McHenry Times

Dan Ugaste thinks Illinois government has simply become too redundant.

“There are too many units of local government,” Ugaste told the McHenry Times of why property taxes have spiraled so out-of-control in Illinois, adding that unfunded mandates and incessant overspending have also grown to be major issues.

Ugaste is convinced the only way to change those trends is for government to institute policies that address them and for “local governments to stop spending more than you take in, which includes borrowing to pay bills.”

Ugaste said government statistics showing that from 2008 to 2015 average property taxes across the state grew at a rate more than six times faster than household incomes speak to how much change is needed in Springfield. Making the situation all the more difficult to process, those property tax spikes have come at a time when investment in home equity has drastically declined across Illinois, researchers noted.

Ugaste, a Republican from Geneva, said his run in the 65th House District to replace retiring Rep. Steve Andersson (R-Geneva) is all about being part of the change that’s needed.

“The Republican incumbent called it quits after he voted for the latest income tax increase after promising not to,” Ugaste said. “I have the opposite intention and will not vote to raise taxes.”

As it is, the Illinois Policy Institute reports during the period of 2008-15, average property taxes paid in Illinois grew by nearly 48 percent, including a jump of 17 points from 2014 to 2015 alone, all facts Ugaste is painfully aware of as he notes most of the state’s problems have surfaced under the watch of Democrats and longtime House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago), whom he and other Republicans say needs to go for the state to have its best chance at rebounding.

“We need to address the spending problem, lower our taxes and make Illinois a pro-growth state again by enacting reforms that will cause businesses not to just to stay here but also locate in Illinois again,” he previously told the Kane County Reporter. “Once we change the above, as well as the culture of government in this state from one that acts as if the residents of Illinois are there for the benefit of those who govern to a government that is there for the benefit of the people, our population will start to grow again.”

The 65th House District includes Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles, Pingree Grove, Hampshire and Huntley.