Legislators are home this week for a “legislative spring break.” They are encouraged to host town halls and meet with constituents to give an update on what has been happening at the Statehouse and what is to be expected for the rest of session.
Unfortunately, most legislators don’t have much good news: No tax relief, no improvement in services, no balanced budget.
So far this legislative body has passed:
- A mandated $15 minimum wage hike that will hurt small business and the low income workers it’s intended to help, as well as raise our already second highest property taxes in the nation.
- College tuition aid for undocumented citizens.
- Abolishing the charter school commission which gave schools like Urban Prep West another chance to stay open and provide a well rounded education for their students.
Unfortunately, we expect legislators to return next week reenergized to continue passing bad legislation. The battle for your home, your child’s education, and your pocketbook is still far from over this session.
Gov. Pritzker and the Democrats will continue to push:
- The graduated income tax bill that amends the state constitution to allow politicians to keep raising tax rates on not just “the wealthy” but on all of us.
- The “Clean Energy and Jobs Act” otherwise known as Illinois’ own version of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal that would turn over energy production to the state, raise energy prices, and end the use of fossil fuels. (All with an imaginary price tag attached.)
- The end of the successful tax credit scholarship program that gives low income families in underperforming districts the opportunity to send their children to a school that best fits their child’s educational needs.
Illinois was just ranked 51/50 as the worst state for taxpayers. When are our elected leaders going to do something about it? Where are the pro growth policies that our state desperately needs? This a reminder that your state representative is elected to serve you and represent your interests, not those of Pritzker or any other special interest groups.
Your voice and your activism in your community matters. The Illinois Policy Institute released a poll indicating that it won’t be easy for Pritzker to get the votes for his graduated income tax hike plan as he may have thought.
Nothing is a done deal. And there are still a lot of hardworking legislators in Springfield fighting for you and they need your help.
Hold your representative accountable and tell them enough of the anti-business, anti-growth, big government policies that put your family’s prosperity in jeopardy.
