Dan Yost | Contributed photo
Dan Yost | Contributed photo
Dan Yost’s complete rejection of the progressive tax proposal now being pushed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker simply hinges on its fundamentals.
“Springfield politicians refuse to hold their colleagues accountable and can’t be trusted with more tax money,” Yost, who is now running against state Rep. Joyce Mason (D-Gurnee) in the 61st District, told the Lake County Gazette.
Yost points to the recent conviction of former Democrat state Sen. Terry Link on federal tax evasion charges as a prime example of just rampant corruption has become in Springfield. Link, who served on the state’s Legislative Ethics Commission, pleaded guilty to failing to report income on his 2016 tax return to the IRS. At the time of their filing, authorities asserted his earnings “substantially exceeded” the $264,450 he reported for the year.
In addition to Link’s troubles, longtime House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) now finds himself at the center of a still unfolding federal corruption probe involving ComEd and a pay-for-play scheme in which all the perks and benefits were steered to the state’s longest-serving lawmaker in exchange for his support on certain legislation.
In the case of the so-called fair tax, Yost leaves no doubt about where he stands, despite the governor continuing to sell the measure as one that will only mean higher tax rates for the state’s most affluent residents.
“It is going to make more of a difference, just not a good one,” Yost said of the tax that’s set to appear on the Nov. 3 ballot in the form of a referendum. “It’s a bad tax at a really bad time and I believe it will devastate our economy. If we had people flocking to Illinois for the booming economy, the great jobs and low cost of living this would still be a bad idea.”
Yost, an Antioch resident, said he can’t see how it would be lost on voters that lawmakers in Springfield are back seeking more of their hard-earned income just three years after imposing a record-setting permanent income tax hike that rose personal and corporate rates by an average of nearly 33%.
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