Chambana Sun

Veteran state Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) wants voters to be reminded they have to be the change many of them insist they want to see in Springfield.

“Our governor and Democrats in the General Assembly are more than living up to our tax, tax, tax reputation with this progressive tax idea,” Caulkins told the Chambana Sun. “There seems to be no end to their taxing appetite. There’s never any talk about cuts and taking some of the pressure off. Voters are going to have to negotiate that for themselves.”

Caulkins warns the tax the governor has been peddling since before he arrived in Springfield only assures more of the same. A new report by the Tax Foundation details how the state’s competitive position would dramatically fall if the progressive tax proposal Gov. J.B. Pritzker has been pushing since his days as a candidate becomes law. If the measure passes, researchers report Illinois’ overall ranking would tumble all the way down to 47th in the U.S. for business competitiveness, ahead of only New Jersey and California.

“The power to tax is a very powerful tool and when a party has that ability along with the authority to regulate like here in Illinois it’s a huge hammer to hold over the heads of people,” Caulkins added. “In this case, it’s allowed House Speaker Mike Madigan to collect millions and use that money to reinforce his political machine, which has allowed them to be the beneficiaries of this high tax income and to buy favors and win elections.”

Caulkins argues the tradeoff for that has been even more costly to the state.

“We’ve watched people leave Cook County in record numbers to get away from the high tax burdens, bad schools and overregulations the Democrats have imposed,” he said. “People are voting with their feet against these policies. As long as Democrats are in power and able to get their special projects paid for, they’ll continue to tax the whole state in the same way they always have.”