Will County Gazette

Veteran state Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) is fuming that Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Springfield Democrats are making a bad situation worse by continuing to push his progressive tax plan.

“It’s the wrong plan at the wrong time for Illinois,” Batinick told the Will County Gazette. “Nothing about it is good for Illinois.”

A new report by the Tax Foundation details how the state’s competitive position would dramatically fall if the progressive tax proposal 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, California and New York.

“It’s a sad state of affairs, but these findings are another example of this not being the right thing to do,” added Batinick, currently seeking a fourth term in the 97th District against Democrat challenger Harry Benton. “I mean our ranking isn’t great to begin with. There’s no reason to exacerbate an already bad situation.”

Between now and Election Day on Nov. 3, Batinick said he plans to make as many voters as he can aware of why the tax is all wrong for Illinois.

“I think we all need to speak up,” he said. “It’s going to be a close vote, but in my district I think the people are overwhelmingly opposed."

In the end, Batinick said he doesn’t see how any reform measure can do everything it might until lawmakers deal with the root cause of all the trouble.

“Until we address corruption in Springfield, we shouldn’t even be considering taking more money from taxpayers and we are nowhere near that point,” he said. “Right now, we can’t even convene for session because some leaders don’t want to face the issue of corruption.”