McHenry Times

Connie Cain, candidate for state representative of the 66th District, recently voiced her opinion on the issue of high taxes in Illinois.

Cain criticized Gov. JB Pritzker’s management of federal COVID-19 relief funds and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans during the pandemic. 

"His management of the funds is a disaster," she told the McHenry Times. "The number of fraudulent claims and waste is staggering. The administration of those funds was neither timely nor efficient."

Illinois' property tax rate is the second highest in the nation at 2.27%, behind only New Jersey; a June report by Rocket Mortgage said. The owner of a $194,500 home in Illinois will pay $4,942 annually in property taxes. Thirty states have property tax rates lower than 1%.

"Illinois is ranked amongst the states with the highest property taxes in the nation," Cain told the Times. "We also have the most taxing bodies of any state. As taxpayers, we are nickel and dimed by county, city, library district, school districts, township, etc. ... The state needs to take a serious look at government consolidation and reducing property taxes. Perhaps a state law that limits the number of reserves that these taxing bodies can build up."

Pritzker doubled Illinois' gas tax from 19 cents to 38 cents in 2019, a FOX 32 Chicago report said. He also instituted an annual gas tax increase. But Illinois Democrats passed legislation postponing this year's scheduled gas tax increase of 2.2 cents from July to January.

The gas tax increase delay was part of a bundle of tax rebates and delays in the record $46.5 billion FY 2023 budget, an Illinois Policy report said. The tax rebates and delays will save the average Illinois family $556. The 2.2 cents increase of the gas tax will take effect in January 2023 and will be followed by another increase in July 2023—likely of 3.8 cents per gallon—bringing Illinois' total gasoline tax up to 45.2 cents per gallon.

Cain dismissed the move as an election gimmick that would do little to help Illinois families overall.

"There is an election coming up, and the same politicians who raised those taxes are touting 'gas tax relief,'" she said. "The relief is minimal until the cost of gasoline goes down significantly."

A March report by WalletHub found that Illinois has the tenth-overall highest tax burden in the nation at 9.7%. The report weighed property taxes, income taxes, and sales and excise taxes.