East Central Reporter

State Rep. Chris Miller (R-Oakland) argues the ongoing debate in Springfield over Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s proposed progressive tax plan makes one thing clear.

“It puts a spotlight on how rampant corruption is in the state and how there’s a real leadership, character and integrity gap,” Miller told the East Central Reporter. “That’s the only reason you can think of for how anyone could be advocating for hitting people with more taxes with everything we have going on right now.”

Miller argues veteran state Sen. Terry Link (D-Indian Creek) recently becoming the fourth democratic lawmaker who’s strongly backed the progressive plan to now find himself facing criminal charges strikes him as more than just coincidence.

“You wonder about their motivations for this tax,” he said. “You wonder because you know it does nothing for regular people and there’s no way it will work like they’re selling it to.”

Facing tax evasion charges, Link joins former state Rep. Luis Arroyo, who faces up to 10 years in prison, and state Sen. Tom Cullerton, who has been hit with a 41-count indictment on embezzlement charges. One-time state Sen. Martin Sandoval has already pleaded guilty to taking $250,000 in bribes from SafeSpeed, a red-light camera vendor.

And then there is longtime House Speaker Mike Madigan, who now finds himself implicated in an ongoing federal corruption probe involving ComEd in which it’s alleged bribes were steered to several of his close associates as part of a pay-to-play scheme aimed at currying favor with him.

“We’ve already got the highest tax burden of every state in the union and the last thing we need is higher taxes to cover up all the fiscal irresponsibility,” Miller added. “But that’s part of the problem you create when you put billionaires in charge of trying to run the lives of normal people.”