Lake County Gazette

If the Illinois Republican Party's latest campaign works, Reps. Elaine Nekritz (D-Buffalo Grove), Carol Sente (D-Vernon Hills) and Sam Yingling (D-Grayslake) will soon receive calls from their constituents demanding that they vote against a Senate budget plan that passed on Tuesday.

“Last night, with little debate, Senate Democrats in Springfield passed one of the largest tax hikes in state history,” the GOP's robocalls say, according to an Illinois GOP press release. “Their plan will raise the income tax on every Illinoisan by 32 percent. They passed huge taxes on everyday services like Netflix, dry cleaning and television. And they chose to let property taxes continue to skyrocket.  Now the bill goes to Mike Madigan's House for a vote. You can help stop the tax hikes.”

The calls are being made in 19 House districts across the state, including Nekritz, Sente and Yingling's 57th, 59th and 62nd districts.

State senators from both parties spent months working on a budget agreement, with Republicans pushing for reforms to cut spending and spur economic growth and Democrats pushing for increased revenue to preserve services. Unable to reach a final agreement, the Senate Democrats pushed a budget through the chamber without any Republican support.

The budget will increase income taxes and apply the state’s sales tax to a range of services that were previously exempt. In a particularly contentious move, the legislation does not include a property tax freeze to provide tax relief, the GOP said.

The calls urge residents to call their representatives and voice their opposition to the measure.