Lake County Gazette

Ken Idstein thinks state Rep. Sam Yingling (D-Grayslake) has outlasted his usefulness in Lake County.

The Republican candidate for the 62nd District said his opponent in November’s general election is nothing more than a stooge for longtime House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) who has long put his own interest ahead of those of the taxpayers.

“Yingling’s idea of property tax relief is always another politician to grow government,” he told the Lake County Gazette. “You know what happens when we grow government? Your property taxes increase.”

State Rep. Sam Yingling

Idstein is particularly concerned about Yingling’s push to change Lake County’s Chief Assessment Officer from an appointed position to an elected one. Idstein insists you need to look no further than Chicago to see why he is opposed to the idea.

“Just look at Chicago where Mike Madigan’s inside deals have made him a millionaire,” he said. “Just like in Chicago, lower property tax bills will go to connected corporations and political insiders who give money.”

Yingling’s proposal would not go into effect until 2020, but Idstein can already see what the change would mean for taxpayers.

“Yingling’s approach refuses to reform the broken systems that are driving property taxes up,” he said. “In fact, Yingling just voted for another unbalanced budget that will require higher taxes in the future. From 2007 to 2016, the median property tax bill in Grayslake increased 29 percent to over $8,000. What has Yingling been doing in Springfield for all these years?”

Idstein believes a better plan for providing tax relief should center on reforming state government spending, cutting waste and reforming big-ticket systems.

“We need a hard cap on property taxes,” he said. “In Grayslake, the effective property tax rate can be as high as 5.33 percent. On a $250,000 home, you pay $13,325 in property taxes. In Indiana, where they have a 1 percent hard cap on property taxes, you’d pay $2,215.”