Illinois General Assembly

One Year Anniversary of Democrat Tax Increase and Illinois' Fiscal Problems Have Not Improved

For Immediate Release
January 12, 2012
Contact Rep. Jil Tracy
(217) 223-0833

Quincy, IL...One year ago a lame-duck legislature enacted the largest tax hike in state history, as Democrat sponsors and supporters said at the time it was the answer to Illinois’ multiple financial problems. “Three hundred and sixty-five days later the Land of Lincoln is still facing an estimated $6 to $7 billion in unpaid bills and an operating deficit of around a half-billion dollars and growing,” said State Representative Jil Tracy (R-Quincy), who voted against the tax hikes.
 

Representative Tracy emphasized what she and her colleagues warned when Democrats pushed through the 67% personal income tax increase and 46% corporate tax hike last year. “Tax hikes alone will not fix the structural, long-term fiscal problems that have plagued our state for the past decade because of the unchecked spending.”
 

Tracy said that the tax increases have not performed as the Democrats intended, and have instead harmed Illinois families and further pushed jobs and businesses out of state.
 

"I don’t think that it should come as a surprise to anyone that our statewide unemployment rate is nearly a full percentage point higher than one year ago, and we have lost almost 60,000 jobs since that time. I’m not sure anybody can say that we are better off now than we were a year ago,” Tracy reiterated. “Illinois families have around $1,000 less in their pockets that they could have used for a mortgage payment, a child’s college tuition or groceries. Instead, the state took that money and has failed to achieve any significant progress in reducing our debt or paying back our mountain of overdue bills."
 

Representative Tracy stressed that the fiscal problems are only going to get worse unless serious reforms are made to the major areas of state spending. “We have to get serious about cutting costs within the budget. Medicaid and healthcare costs are growing at an unaffordable rate, pension costs continue to rise, and we are not seeing a drastic improvement in the economy, which in turn means we are not collecting as much revenue," said Tracy.