East Central Reporter

Illinois state Rep. Chris Miller (R-Oakland) fears Illinois’ financial future will remain as depressed as its past has been if Gov. J.B. Pritzker gets his way.

“With Pritzker, we can’t get away from taxing more, borrowing more and spending more,” Miller told the East Central Reporter. “Citizens and businesses across the state are fed up with being abused by his tax policies and system of overregulation.”

During his recent state budget address, Pritzker devoted much of his time to promoting his long backed progressive tax, insisting that the tax that would require a change to the state constitution before being enacted will only mean higher rates for the state’s most well-to-do.

“That’s what he’s hoping,” Miller added. “But I can tell you hope is not a plan for running the state and until we start dealing with fundamental structure reforms you won’t be able to raise taxes enough to make a positive difference for people.”

Miller argues everything about Pritzker’s progressive tax proposal has been doomed from the start.

“The whole goal of it is to penalize successful people,” he said. “All it’s bound to do is to send more of them out of the state and leave the rest of us to pick up the pieces with this tax increase. History tells us it’s never done what the governor is selling it as.”

In California, expected revenues from its progressive tax were nearly cut in half after wealthy residents bolted en masse, while Connecticut residents have suffered through a steady stream of rising income- and property-tax rates that have cost the state more than $10 billion and 360,000 jobs.

“At the end of the day, the extremely wealthy are going to be wealthy no matter what,” Miller added. “Like always, it’ll be the middle-class that’s left holding the bag.”