Will County Gazette

Congressional candidate Rick Laib is hoping the progressive tax measure is rejected by Illinois voters on Nov. 3 so Republicans can craft a real solution to solve the state's economic woes.

“It is amazing to me that we are even entertaining moving to a progressive tax as a strategy to pay our bills,” Laib told the Will County Gazette. “We have justified making specific income earners pay more in taxes rather than resolve, tighten up or abandon the spending practices that got the state into extreme debt in the first place. The only discussion that appears to be coming out of Springfield is how to raise taxes but we have not heard no discussion of what spending will be cut.”

A new report by the Tax Foundation details how the state’s competitive position would dramatically fall if the progressive tax proposal Gov. J.B. Pritzker has been pushing since his days as a candidate becomes law. If the measure passes, researchers report Illinois’ overall ranking would tumble all the way down to 47th in the U.S. for business competitiveness, ahead of only New Jersey and California.

Running against Rep, Bill Foster (D-Illinois) in the 11th District, Laib argues such a development would only mean more of the same struggles for the cash-strapped state.

"Certainly outmigration could happen,” he said. "We cannot read the minds of lawmakers who are pushing for the progressive tax. We can wager a guess that their motivation is grounded in either ignorance or arrogance. This is taking advantage of a position, plain and simple. It is a bully's move to target someone unfairly simply because you can.”

Laib argues none of it has to be.

“We already know what it would take to return Illinois to a financially thriving state: reduce regulations and lower taxes,” he said. “Why haven't we tried this?”