Lake County Gazette

Martin McLaughlin, candidate for state representative in the 52nd District, recently had a chance to voice his opinion on the issue of high taxes in Illinois.

McLaughlin criticized the Pritzker administration’s management of federal COVID relief funds and PPP loans during the pandemic. 

"The governor and the Democrats in the General Assembly have played a shell game with our share of the federal bail-out funds," McLaughlin told Lake County Gazette. "The monies provided were meant to shore up and bail out areas of mismanaged government agencies. We have not applied the monies properly in Illinois. The most egregious example is our IDES problem. We have a $1.9 billion deficit that should be paid off. Instead, Democrats funded pet pork projects for their fellow state legislators — not exactly fiscally responsible."

"I only hope that voters realize the impact of these poor decisions. In the IDES unemployment insurance situation, employers and future employees will both pay more for coverage. This is an undisclosed future tax for which the Democrats should be held responsible."

Illinois' property tax rate is the second highest in the nation at 2.27%, behind only New Jersey, according to a June report by Rocket Mortgage. The owner of a $194,500 home in Illinois will pay $4,942 annually in property taxes. 30 states have property tax rates lower than 1%.

"With 65 to 70% of our property tax bills coming from our local school districts, and the remaining balance from numerous other levying bodies, it has become apparent that local oversight of boards," McLaughlin said. "Their desire to continue to raise levies up to 5%, each and every year, compounded over time, is one of the main reasons that in many instances, residents can no longer afford to stay in their homes."

"While I was mayor, I was able to turn around the spending trajectory of my village and lowered the tax levy for seven out of eight years. It can be done, but it requires bringing business principles to a bloated government, and then get consensus building from the residents and the board members tasked with financial oversight. It’s not easy, but it can be done and it must be done."

Pritzker doubled Illinois' gas tax from 19 cents to 38 cents in 2019, according to Fox News. Pritzker also instituted an annual gas tax increase. Illinois Democrats passed legislation postponing this year's scheduled gas tax increase of 2.2 cents from July to January, Fox News reported.

The gas tax increase delay was part of a bundle of tax rebates and delays in the record $46.5 billion FY 23 budget, according to Illinois Policy. The tax rebates and delays will save the average Illinois family $556. The 2.2 cents increase to the gas tax will take effect on Jan. 2023, and will be followed by another increase in July 2023, likely of 3.8 cents per gallon, bringing Illinois' total gasoline tax up to 45.2 cents per gallon.

McLaughlin thinks that the move is just a PR move and doesn't go far enough to help Illinois families and would prefer more permanent tax relief reform.

"It always amazes me that three months before an election, Democrats are your best friends when it comes to tax relief. Then, the day after the election, they become our worst enemies, overtaxing and overspending which has been their tradition for some time. It’s an addiction they can’t seem to break," Martin McLaughlin. "We need to break this cycle so that Illinois can have a chance to be prosperous again."

When asked to describe the impact of the recent tax relief measures on his constituents, McLaughlin said, "These 'tax relief measures' are temporary and significant only to politicians who are attempting to curry favor with the voters for re-election. If tax relief is such a great idea today then why don’t we make it permanent?"

A March report by WalletHub found that Illinois has the tenth overall highest tax burden in the nation at 9.7%. The report weighed property taxes, income taxes, and sales and excise taxes.