East Central Reporter

Rep. Mike Marron says Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s proposal to decouple Illinois’ income tax from the CARES Act would make things worse for businesses.

Citing the dire situations of several small businesses in his district, Marron said that the governor should not ignore the outcome of his actions, that he'd be raising taxes for business owners who are already struggling to stay afloat. 

“It’s unbelievable to me that we are now going to decry the budget deficit and call for fiscal responsibility on the backs of these small business owners who have had their lives upended by this governor,” Marron said in a press conference.

He criticized the governor, stating that Pritzker should make himself aware of Illinois businesses’ situation. Marron also thinks that months after the pandemic gravely hit and affected the business owners, Pritzker did not demonstrate his concern.

“The governor needs to educate himself on what small businesses really look like in Illinois,” he strongly suggested. “It would be nice if he shows empathy for these small business owners who have been devastated. It would be nice if he has the courage to come to a place like Danville or Rantoul and look these people in the eye and explain his action to them. I’ve been waiting on that for 10 months and quite frankly, I’ve given up. At some point, I think we have to recognize the hard truth that the governor really doesn’t care about these people.”