Illinois Valley Times

The Illinois Republican Party has launched a series of robocall campaigns targeting House districts to urge voters to call their representatives in opposition to a budget passed by Senate Democrats on Tuesday, according to a press release from the GOP.

The Democrats rejected bipartisan compromise to push through an income tax increase and a sales tax expansion without significant reforms or a property tax freeze, the Illinois GOP said. Republicans are now targeting 19 contentious districts in the hopes of blocking the budget in the House.

“Last night, with little debate, Senate Democrats in Springfield passed one of the largest tax hikes in state history,” the calls say. “Their plan will raise the income tax on every Illinoisan by 32 percent. They passed huge taxes on everyday services like Netflix, dry cleaning and television. And they chose to let property taxes continue to skyrocket.  Now the bill goes to Mike Madigan's House for a vote. You can help stop the tax hikes.”

The Illinois GOP also launched a more general robocall campaign throughout the state criticizing the budget as a scheme between Speaker of the House Madigan (D-Chicago) and Democratic gubernatorial candidates J.B. Pritzker and Chris Kennedy.