Lake County Gazette

With November’s General Election drawing closer, state Rep. David McSweeney (R-Barrington Hills) is steadily beating the drum about what he views as the state’s runaway tax system.

“The Illinois economy is imploding and families are hurting,” McSweeney said. “Gov. J.B. Pritzker and his close ally Jim Durkin led the effort to double your gas tax. We need to cut taxes, not raise them.”

It’s a development that has led to what the Chicago Tribune has branded the Illinois Exodus, which has led to residents fleeing the state at a pace faster than in 49 others.

McSweeney has long argued it’ll just be more of the same if Pritzker gets his way with the enactment of the progressive income tax proposal he’s been pushing since his days as a candidate that’ll be on the ballot on Nov. 3.

While the governor has continued to insist the tax will only mean higher rates for the state’s most affluent, critics and doubters of the plan point to a recent Gallup poll that finds the state ranks last of the 50 states on trust in state government. McSweeney argues the governor’s so-called fair tax will just mean more of the same.

“Gov. Pritzker’s progressive income tax increase would kill even more Illinois jobs and hurt families,” he added. “Pritzker and Jim Durkin’s gas tax hike is already harming Illinois residents. We need to cut property tax levies and adopt real pension reform.”

McSweeney leaves no doubt he’s thoroughly convinced the tax has no chance of being what the governor is selling it as.

“The progressive tax is a code phrase for a massive hike,” he said. “I’m leading the fight against the progressive income tax because Illinois taxes are too high.”