state. If you agree these tax hikes must be stopped, I have created a petition that I hope you will sign. You can access the petition here.