South Central Reporter

Blaine Wilhour, candidate for state representative in the 101st District, recently gave his opinion on the issue of high taxes in Illinois.

Wilhour criticized Gov. J.B. Pritzker for failing to use COVID relief funds to provide actual tax relief by replenishing the depleted Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund.

"The responsible thing to do with the COVID-19 federal funds would have been to make the state’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund completely whole. Instead, the Democrats only partially paid back the Trust Fund so that they could fund election year gimmicks such as the suspension of the state’s sales tax," Wilhour told South Central Reporter. "We had an opportunity to help Illinois businesses and help our state’s economy and instead the Democrats chose to put politics first."

Illinois' property tax rate is the second highest in the nation at 2.27%, behind only New Jersey, according to a June report by Rocket Mortgage. The owner of a $194,500 home in Illinois will pay $4,942 annually in property taxes. 30 states have property tax rates lower than 1%.

"We have the second highest property taxes in the nation, and we have no plan to reduce the tax burden on Illinois citizens," Wilhour said. "We need to reduce spending so that we can lower the tax burden in Illinois."

Pritzker doubled Illinois' gas tax from 19 cents to 38 cents in 2019, according to Fox News. Pritzker also instituted an annual gas tax increase. Illinois Democrats passed legislation postponing this year's scheduled gas tax increase of 2.2 cents from July to January, Fox News reported.

The gas tax increase delay was part of a bundle of tax rebates and delays in the record $46.5 billion FY 23 budget, according to Illinois Policy. The tax rebates and delays will save the average Illinois family $556. The 2.2 cents increase to the gas tax will take effect on Jan. 2023, and will be followed by another increase in July 2023, likely of 3.8 cents per gallon, bringing Illinois' total gasoline tax up to 45.2 cents per gallon.

Wilhour thinks that the move is just a PR move that doesn't go far enough to help Illinois families and would prefer more permanent tax relief reform.

"The temporary delay of a gas tax increase is typical Springfield shenanigans. It is the appearance of doing something without actually doing anything. What working families need is permanent tax relief, not meaningless temporary tax relief," Wilhour said. "The price of gas is still higher in Illinois than surrounding states. Families are still struggling to pay their electric bills and make ends meet. The temporary tax relief measures are having minimal impact at best. The solution is real, permanent structural reforms."

A March report by WalletHub found that Illinois has the tenth overall highest tax burden in the nation at 9.7%. The report weighed property taxes, income taxes, and sales and excise taxes.