Lake County Gazette

Illinois state Rep. David McSweeney (R-Barrington) recently marked Small Business Saturday by demanding that state government take its handcuffs off local industry.

“Illinois is ranked No. 3 in the country for the number of state regulations,” McSweeney posted on Facebook. “We need to reduce unnecessary regulations so that small businesses can create more jobs.”

A new George Mason University survey finds that the state now rates as the third most regulated in the U.S. with almost 260,000 restrictions, including around 35,000 in the chemical manufacturing and food sectors alone. State lawmakers have sought to impose standards on everything from frozen pizza businesses to fireworks and youth football, at least partly accounting for the state’s failing grade in a 2018 study that rated its policies on taxes, labor and licensure.

The excessive taxes and fees imposed on business owners have also earned Illinois the rating of least business-friendly state in the U.S.

“One thing’s clear, Illinois has earned its reputation as the 'least tax friendly state in the nation,' McSweeney wrote in another post that pointed to the 32-percent income tax increase lawmakers imposed in 2017, its standing as the state with the worst credit rating and the fact that unfunded pension liability has now soared into the neighborhood of $250 billion.

McSweeney recently launched a Cut Illinois Taxes Now petition, in which taxpayers can voice their displeasure with the direction of state government by adding their signatures.

“It’s time that we reject the high-tax, big-government agenda that Illinois families have become all too accustomed to because Illinois families deserve better,” McSweeney said.

Now in his sixth year in Springfield, McSweeney’s 52nd District includes Cook, Lake, McHenry and Kane counties and includes Cary and Barrington.