Illinois Valley Times

Veteran state Sen. Sue Rezin is vowing to continue to fight Gov. J.B. Pritzker to the bitter end in his fight to replace the current flat tax with a progressive tax system.

“We will continue to fight against this legislation by educating taxpayers why it will be detrimental to so many,” Rezin told the Illinois Valley Times. “The problem is the governor is throwing money like crazy to push the things that are critical to his agenda.”

According to the Chicago Tribune, in all the governor has donated $56.5 million to a ballot initiative committee launched by one of his former deputies. The staggering contributions to the Vote Yes to Fairness committee make him the only individual to have contributed more than $250.

“It’s easy for a billionaire to set aside $50 million for one of his causes,” Rezin added. “What it adds up to is one person spending like this to essentially put a structure in place that allows him to raise taxes on the middle class anytime they like. The budget is far from balanced; there are no business reforms in place, but Democrats are totally interested in working on structures that allow them to raise taxes whenever they feel the urge.”

Through it all, the governor has sought to sell the tax as a change that will only mean higher rates for the state’s most affluent residents. Voters will finally have their say in November’s general election, where approval from 60% of those who vote on the issue or a majority of those who vote in the election overall is needed for passage.

Rezin doesn’t see how that can be.

“There aren’t enough millionaires to tax to balance this budget,” she said. “Ultimately, this tax will hit the middle class just so enough revenues can be generated to balance the budget. By changing the tax structure, it makes it much easier for Springfield to raise taxes on people and make the path to reform that much harder to travel.”