BARRINGTON HILLS… State Representative Martin McLaughlin (R-Barrington Hills) released the following statement after Gov. JB Pritzker’s latest budget proposal on Wednesday:
“Based upon the flowery statements from the Governor and claims of “improved fiscal fortunes,” it seemed that I was instead listening to a budget address coming out of Florida, Texas, or North Carolina, not Illinois.
“If any of his statements were true, I can’t understand how Illinois ranks at the bottom or near the bottom on every national economic measure. Even Wall Street knows where Illinois truly is given that we have the worst credit rating in the nation by far.
“Democratic legislators in the lame duck session were so unaware of our actual fiscal position that gave themselves a 16% pay increase. As a member of the Revenue & Finance Committee, I am frankly dismayed that the Governor, in his Inaugural Address, made the bold statement that perhaps we can make tax relief permanent.
“Now a Democrat sponsored bill comes forth to increase taxes on the citizens of Illinois. I cannot support the bouquet of politician giveaways that I saw in last year’s budget. The problem with the imbalanced budget and the new progressive tax scheme is, as Margaret Thatcher put it, “eventually we will run out of other peoples’ money.” And guess who they come for next? You and me!
“I will continue to highlight the actual status of our financial condition in the hope that we will wake up, sooner rather than later, and get serious about this out of control spending problem. The Governor is asking to spend $2.75 billion more this year from last year, well ahead of revenue estimates. This is not, what the Governor calls “fiscally strong,” leadership.
“I am still waiting to see the plan for making up the billions in Federal bailout funds which were used to prop up our state budget (Federal dollars that also came from you and me). I certainly don’t believe that inflationary increases in sales taxes placed upon our residents or a new progressive tax scheme are the answers to our budgetary woes.
“After listening to the address, it looks like the plan is to hide from our fiscal truth while making bold declarations of fiscal strength, to spend even more, and then to ask for higher taxes. Is anyone surprised?”