LITCHFIELD - State Representative Avery Bourne (R-Raymond) issued the following statement after her “no” vote on Speaker Madigan’s permanent 32 percent increase in the state income tax in the Illinois House yesterday:
“Yesterday, after weeks of bipartisan negotiations, like clockwork, Speaker Madigan walked away from negotiations, even after significant progress had been made, only to present us with a "take it or leave it" offer. His plan? A budget that raises our taxes permanently and fails to address any of the fundamental issues that plague our state. With only hours to review 1,241 pages of a permanent tax increase and budget, I voted no.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
“Illinois’ financial situation is dire. For decades, politicians in Springfield have kicked the can down the road, raised taxes to pay for their own financial mismanagement, and have left the state of Illinois at the bottom of every list. The decisions before the General Assembly are not easy, but the solutions to our problems will not come in last minute emergency proposals or the same old tax and spend behaviors.
“We’ve seen this before. In 2011, the Illinois General Assembly enacted a 4-year temporary income tax increase. When the tax increase passed, there were promises that after 4 years, we would pay off our debt, make meaningful reforms and not have to raise taxes again.
Throughout those 4 years, Illinois taxpayers sent the state an additional $30 billion dollars. Yet, our structural problems remained. We cut education funding during that time. Illinois has the second highest out migration of any state. We have $130 billion in unfunded pension liabilities, we have the second highest property tax burden in the nation, we have gone from spending $14 billion per year on Medicaid to $22 billion and our backlog of bills is more than $14 billion. A temporary tax increase did not solve our issues in 2011 and a permanent income tax increase certainly won’t solve our issues now.
“Continuing the mistakes of the past will not make for a brighter future for Illinoisans. You sent me to the Capitol to work for change, not more of the same. I promised you that I would fight the reckless overspending. We need a full year budget. We need certainty for our state. We need a plan that provides meaningful opportunities for our communities and our citizens.
These votes on the house floor did not move us in the right direction. When the only choice given for a budget is more of the same and a tax increase, I had no other choice but to vote no.
One of my colleagues said it best during debate: ‘We cannot increase taxes on every family in Illinois while politicians continue to display a blatant disregard for how we spend the taxpayer’s money.’”
