Citing a need for state reform and an end to rising taxes, former Wauconda Mayor Frank Bart will seek the House seat being vacated by Rep. Barbara Wheeler (R-Crystal Lake), according to a press release.
“Springfield politicians either don’t get it, or they don’t care,” Bart said in the press release. “Our families pay the highest property taxes in the nation. Instead of reforming government, the politicians hiked our income taxes.”
Bart, a decorated war hero who spent 30 years in the Army, including three combat tours, said residents in McHenry and Lake counties are being “whacked with higher taxes.”
Frank Bart
According to the press release, McHenry County residents will pay an additional $173 million annually in state income taxes, while Lake County residents will pay an additional $443 million.
Homeowners in each county also pay more than 4 percent in property taxes.
“These sky-high property taxes are destroying home values,” Bart said in the release. “Our home values are being devastated, our income taxes are skyrocketing, and government spending is spiking without an improvement in services. Government can’t spend at this level if we ever want home ownership to be a realistic dream."
Bart is calling for cutting property taxes, reforming government and enforcing spending caps.
Wheeler, who has represented the 64th District since 2013, has said her decision to not seek re-election came from a combination of frustration with a lack of reform and the loss of her mother, who died in December 2016.
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