McHenry Times

Illinois residents saw a new round of tax increases take effect on July 1, continuing a trend that has been ongoing under Governor JB Pritzker’s administration. State Senator Craig Wilcox (R-McHenry) criticized the latest hikes, pointing to recent data from the Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting & Accountability (COGFA) showing that the state ended its most recent fiscal year with record-high revenue receipts—over $1.4 billion more than the previous year. The COGFA report can be found at https://cgfa.ilga.gov/Upload/0625%20Monthly.pdf.

“These tax hikes are especially disheartening given new data from Illinois’ Commission on Government Forecasting & Accountability (COGFA). According to COGFA, the fiscal year that ended on June 30 closed with the highest annual revenue receipts in our state’s history (more than $1.4 billion higher than the previous year),” Wilcox said.

He questioned why additional taxes were needed despite these revenues: “It begs the question: Why did the Democrats raise taxes again?”

Wilcox argued that repeated tax increases reflect long-standing budget mismanagement and a reliance on taxpayers for government funding rather than pursuing reforms or reducing spending. He stated, “These tax increases are not isolated. They reflect chronic budget mismanagement and a government that continues to treat taxpayers like ATMs. Instead of reining in spending or pushing for real reform, the state keeps raising taxes as the first resort rather than the last resort. There is never talk of fiscal responsibility. Every new tax hits working families, small businesses, and seniors already struggling with rising costs.”

Among this year’s changes, Illinois’ motor fuel tax rose automatically due to inflation adjustments, now reaching 48.3 cents per gallon for gasoline and 55.8 cents per gallon for diesel—making Illinois one of the states with higher fuel taxes nationwide.

Other affected areas include tobacco products—the wholesale tax increased from 36% to 45%, which Wilcox described as putting nearly half of product costs into government funds—and sports betting, where new per-wager taxes will be passed along to users by major operators such as FanDuel and DraftKings.

Phone and internet bills also became more expensive after an increase in telecommunications excise tax from 7% to 8.65%. Wilcox noted this particularly impacts seniors and low-income residents.

Short-term rentals like Airbnb and VRBO now face a new six percent hotel operators’ occupation tax, adding costs for travelers using these services.

Wilcox listed other measures enacted since Governor Pritzker took office in 2019: capping net operating loss deductions for businesses; increasing video gaming taxes; raising hotel booking fees; limiting sales tax discounts retained by businesses—which he said extracted about $186 million statewide—and shifting grocery taxes from state to local governments without requiring voter approval.

He called out what he described as misleading claims about repealing the grocery tax: “While statehouse Democrats sent out their press releases celebrating the ‘elimination’ of the grocery tax, all they did was push that tax responsibility to the local level and providing local governments with the power to impose their own tax without gaining voter approval. It was a sham.”

Wilcox emphasized his opposition: “As a State Senator, I routinely vote against the Democrat-inspired tax hikes. Instead of continually asking the taxpayers of Illinois to hand over more of their cash, I fight for responsible governance, fiscal discipline, and smarter budgeting. Don’t we owe that to the hardworking people we represent?”

He concluded by urging change: “Illinois deserves better. They deserve a government that lives within its means, that prioritizes cutting waste before digging deeper into people’s pockets. We must reverse this trend, resist further tax hikes, and build a sustainable financial foundation without obligating future generations to pay for today’s excess.”

Wilcox has represented Illinois' 32nd Senate District since being elected in 2018 as a Republican replacing Pamela Althoff.