McHenry Times

Craig Wilcox laments nothing has changed in the year since lawmakers in Springfield joined forces to override a veto by Gov. Bruce Rauner in order to enact a 32 percent state income tax hike.

“We do not have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem,” Wilcox posted on Facebook. “One year ago, our lawmakers in the Illinois General Assembly voted to override Governor Rauner's veto of their proposed increase of state income tax rate by 32 percent. They had promised that taking an average of $732 more from Illinois households would finally resolve the deep fiscal issues caused by decades of political malpractice, led by the likes of House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate Majority Leader John Cullerton. They lied.”

Sen. Pam Althoff

Running as a Republican to replace retiring state Sen. Pam Althoff (R-McHenry) in the 32nd District, Wilcox said it’s time lawmakers start doing what they can to avoid any more tax hikes and that it’s time politicians start dealing with the root issue of overspending.

“The General Assembly [sic] should pass a constitutional amendment to tie state spending to economic growth and ensure that Madigan and Cullerton cannot continue to spend more than taxpayers can afford,” he said in the post. “We must also reject their attempts to raise our taxes once more in the form of an unequal progressive state income tax. Illinois taxpayers are fleeing this state in droves because of these tax-and-spend policies, and it is time that the voters say enough is enough.”

Taxpayers have nothing to show for the tax increase one year later, Wilcox said.

“They lied that the $5 billion tax increase would lead to a balanced budget that they have yet to deliver,” he said. “The truth is, if we want to get ourselves out of this hole that we are in, we must stop digging first."

Illinois state Senate District 32 includes Lake and McHenry counties, Woodstock, McHenry and Crystal Lake.