Lake County Gazette

With the Nov. 3 general election fast approaching, veteran state Rep. David McSweeney (R-Barrington Hills) is leaving no doubt about where he stands on the progressive tax proposal Gov. J.B. Pritzker has long pushed as one of his signature proposals.

“Illinois already has the highest taxes of any state in the nation,” McSweeney said. “That doesn’t stop Pritzker from pushing his progressive income tax hike."

For as long as the governor has been pushing the tax, McSweeney has argued it has no chance of doing what the governor claims it will, especially the part about it only meaning higher tax rates for the state’s most affluent residents.

“Illinois residents are the highest-taxed citizens in the country,” McSweeney added in a Facebook post. “Gov. Pritzker’s progressive income tax hike is nothing more than an eventual massive tax increase on the middle class.”

With several taxes set to kick in on July 1, including the state gas tax rising to 38.7 cents after doubling just last year, McSweeney has long taken a stance against the system.

“We need to cut Illinois taxes, not raise them,” he previously told the Kane County Reporter. “We need Medicaid reform. We need public employee-pension reform in this state and instead, the governor wants to pass a progressive tax. Progressive tax is a code for 'I want to raise your taxes through the roof.'”

Voters finally get their chance to weigh in on the measure in just over four months when the question of should the current flat tax system be changed to a progressive tax system is set to appear on the ballot in the form of a referendum question.