SE Illinois News

Republican state House candidate Darren Bailey marvels at how lawmakers in Springfield never seem to learn from the state’s doomed history.

“We are worse off today than we were a year ago after lawmakers imposed a 32 percent income tax increase,” Bailey told the SE Illinois News. “Whenever Illinois raises taxes, things only become worse because our history is that Springfield only blows and wastes more money. Our politicians are like a spoiled kid in a toy store that only wants more and more.”

Bailey’s latest outrage is sparked by talk of a new statewide property tax that some lawmakers insist is needed to help the state pay down its massive pension liability.

According to Wirepoints, others in the financial sector have specifically proposed the idea of levying a 30-year state property assessment that is estimated to be around 1 percent of actual property value.

“We’re running families and businesses out of the state,” said Bailey, a Republican from Xenia who is running against Democrat Cynthia Given of Olney in the 109th House District. “People often equate owning property with having money, but the reality is (that) every time taxes go up, things like rent and mortgages do, too. We need to stop raising taxes and do a better job of managing what we have.”

Bailey said he sees a resolution by state Rep. Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton) that opposes any new statewide property tax as a step in that direction.

“I’m also wondering why all the good ideas in Springfield now seem to only be coming from Jeanne Ives,” he said. “She has the gumption to step forward, and we need more legislators to put their thinking caps on and think outside the box to help us find our way out from under this mess. Right now, we are a sinking ship when we have (the) ability to be the greatest state there is.”

Bailey said the state’s path to brighter days is clear to him.

“We need to be cutting all the wasteful spending and be more efficient (with) what we already have,” he said. “Lawmakers know what needs to be cut from these budgets. They know all the ends and outs.”