SE Illinois News

Republican state House candidate Paul Jacobs sees no end to the list of victims destined to suffer from Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s progressive tax proposal.

“The progressive tax proposal is something to pull the wool over our eyes as they raise taxes on every group that there is from $18,000 to $1 million or $2 million; however they want to,” Jacobs told the SE Illinois News.

Jacobs insists he isn’t surprised to see Pritzker and company pulling out all the stops to get the measure he has been pushing since his days on the campaign trial over the finish line. Democrat Lt. Gov. Julianna Stratton recently warned voters if Pritzker’s proposal fails to get the support it needs for passage on Nov.3, taxpayers could soon face a 20% state income tax hike to cover any looming budget shortfall. Such a steep rise would send rates spiraling to an all-time personal high state income tax rate for residents of 5.94%.

Since then, the governor has essentially co-signed Stratton’s threat, further warning taxpayers it’s either the progressive tax or a 15% cut in government services, which could mean cuts in funding for education and public safety and a state property tax increase.

"I can’t believe that any party would threaten one bad thing if you don’t pass another bad thing. That should give Illinoisans enough worry to not vote for the progressive tax,” added Jacobs, who is now running in the 115th House District. “It is good to see the administration admitting that the budget is out of balance. It is very bad to see that they went to a $43 billion budget when they should’ve gone down instead of up. It’s also unnerving that by taxing the most taxed state with more taxes they think that that is going to solve our budget problem.”

Jacobs worries about the future of the state if change doesn’t come to Springfield anytime soon.

“We can’t continue to run people out of the state with higher taxes,” he added. “They are voting with their feet and they will continue to vote with their feet as they move to every state around us.”

Jacobs argues much of the struggle stems from the state’s out-of-control pension system.

“The administration must begin to realize that the big elephant in the room is in fact our pension system growing so large that the taxpayers of the state can no longer afford to continue it on its direction,” he said. “There have been attempts by the legislators to hire people in the state employment with various tiers. Everything that we are doing must be looked at and everything that we are not doing must be looked at.”