Illinois state Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) | https://repcaulkins.com/
Illinois state Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) | https://repcaulkins.com/
Illinois state Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) wants voters to take a long hard look in the mirror before casting their votes in the 2020 elections.
“People need to think about who they’re voting for and what they stand for because none of the things they tell me they want are happening right now in Springfield,” Caulkins told the Chambana Sun. “Democrats still proudly claim to be for the working man but every tax they’ve enacted, from the new taxes on cigarettes, gas and license fees, squarely hits the middle class.”
Ultimately, Caulkins insists, the progressive income tax now being pushed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker will have the same impact. While the governor insists the tax will only affect those earning $250,000 and above, Caulkins argues that it will only be a matter of time before all Illinoisans are digging deeper into their pockets.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker
“Democrats lied to the voting public to get to Springfield in 2018 and now they’re not telling the truth about this new tax scheme in 2020,” Caulkins said. “When voters hear from a Democrat this election cycle about this proposed constitutional amendment not being anything that will impact the middle class, they should be very skeptical based on a long history.”
With high taxes listed as the top reason why Illinoisans say they want to leave the state, new data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that the state is already losing residents earning upward of $200,000 a year at nearly twice the rate of average-income residents. In addition, the state is losing more than twice as many wealthy residents as it is attracting, and over the last decade has lost at least $32 billion in potential income had those who have left the state in search of greener pastures stayed in Illinois.
“They see the burdens placed on businesses and because of that they see that the jobs have left and the opportunities not coming,” Caulkins said. “Republicans have proposed all kinds of ideas that we believe will put Illinois back on the track to fiscal responsibility. On the other hand, no one will escape this progressive tax. Maybe it won’t hit you in the first year, but it will eventually come to pass.”