East Central Reporter

When it comes to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s proposed graduated tax, Republican state Rep. Chris Miller (R-Oakland) is firm in his resolve.

“I have not considered it and don’t plan to with taxes already being what they are in Illinois,” Miller told East Central Reporter. “The fact that they won’t put anything in writing about the rates tells me it’s just another lie to the citizens of Illinois. Look at the issue historically, you can’t remember the last time a Democrat talked about taxes with honesty and clarity.”

In recent days, high-ranking Democrats have joined Pritzker by publicly backing the plan he has been pushing as the best solution to the state’s budget crisis. Supporters argue that the governor’s plan would generate at least $3.4 billion in added revenue while costing only some 20,000 residents, all of them reporting single- or jointly filed incomes exceeding $1 million. The plan's backers add that all Illinoisans making less than $250,000, or 97 percent of the population, would have an effective tax rate lower than the current 4.95 percent.

State Rep. Chris Miller (R-Oakland)

“My thoughts are that you have to put a limit on spending,” said Miller, who won the 110th District in November with 60 percent of the vote. “Every time Democrats have said they were going to raise taxes as a way to fix everything, we’ve always ended up spending more money. You can’t tax or borrow your way to prosperity. That doesn’t happen and is only a plan for failure.”

Miller said that the numbers are not the only thing not adding up in Pritzker’s plan.

“You have to keep in mind that people making over $250,000 are the most mobile people in the state,” he said. “Under this current business model, it’s gotten to the point where there are only two types of people in Illinois, those who have already left and those who are thinking about it. There’s no way you should be penalizing success. You want those kinds of people and businesses in your state.”

To become law. Pritzker’s graduated tax would require a constitutional amendment signed off on by three-fifths of the General Assembly and the backing of voters in the 2020 elections.

The 110th House District includes Clark, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, Edgar and Lawrence counties.