In this issue:
- Bills would reduce property taxes, remove taxes on tips – not a moment too soon
- Local government resources in the Governor’s sights
- Grundy County annual awards event
- Celebrating 50 years at Three Rivers Public Library
Bills would reduce property taxes, removes taxes on tips – not a moment too soon
House Republicans have been working to bring down the skyrocketing cost of living in Illinois. There have been several bills introduced which would bring down costs or allow Illinoisans to keep more of their money. This week I want to highlight two of these proposals which are currently awaiting hearings in the House.
House Bill 9 was filed by Rep. Dan Ugaste to provide property tax relief for Illinois homeowners. Illinoisans pay the highest property taxes in the country, and this bill would take steps to bring those costs down. If enacted, the bill would set aside part of the state budget for a grant fund to be given to school districts, and in return the districts would be required to lower their property taxes.
House Bill 1383, sponsored by Rep. Ryan Spain, would provide tax relief on tipped income, letting Illinois workers keep more of what they earn. It would do so by creating an income tax deduction for gratuities that are included in the taxpayer’s federal adjusted gross income. This change would help those who rely on tips to keep more of their earnings instead of turning them over to the government.
These bills come not a moment too soon. Moody’s Analytics just issued a report which projects that “Illinois’ economy will underperform the Midwest and the U.S. in the coming year.” At the same time, a recent survey from WalletHub found that Illinois ranks number one in the nation for the highest tax burden, and that Illinois’ overall state and local taxes are 53% higher than the U.S. average.
These high taxes and slow economic growth are warning signs that the state is moving in the wrong direction. Fortunately, there have been good bills introduced to start turning things around.
Local government resources in the Governor’s sights
The Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF) helps communities offset costs so local leaders can keep property taxes and fees lower for residents. It is made up of taxes collected by the state, and then shared with local governments. Originally, local governments were promised a 10% share of these funds, but as the years have gone by, state government has taken more and provided less – cutting its share to just a little over 6% now. Governor Pritzker now proposes to take a little bit more this year.
The Governor’s proposal would take around $60 million away from municipal and county governments throughout the state. We are talking about funds which local governments use for emergency response, public safety and public works. When the state takes these funds away, communities are left with fewer options for meeting their costs, and it is local families who often end up paying the price.
House Republicans have filed House Bill 4294 to fully fund the LGDF and support our local governments.
In addition, the Governor proposed a sweeping zoning overhaul that would limit local governments’ authority over what can be built in their communities. Similar to the power grab we saw a few years ago with energy projects, this would give Springfield politicians more power to dictate what gets built in communities across Illinois, restricting the municipalities’ ability to control development on property zoned for residential use.
We need to stop the increasing centralization of power in Springfield and return to local control.
Grundy County annual awards event
A big thank you to the Grundy Economic Development Council and the Grundy County Chamber of Commerce & Industry for hosting their annual awards event last week!
It was a great evening celebrating the businesses, leaders, and organizations driving economic growth and opportunity across our community. I’m grateful to be part of a region where innovation, collaboration, and hard work continue to move Grundy County forward.
Congratulations to all of the award winners and nominees who are making a real impact!
Celebrating 50 years at Three Rivers Public Library
Stopped by the Three Rivers Public Library District in Channahon earlier this week to help celebrate their 50th birthday! It was an honor to present them with an official House of Representatives certificate recognizing this incredible milestone.
They had an amazing turnout, and it was great to see so many community members celebrating the library and everything it brings to our area. Congratulations on 50 years of serving our communities- here’s to many more!
Our current bill backlog
When a vendor provides the state with goods and services, they submit the bill to the Illinois Comptroller for payment. The Comptroller processes the paperwork and pays the bill when funds are available in the state’s checking account. Currently the total amount of unpaid bills is $1,992,320,077. This figure changes daily. Last year at this time the state had $2.3 billion in bills awaiting payment. This only includes bills submitted to the Comptroller for payment, not unfunded debts like the state’s pension liability, which is well over $100 billion.
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