By Illinois Radio Network
SPRINGFIELD – Political leaders from both sides of the aisle weighed in on the state of Illinois after Gov. J.B. Pritzker delivered his State of the State address Wednesday to the General Assembly in Springfield.
Republicans pounced on the things the governor didn’t address.
House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, said he appreciated Pritzker’s push for strong ethics reforms in his speech Wednesday. But Durkin said he was disappointed the governor didn’t talk more about bringing about a fair legislative map-making process.
“All power comes from the ability to draw the maps,” Durkin said. “That is how power is maintained over a ten year period and that is what’s created this culture of corruption that we’ve seen in this state.”
The legislative map-making process has been top of mind for many as the 2020 Census gets underway. After the Census, the political boundaries will be redrawn.
The governor didn’t address redistricting reform in his speech, but he previously said he would veto a partisan map.
“The Democrats have the ability in both chambers to override that veto, for me that’s not strong enough,” Durkin said. “I want to see a better process.”
Durkin also wanted to hear more about policies to grow the economy.
House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, said in a statement that House Democrats were ready to work with the governor and Republicans to balance the budget, enact lobbying reforms and “build an economy that works for all.”
The governor talked about reducing property taxes by allowing local government consolidation. But that wasn’t enough for state Sen. Neil Anderson, R-Andalusia.
“My takeaway was, something that stuck out to me, is he talked about Twitter more than he talked about property taxes,” Anderson said. “Which is a little frustrating.”
The progressive income tax, one of the governor’s chief issues, only came up twice during the State of the State speech, once was close to the end of his speech. The other time was when the governor thanked new Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park. After the governor’s speech, Harmon said the progressive tax was a priority for his members.
“To pass the fair tax in November and to try to use that to reconfigure our tax structure and push down the pressure on property taxes which people all across the state recognize are way too high and hurting too many working families,” Harmon said.
The National Federation of Independent Business said the proposed progressive income tax goes against making Illinois friendly for small businesses development.
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