A typical middle-class family in Illinois faces the highest tax burden of all 50 states and a pandemic recovery that lags the nation, so what have Illinois’ elected leaders decided to do about it
Handed billions of dollars in federal pandemic relief, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois General Assembly passed a budget that provides tax relief of $556 for the typical family. Most of it expires by this time next year.
Hooray?
While $556 is better than nothing, the changes mainly serve to let Pritzker air re-election ads touting his “relief plan.” He also made sure his largesse was noted through mandatory signs at grocery stores and on gas pumps.
A quick glance at the map shows Pritzker should be anything but proud. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, 33 states, including most of Illinois’ neighbor states, have made long-term changes to help grow their economies. They’ve implemented permanent, pro-growth reforms and tax relief for their residents and businesses.
Illinoisans already pay the second-highest property tax in the nation, live under the most units of local government, face the worst pension crisis in the nation and failed to recover 136,400 jobs lost to the pandemic. They need real relief, not gimmicks.
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