Lake County Gazette

State Rep. Martin McLaughlin (R-Barrington Hills) has issued a statement following former governor Pat Quinn's testimony on his income tax hike proposal.

Rep. McLaughlin commented, “Here we go again, another career politician in former Gov. Pat Quinn, boldly announcing today in the Revenue & Finance Committee hearing that Springfield doesn’t have enough of your money and they need more."

McLaughlin added, “Don’t worry, it’s not your money this time (for now), but rather the other guys. The infamous ‘only the millionaires, not you.’”

He further expressed concerns about potential impacts on employment and business relocation: “I’m sure your employer will not choose to reduce employees or hours to make up the difference. Or God forbid, they won’t decide to move their business out of our state to greener pastures across the country.”

McLaughlin also pointed out that this proposal might conflict with existing laws: “Of course, this proposal violates the flat tax provision in the Illinois Constitution. The current Governor tried this in 2020, and that proposal was soundly voted down by the people of this state, but according to the career politicians, this is totally OK to attempt again.”

Criticizing Democratic leadership at both local and state levels, McLaughlin stated: “Thanks to super majority Democrat rule, the budgets of our local communities have been gutted by the Democrat’s failure to fully fund the LGDF (Local Government Distributive Fund) to the full 10% of state income receipts as had been agreed to."

He emphasized a need for fiscal reform: "It is time to get serious about recognizing that Illinois politicians have a serious spending addiction. The hardworking Illinoisans are not the never-ending piggy banks for the ruling political class. The people of this state deserve serious budget adjustments and common-sense ethics reforms before being shamed into ‘paying their fair share.’”

Addressing taxpayers directly, he remarked: “I already know the taxpayers are paying well beyond their ‘fair share,’ and now is the time that our politicians legislate fairly and honestly. The current Illinois budget has increased by almost $20 billion dollars since Governor Quinn left office. Isn’t it about time we make do with the $54 billion at our disposal?”

McLaughlin concluded his statement by questioning government efficiency: “Is your government working well for you Illinoisans? It’s time to return Springfield back to reason and save our communities from incompetent leaders,” he said.