Gov. J.B. Pritzker calls his $3.7 billion income tax hike a “fair tax.” But opponents have criticized the constitutional amendment as a blank check for House Speaker Mike Madigan and other state lawmakers, courtesy of Illinois taxpayers.
Decades of institutionalized financial mismanagement left Illinois with the nation’s worst fiscal health. Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan has been at the center of nearly every bad decision along the way.
With the "fair tax" campaign, lawmakers aim to sell voters a shovel to entrench the status quo by advertising it as a weapon with which to fight against it.
Despite the concentration of COVID-19 deaths in Illinois nursing homes, more than 272 neglect and abuse complaints were ignored by the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Illinois’ high levels of corruption damage the state’s economy, costing it $10.6 billion since 2000. States with higher levels of corruption average lower levels of economic growth.
The progressive tax’s structure fails to account for inflation and includes a marriage penalty for 4 million Illinoisans. It is designed to creep farther into taxpayers’ wallets.
The Illinois Department of Employment Security troubles included scores of unemployed unable to get benefits, nearly 32,500 Social Security numbers exposed and now benefits theft. A simple fix used by many online retailers could have prevented the thefts.
"My argument is they’re not fulfilling their contract because they’re more focused on politics and political activism than they are on benefits."
IDES estimated unemployment rate remains artificially low because it fails to count nearly 238,000 Illinoisans who have given up trying to find a job.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker sees no patronage problem in his administration – not that there’s no patronage, just that he apparently doesn’t see it as a problem.
Despite the hardships small businesses face from COVID-19 restrictions, Pritzker continues to push for a tax increase on them.
"We’re down 40 to 50% in customers and income and it’s not really flying back. We have a little overhead compared to restaurants. We can withstand it longer, I hope."
Some activities allowed under the state’s Phase 4 reopening plan have been pulled back.
"We’re very hurt, we’re disappointed and we’re frustrated with what has happened with the city. We don’t want to pack up and leave. We have too much invested."