Budget & Taxes

No Tax Increases:

I do not support any tax increase. More taxes and fees (which is a tax with a different name) on corporations and small businesses will drive them out of Illinois or force them to close their doors. The absence of quality businesses will lead to further loss of jobs and tax revenue. New or increased taxes will have a devastating affect on our extremely fragile economy and we must cut taxes. Illinois can’t afford either Governor Quinn’s or Comptroller Hynes’ proposed tax/fee increases and as State Representative, I will vote no on any and all tax increases. Moving forward, I would set corporation taxes to pre-2003 levels in order to incent corporations and small businesses to stay, return or build in Illinois. We can no longer sit back and let other states raid Illinois’ economy. We must even the playing field by offering a tax and fee structure that is pro-business and pro-jobs. We must also ensure that taxpayer money stays in taxpayers pockets in order to strengthen family and our economy.

Service Taxes:

I do not support any tax increases or the creation of any new taxes, such as a service tax. While many politicians try to justify tax increases through tactful sound bites, the reality is that any tax that Illinois seeks to put on citizens has an extremely negative affect, especially on the poorest income brackets of our state which are often used as the reason to increase taxes in the first place. We can’t continue to financially penalize the citizens of our state when lawmakers can’t create a balanced budget and live within the states means. As stated above, our current tax system also penalizes corporations and small businesses and is the leading cause of job and revenue loss. In this fragile and tough economy, we can’t afford to push our economy into the financial abyss. Springfield must cut costs, live within its means, and not raise taxes or fees.

Spending Cuts Priorities:

Illinois doesn’t have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem. Everywhere we look there is government bloat filled by patronage, nepotism, and long-term agreements that are choking the financial lifeblood out of our state. Illinois can, and must, balance its budget without tax increases. Our state budget has increased 30% over the last five years while the population has only grown about 7%.  Cutting billions in government pork and non-critical programs should be our first step.  We must take a financial scalpel to all non-critical programs and cut out the government fat and waste, such as teaching high school students about Alzheimer’s disease or buying space-age toilets for our parks. I believe as an elected official we must lead by example. Freezing pay increases for government employees, just as private industry is doing, is critical. Elected officials should take a pay cut.  Being a leader in the legislature, I will sponsor a bill that will close loopholes in how legislators receive pay increases. For too long political insiders have padded their coffers by not taking a stand and taking a pay freeze while their constituents are doing the same.

Unfunded Pension and Healthcare Liability:

We must also reform our pension program by moving into sustainable programs such as a 401k or IRA. For years Governors, especially former Governor Blagojevich, along with the legislature, have robbed the pension funds at the expense of the hard working men and women of our state. They have also chosen to not adequately replenishing the funds they took. We must move away from irresponsible spending and stop raiding or borrowing against our pension funds. I support legislation to prevent further raiding of pension funds by our own government and require that our pension obligations are fully funded. I believe we must keep our covenant with our retired employees; however I favor reducing pension benefits for new state employees (consider a 401k type contribution sharing program) and I believe we must require an increase in contribution levels from current employees. Last, with regards to state retiree healthcare, current state employees should be treated equal to private sector employees, thus they must pay approximately what private sector employees pay for health care benefits (approximate average of private sector employee contributions are around 20%).We must however keep our covenant with retired employees and honor their benefits as promised. Looking to the future, there should be no expectation of free health care for new retirees.

Gambling:

I do not believe that more licensed gambling is the answer to our state’s budgetary issues. Again, I believe we must live within our means and always maintain a balanced budget. We must cut government waste, political pork, and patronage bloat. We must find efficiencies that save money. And I believe that through forensic accounting, we can do more with less and relieve the financial burden Democrats are placing on hard working men and women across Illinois.