South Central Reporter

State Rep. Blaine Wilhour, R-Beecher City, is on a mission to change what it now means to reside in Illinois.

“I’ve got a real plan to deal with pensions and consolidation in government and hopefully that will mean a level of property tax relief for residents of this state that are now required to do too much,” Wilhour told the South Central Reporter. “Just putting more money in bureaucracy is not the answer; we need structural change.”

As it is, a new WalletHub report details Illinois now follows only New Jersey for the highest property taxes in the country. Researchers found property taxes in Illinois are almost three times what they would be on the same $205,000 valued home in nearby Indiana or Kentucky.

“I think it’s revealing that the two states with highest property taxes are also inflicted with the most out-of-control pension liabilities,” Wilhour added. “You can’t separate the two. Property taxes will continue to rise until we address our pension liabilities and the sheer size of government.”

Wilhour said part of his reform effort includes getting rid of the automatic cost-of-living-adjustments and capping pension benefits.

“I think we need to tie the adjustments to the consumer price index,” he said. “Capping benefits at $132,900 would get rid of a lot of the bloat at the top as well as all the triple and double-dippers. Then, we need to put all new employees in some sort of defined contribution system, like a 401(k) plan.”

Wilhour argues nothing short of those kinds of drastic changes has any real chance of bringing about the level of structural changes that are needed.  

"Until we enact true pension reform and true consolidation of government, we can have all the task forces and the like we want and it won’t mean anything,” he said. “We’re past the point of nibbling around the edges. We need real reforms.”