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Chicago, IL (Feb. 17, 2021) – Jared Carl, president of the
Illinois Business Alliance, issued the following statement in
response to Gov. J.B. Pritzker's budget address today:
"Today, Gov. Pritzker attempted to pay lip service to the
Illinois businesses community. His actions tell a different
story.
"Pritzker's time as governor marks one of the most negative
business climates in Illinois history. In the spring of 2020,
Pritzker ordered Illinois businesses closed. Many remain closed
today, and some will never reopen. The price of Pritzker's
actions was demonstrated in Illinois' high unemployment rates.
At its peak last year, unemployment topped 1 million; today, too
many Illinoisans remain unemployed.
"Pritzker's budget banks on skimming nearly $1 billion from the
business community through a variety of measures. But make no
mistake: No matter what Pritzker calls it, forcing businesses to
send more money to Springfield is a tax increase.
"Voters soundly rejected Pritzker's last attempt to raise taxes
on businesses when they voted down the graduated income tax
amendment on the November ballot. The message then was as loud
and clear as it is today: Illinoisans don't want to send the
state government more money.
"Instead of raising taxes on businesses, Pritzker and state
lawmakers should focus on reopening the economy and addressing
the long-standing and systemic problems with Illinois' finances.
The state's budget was in terrible shape long before the
pandemic due to decades of fiscal mismanagement, unaffordable
pension costs and corruption. These long-standing problems are
where the governor should have focused today."
[Illinois Business Alliance]
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