Following the speech, State Representative Grant Wehrli (R-Naperville) issued the following statement:
I was pleased to hear the Governor express support for a few of the ethics reforms pushed by House Republicans, but his words need to be followed by decisive action. The dark cloud hanging over State government will only dissipate if the legislature takes bold action.
“I will be pushing for prompt consideration of substantive measures that will help address corruption and rid our state of bad actors. The culture of corruption only ends when we hold one another to a higher standard.
State Representative Tom Morrison (R-Palatine) released the following statement in reaction to today’s address:
High property taxes and the burden they continue to place on our residents and businesses is a huge concern for me going into this legislative session. The property tax relief task force did not deliver its report on time nor provide substantial reform proposals, however, I will continue to advocate for my constituents and the state’s taxpayers as a whole.
Those of us in Cook County just received the first installment notice of our annual property tax bills, and unsurprisingly, most of us received another sizeable increase. This is especially aggravating as Governor Pritzker approved last year nearly two dozen tax increases, in part, to fund a tainted $45 Billion infrastructure bill. When the Governor and the legislature fail to make spending reforms their first priority, taxpayers continue to get hit from one side to the next.
Furthermore, the public shouldn’t be duped into thinking that a new graduated income tax scheme will provide meaningful property tax relief. Failure to produce real spending and policy reform and/or government consolidation will make taxpayers and all citizens—regardless of income level—suffer more in the end. Illinois must grow its tax base of individuals at all income levels and businesses of all sizes. It shouldn’t try to pick winners and losers with misguided ‘revenue enhancements’ that just end up driving more people and businesses to pick up stakes and re-locate.
The following is a statement from State Representative Margo McDermed (R-Mokena) in response to Governor Pritzker’s State of the State Address:
While I applaud the Governor sanctioning ethics reform, specifically a revolving door ban I have been advocating for years, he did not mention the elephant in the room, Speaker Madigan. As long as he remains in power and those that support him continue to prop him up, Illinois will continue its steady drip of corruption. The current system that allows Speaker Madigan to draw the legislative maps is what keeps his party safely in power, and that complacency breeds corruption and lazy lawmaking. Speaker Madigan represents the old way of doing things, he represents 20th century politics, and we need 21st century solutions to property tax reform, pension reform, ethics reform, and the other major issues plaguing Illinois.
I appreciate the Governor’s bipartisan emphasis on reducing our state’s excessive property taxes and growing the economy. Illinois is taxing people out of their homes. These taxes hurt seniors and it is exacerbating the state’s out-migration problem. The legislature needs to do everything in its power to lower the property tax burden, create jobs, and grow the economy, so everyone in our communities prosper. If we work together, we can lower our state’s sky-high property taxes, create good-paying jobs, and provide long overdue relief for Illinois families and small businesses. I look forward to working together to get the job done, and will continue to work with any elected official to lower property taxes and create jobs for the people of Illinois.
State Representative Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) released the following statement in reaction to today’s address:
This year we have seen too many cases of corruption cracking the foundation of our government. While I appreciate the Governor’s support today on ethics reform, there is still much more to be done to root out this culture of corruption. We can’t pass enough laws to make people do the right thing, but to stop influence peddling, we can adopt term limits and redistricting reform to prevent absolute power and keep lawmakers in check.
Beyond real ethics reform, Illinois’ pension system remains our state’s biggest burden. Last year we made progress on pension reform efforts, but we need to build on this momentum to secure our state’s long-term future. I look forward to working with the Governor and my colleagues, including those across the aisle to accomplish this.
State Representative Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) released the following statement in response:
Today the Governor expressed his support for the ethics reform proposals brought forward by our caucus, and I am pleased to support that effort. The culture of corruption has infiltrated our government and has impeded our progress for growth for far too long. Only real ethics reform will steer us forward, restore the public trust in government and allow us to work through our state’s many fiscal challenges.
Last year we made one stride forward in helping our taxpayers with a pension consolidation effort. This year we need to go further. Our pension systems are complex and will require bipartisan work to find the right solution—but it’s one that our taxpayers and businesses deserve. We cannot afford to lose any more of them.
State Representative Allen Skillicorn (R- East Dundee) released the following statement in reaction to Governor Pritzker’s State of the State address on Wednesday:
While we appreciate that Governor Pritzker signaled his support for a small number of Republican-sponsored ethics reform proposals, we believe there is more that needs to be done to root out corruption in state government once and for all.
There is a black cloud over Springfield, and it seems we learn of new developments regarding an ongoing federal investigation into corruption and self-dealing in state government on a weekly basis. I have filed dozens of real and substantive ethics reform bills, pension reform legislation, and bills to provide property tax relief year after year that stay completely frozen out by the Speaker to languish and die in his tightly controlled Rules Committee.
The Democratic majority thrives in the current corrupt status-quo that they have created over four decades. They freeze out real reform bills and treat the taxpayers of Illinois as their personal piggy banks, choosing to protect a well-connected chosen few over doing what is best for the all the people of the State of Illinois.
It is time to finally deal with reality and focus on working together to address our unsustainable and massive pension disaster that grows larger every day. I have proposed a five-step pension reform plan that will fix this disaster in an ethical and fair way, but to do this we need full bi-partisan support for this reform to become a reality.
During this session, I plan to advocate for real solutions to the pension crisis. I have a 5-step plan to address out of control property taxes, a proposal to create a 1% percent hard cap, and end the unethical practice of letting legislators draw their own district boundaries and choose their constituents every ten years through a broken remap process.
Two months ago, I called on the General Assembly to support legislation ending the practice of legislators moonlighting as lobbyists. I applaud the Governor for joining me in this common sense reform.
With our state’s terrible outmigration problem, we need to do everything we can to lower our property tax burden and create jobs so our communities will thrive. I will continue to work with any lawmaker – Republican or Democrat – who will work to end corruption, lower property taxes, and create jobs for the people of Illinois.
